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Intro AN EXAMPLE THAT ELIMINATES EXCUSES As you are finding your place in Scripture, I want you to think with me about the power of examples. Illustration I can think of hard times in life when... o The example of other people propelled me to continue [Times when... o Thoughts like "Well if they can make it, then so can I." [I had those thoughts... Taking my driver's test at 16 In college & in seminary [I had those thoughts... For Jada during the delivery of our children [So... I think we can all agree that there is power/confidence in certain examples [but... There are also examples that... o Overwhelm or discourage you [examples that... o Make you think "I could never do that." or "I could never accomplish what they have accomplished." [For example... Throughout the Bible we have some overwhelming examples to live up to [Think about... o God who says in Lev. 11.44 - ... be holy, for I am holy [God says, "Be like me/my example." Well, I'm sinful so I could never be like that. Or consider... o Jesus' example that we should strive to follow, [and again we could never live up to His example. We can think about... o Paul who, although a sinner,... is arguably the greatest Christian to ever live [and... Was gifted & exposed to the power of God like none of us never will be [and honestly speaking... None of us will ever be like Paul [and how about... o Timothy, who again, although a sinner... Was a remarkable believer [and... He was gifted & devoted & exposed to truths/miracles of God in a way we never will be [and even though we should try, in reality... We will never be able to completely walk in the example that Timothy left for us [but... In Today's text we... o Meet a man named Epaphroditus who gives us an example we can emulate [We... o Meet a man who... Every person under the sound of my voice can actually be like [As we meet Epaphroditus you will see he... Leaves us no excuse as to why we would not pursue the causes of Jesus with a reckless abandonment [I understand fully that no one in this room will ever possess the same giftedness & devotion as Paul, and we will never possess the same giftedness & devotion as Timothy, but Epaphroditus... Gives all of us an attainable target when it comes to service for God's Kingdom [Epahproditus was a man who... Was as normal or average as they come [As far as we know he... Was not a pastor, a deacon, and he certainly was not an Apostle sent by Jesus [but Ephaphroditus... Was an incredible servant of God who possessed qualities that every person can & should strive to emulate... He is an example that leaves us without excuse Transition So let's meet him READ TEXT & PRAY Transition For organizations sake I have divided this section of Scripture into 3 headings. [We will think 1st about... 1. THE CREDENTIALS OF EPAPHRODITUS Transition In vs. 25 we will see at least 2 credentials that are eternally significant & 2 that we can emulate [1st we note... a. He Was A Redeemed Child of God Explanation Notice in vs. 25 Paul identifies Epaphroditus with these words: my brother [Do you see that?] That is a reference to the fact that Ephaphroditus is... o A redeemed child of God [To be redeemed is to be bought by God/set free from sin's punishment. Animal shelter illustration... That means Epaphroditus is... o A believer... He is Paul's brother in the faith [Epaphroditus is... o A man who has... Turned from a lifestyle of sin [in order to... Pursue a lifestyle of traveling in obedience to Jesus [all the while... Trusting that Jesus paid/took the punishment for his sins at the cross [now... Let's think for a moment about Epahproditus'... o Testimony/Where the miracle of salvation brought him from [His.. o Name comes from the name of a Greek goddess[Which would indicate he... Was born into a pagan family [Which would indicate he... Was not raised with a Christian world view/in church/knowing about the Scriptures Application People like that remain.. Now for those of you who grew up in Holly Pond, that is a foreign concept to you [but... As genuine... o bible study [and genuine... o Bible submission has been on the decline for decades/generations [There are... People in Holly Pond who... o Are similar to Ephaphroditus [People in Holly Pond who... o Have not grown up in church [who... o Have not been taught about Jesus [and who... o Have not been blessed to own a bible, much less be taught from one [but praise God that... o Just like Epahproditus became a child of God despite not knowing much about the Bible, so too can people of our day/community become a child of God even though they have a limited understanding. [And if that is you today, can I tell you how... thankful we are to have you here [I want to tell you how... we love you/want to patiently teach you what we have learned about our glorious Jesus [how... we don't have it all figured out, but we are locking arms together in order to be what He has told us to be [And let me... Let me tell you what you need to understand [you need to understand that... o God is holy & will not dwell with sin [your sin separates you from God. understand that... o God is just & will eternally destroy sin [your sins are crimes against an eternal God & there are eternal consequences in hell. But listen, please understand that... o God is merciful & he sent His Son to take the punishment for your sin [and if you will... Trust that He died for you [and verify that trust in Him by... Turning from a lifestyle of sin and to a lifestyle of obedience, you too can be a redeemed child of God Transition God taught Epaphroditus what he needed to know to be a redeemed child of God & He can teach you the same And when God redeems you, He then begins to use you to work for His Kingdom As we look at Epaphroditus we see not only a redeemed child of God, but also we see... b. He Was A Resourceful Child of God [notice what Paul says about him in... Vs. 25 - I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother [He & Paul are spiritual brothers b/c they both belong to God The Father] and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, Explanation As we have said many times in our preaching through Philippians, Epaphroditus [This believer who grew up knowing nothing about Jesus, has become such a lover of Jesus that he... o Was sent by the church at Philippi to deliver a monetary gift & a gift of encouragement to Paul in Rome [in vs. 25 Paul notes how he... o Is the messenger and minister from Philippi [Think about that... Even though Epaphroditus was not raised... o As a Christian [and he was not raised... o As a student of the Bible like Paul & Timothy [He... o Still... Had the ability to serve... God's Kingdom by being an encouragement to Paul's ministry [many of you serve that way... I could share testimony after testimony of many of you have been used of God to encourage me in my ministry... Every believer can serve... The Lord in a great way [Paul points out how he... Was a fellow worker and fellow soldier Transition Let's think about those terms for a moment... fellow worker Explanation To be a fellow worker means that Epaphroditus shared o The same work as Paul [He was... o A spiritual co-worker/a hired hand in the same spiritual company as Paul [He shared... o A common spiritual interest with Paul [He pulled in the same direction/same goals/same agenda... Just like we pointed out concerning Timothy last week, Epaphroditus shared... o Paul's desire to... contribute to the Great Commission [He shared Paul's desire to... Teach people how to walk in the delightful commands of Jesus Christ [As a fellow worker Ephaphroditus shared Paul's desire to... Preach the gospel... Preach how Jesus had suffered as man's substitute & taken God's wrath Application Folks listen to me. The GC & the Gospel is... o Every believer's common work [Now it may be... o Contributed to in different ways [they will cook for fball team & I will share the gospel], but GC efforts and Gospel preaching is Christianity 101 [and you always need to be asking... How am I a fellow worker... How am I working with my faith family to promote the GC and the Gospel? Transition And here is what you need to know. Sometimes the GC & the Gospel will... o Be a simple task/an easy envioronment [but other times the GC & the Gospel will... o bring us into trials/battles/hardships/war-like conditions either spiritually or physically [GC & Gospel work will... o Sometimes be like the work of digging a hole, but sometimes you will have to dig the hole with spiritual bullets flying at your hear [and when bullets start to fly, you still have to dig & work, but you also have to become a soldier. And... Paul points out how even in those time Epaphroditus proved to be resourceful as he calls him his... fellow soldier Explanation Now there is a difference between being a worker and a soldier, [a... o worker is one who serves faithfully in the ordinary tasks of everyday Kingdom life [obedience/witnessing/giving/loving/repenting/confessing/striving for purity, etc. But a... o soldier is what believers must be when... The hard times come/the spiritual bullets start to fly [when... The work becomes a war & GC efforts are difficult & the Gospel is dangerous Paul says that Epaphroditus has... o Been part of both... He knows ordinary work & the difficulties of war [He has... o Known the struggle of... Difficult travel & sickness [He has experienced... The false teachers & those who mock/question/grumble/attack his faith [There is no doubt he has been through... Great spiritual warfare & doubt & depression [and very possibly... Physical threats or even personal violence as he lives out a faith that condemns people for their sin [There is no doubt that... Ephaphroditus is a battle tested, warrior like soldier for Jesus Christ [and guess what? He is just an ordinary church member who grew up knowing nothing about the Bible] Application Now that should be... o A challenge for every person in here [Epaphroditus is not an exceptional Christian, he is a normal Christian. He serves as a... o Reminder that all believers are to... Be resourceful [All of us are to... Work toward the Great Commission & The Gospel of Jesus Christ [ALL Believers are to be ready & willing to... Suffer like soldiers if need be as we battle to advance in the Great Commission & The Gospel of Jesus Christ [Paul shared these words found in... Acts 14:22 with believers... Paul was... - 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations [war-like conditions brought about by working in the Kingdom] we must enter the kingdom of God. Believers... o Who live out the commands of Jesus/work to advance the GC efforts & Gospel of Jesus Christ [You... o Will not have to go outside the walls of a church to find war like opposition Does that thought... o Challenge you [Does it... o Force you to think: In what way... Do I work to advance God's Kingdom [In what way... Have I ever had to war for God's Kingdom [What can you point to in your life and say, "That was a time I... Suffered for the Gospel [That was when I... Was uncomfortable for the Gospel [That was when I... Endured snide remarks or verbal attacks b/c of my genuine work for God's Kingdom [That was I time when I... Gave up money/time/a job opportunity for GC efforts [The life of Epaphroditus should challenge us. But not only should it challenge some of you who are apathetic, but also his life should be... o an encouraging thought for... Those of you who are now believers, but you grew up un-churched [God can use you as a worker/soldier/in a great, resourceful way... For... Those of you who are believers, but you grew up... under-churched [you grew up in a home where you... o Were in church 2, maybe 3 Sunday mornings/month [so long as you weren't camping or playing in some kind of athletic competition... And your parents... o Never really spoke of/ instructed you in spiritual matters [and you are now overwhelmed by all you don't know... Let me assure you... o If God can use a man with Epaphroditus' upbringing, God can use you despite your unspiritual, biblically malnourished upbringing [Find joy in the fact that... The credentials that Epaphroditus had are credentials that every person in the room can have [every person in here can be... Redeemed by God [and become] Resourceful for God as a worker, and when need be as a warrior PRAYER MATTERS: Gracious Father, we... o Thank you for the example you have given us in Epaphroditus [and now we... o Admit to you that only by Your inward work of grace can we... Be a redeemed child of God [and only by Your grace can we... Be a resourceful child of God [God we... o Ask that you would please give us the... Will to work for Your good pleasure [and please give us the... Wisdom to see all of the way that we could contribute to the GC & the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ [and as we see the various ways to work we need you also to give us the... Courage & boldness when that work seems more like a war [and please raise up... Brothers & Sisters in Christ with whom we can... Lock arms with [and... Serve beside as we strive to live in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ APPEAL TO THE LOST: The 1st example of Epaphroditus that everyone under the sound of my voice needs to follow is being a redeemed child of God.