The Church of Eleven22 - S01 E89 - Relationships

Episode Date: September 24, 2020

Hey, church family. It is time for Devo. We're going to pick it up where we left off in Philippians chapter two. I think we're in verse 19. And Paul says this. He's continuing. Again, this is coming off the heels of. Remember on Monday, it was, if you have received anything good from the gospel, then make my joy complete by being unified. Paul, how are we going to do that? Here's how you're going to do that. You're going to treat each other as if, the other person is more important or more significant than you. That's how you're going to do it. And this is how we're going to do it. You're not going to complain and you're not going to argue. Because when you don't complain and don't argue, you'll shine like a star in this crooked and depraved

generation. And he goes on and says this. Now he says in verse 19, I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon so that I too may be cheered by news of you. for I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare, for they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father, he has served with me in the gospel. I hope, therefore, to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also. Now, look at how, look at, look at the language that Paul uses. Again, he loves the church at Philippi. You remember in chapter one, he said, he said, I yearned for you. I long to be with you.

It is right for me to feel this way about you because of your partnership in the gospel. And he says, so I'm going to send you. I'm going to send a preacher to come check on you. I'm going to and an elder to come check on you, Timothy. And he says, you know his track record, you know his proven worth. And then he says, and how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel. Can we just talk about relationships a little bit? Do you have relationships like this? Because you know where you're supposed to have these kind of relationships?

You know where they're supposed to be founded and formed? You're supposed to be in the church. and we try to do everything that we can do to create the kind of environments where you can have these kinds of relationships. You see, Paul finds young Timothy, leads him to Christ, makes him a partner in the gospel. And when he writes to Timothy in 1st Timothy, he says, or in 2nd Timothy, he lays his hands on him.

He says, don't you remember our tears? Remember that time we were crying together? And I think what he was talking about is back in, I think it's Acts chapter 16 when he commissions Timothy to be an elder of the church at Ephesus, and he lays his hands on him and he speaks words of promise over this boy. And I'm telling you, you can ask any grown man, you let a grown man who is a father figure put his hands on another man and speak some words of life into that man, and I'm telling you, man, they'll lose it, they'll cry. Those are the tears that he's remembering.

and you remember the words of all the things that Paul was going to speak over this young man, and he didn't call him his apprentice, and he didn't call him his intern, he called him his son, and he laid his hands on him, and he said these words, Timothy, God did not give you a spirit of fear. You see, if you read the rest of first and second Timothy, you find out seemingly Timothy, kind of, he was kind of a fearful guy. Apparently he had a nervous stomach. A lot of theologians believe that maybe when he stood up to preach in front of the church, that he was really nervous.

Maybe this is why Paul said you should take a little wine for your stomach issues. And Paul says to him, of all the things, also we find out that Timothy didn't have a dad. His dad's never mentioned. Only his mom and grandmother are mentioned. And so, so Paul was really, really a father figure in his life. Paul, the most spiritually authoritative man on the planet at that time lays his hands on this young man. He sees in this young man what maybe no one else sees. He sees in this young man, maybe what Timothy himself doesn't see. And he lays his hands on him and says,

fear is a liar, Timothy. Don't let fear rule you. When you have fear, when you feel ruled by fear, that didn't come from God, because God did not give us a spirit of fear. By the way, fear is not a feeling. Fear is a spirit. We're talking about supernatural things here, and fear is not from our Heavenly Father. He says, for God did not give you a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of self-sound mind or self-control. And then Paul walks with Timothy and disciples Timothy, do you have somebody like this in your life? Listen, if you're an older person, listen, you're older than somebody. be a Paul in somebody's life and you should have a Timothy. You should. And if you're a younger person,

you should have a Paul in your life that is pouring into you. So who is that for you? Do you have somebody that is pouring into you that you're learning from? And do you have some people younger than you and you are pouring into them, speaking life into them? This is the M.O. of the scriptures. That Paul did not try to do ministry on his own, his relationship with Jesus. Though it was personal, it was not private. He believed ministry was a group activity, that ministry was a team sport. And so he brings Timothy along with him. And again, I know you got friends at work. That's fine. I know you got family that you're close to. That's very important. And I know you've got neighbors that you hang out with and do fun stuff. That's not what I'm talking about. I mean, do you have somebody in your life that you

you would say, that's my spiritual father, that's my spiritual son, that you are either raising up or being raised up by. This is normative in the scripture. By the way, this is why I ask you to join a disciple group. I'm not so concerned about our programs. I'm really concerned about your discipleship. Then in verse 25, he goes on, he says, I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditis, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier and your messenger and minister to my knee. See, so not only does Paul have some people that he is discipling and pouring into, and they are so close that he calls him son, he also has a peer. I'm going to send you Epaphraditis, my brother, who is that in your life? And if you are not finding them, if you don't have them in your

life. If you don't immediately have some people that you would say, that's my brother, that's my sister, this is a fellow soldier, a fellow worker, somebody that is arm in arm with me, somebody that if I fall down, they are going to pick me up. Who in your life has refrigerator rights? And I don't mean just a buddy to come watch a football game with you. I'm talking about who this week is praying for you and really praying for you. Who this week, if you had a really, a really, a real struggle, like some real work with the Lord to get done, or if you had a real battle to go into, who is it going in with you? Because we are in a war. And our battle is not against flesh and blood. And we are not meant to fight this thing alone. The Christian life is not MMA. It's not you

versus the enemy by yourself, man. It is, it is an army of believers. And we are supposed to be linked together watching each other's back. Please, if you don't have this, you need to get this. and you're like, well, and you can't microwave it. It might take a minute. And I've told you before that good Christian community friendship fellowship is like a retirement account. If you wait until you need it to try to build it, it's too late. Get in a disciple group.

Or at least connect with one other believer so that you can do this deep kind of dive where words like son or father or brother or fellow worker or fellowship. soldier do not sound weird, but it is normative in the scripture. And so he says, I have thought it necessary to send to you, Apaphroditis, 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. Notice, yeah, I'm on meddle a little bit, okay?

Women, I don't think you're very good at this. I don't. I know that men have hobbies and women have relationships, but women, at 1122, it seems to me like you're always waiting on somebody else to take the first step to initiate these kinds of relationships that are deep and abiding, particularly mentor relationships. I think you've got to quit waiting on the other person, and for the sake of your own walk with Jesus,

you just take the first step. Pick up a phone. Here's what you can do. You can blame me. You can pick up the phone and call somebody, either older than you to mentor you or younger than you and just say, hey, I think God wants me to spend some time with you. And you could blame me.

You could just send them the link to this divo and say, watch this 15-minute divo, and then you will understand why I am calling you to initiate this relationship. You need it. But notice, Paul says, when I thought my boy Epaphroditeus was about to die, God spared me sorrow upon sorrow, men. I'm not talking about golfing buddies.

Golfing's fine. Having buddies is fine. I'm going to talk about my hunty's buddies. I'm talking about the kind of brotherhood that grows so deep that there's some emotion there because you love one another and you're digging in in ministry for the sake of the kingdom and you're being open and training. transparent and vulnerable so that it's a true band of brothers where it's more than just we meet each other every Friday to play golf or go fish or do whatever, watch a ball game together.

That's fine. That may be the context in which these relationships begin, but they have to get to the place where they're deep enough where you feel like this is my brother, this is my fellow soldier. This younger man is my son. This older man is my dad. He says, I am the most of my brother. more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. 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. You see, what Paul is saying is this. Paul is ultimately saying, there is no way I can accomplish all that God has for me to accomplish all by myself. That's not how this thing works. Did you ever notice when Jesus called the disciples, he didn't just call one disciple? He called a band of brothers. So if you ever considered when God, when Jesus called you to be one of his disciples, he did not call you to do it alone. You know, we were wired for relationships. We were wired for community. A part of what it means to be created in the image of God. There was one God and there is one God and three persons. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, in a perfect love relationship with himself.

And the love of God for God spilled out into humanity, and we are image bearers of that God. And that means that you and I were created to be in multiple submissive love relationships with each other. Do you have that in your life? If not, you need it. and if you don't have it and you realize you need it, then we'll make it easy. Join a disciple group. Go on our website, click around on a few buttons,

show up and meet some people. And you may be saying, well, you know what, faster, I tried that and it didn't work. Okay, try again. Have you ever had a bad meal? You didn't give up eating, did you? That would be dumb. It is just as dumb to give up on Christian community and fellowship

because you had one experience, bad experience. You've had a bad haircut before, haven't you? You didn't give up on haircuts. You've been to a doctor that you didn't like. You didn't give up on medicine. Please, please, please, please, whatever you do, don't give up on God's people. God has placed his people in your life

to come alongside of you, like Paul who says, I want to send you apaphroditis because the things that I could not finish, he is going to finish. There is some unfinished words. There is some unfinished work in your life, and the reason that it is unfinished is because you have yet to invite the right people

to come alongside of you for your good and for the glory of God. So, you don't even have to pray about this one. I prayed about it for you. Pick up the phone, send out a text, get online, join a disciple group. If you hadn't been to a disciple group in a long time, or maybe you just sit in the corner

and keep you mouth shut, Then pick up the phone, reach out to somebody, and begin to initiate this relationship that God is offering to you for His glory and for your growth. Let's pray. Our good and gracious Heavenly Father, God, I thank you that you have created us for a relationship. God, I pray for deep, abiding, biblical brotherhoods and sisterhoods here at our church. God, I pray for bands of brothers and bands of sisters that are linked arm in arm, fellow workers, fellow soldiers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters. God, that you would link us together as we walk in a manner worthy of following after Jesus Christ.

Jesus, you didn't walk alone. When you went to the Garden of Gassimony, you brought people to pray with you. God, forgive us when we think that the Almighty Son of God needed help praying, but we don't. Lord, I pray. I pray that you give us the courage and the strength. I pray that you would help us prioritize biblical community in our lives. I pray it in Jesus' name. Amen.