Timothy - Our Role Model for Single Minded Service

If you would take your Bible turn to Philippians chapter 2. We're just going to progress along and we're going to be in verses 19 to 24. And I call your attention to the theme of the study. The theme of the book of Philippians is all about joy. I call this series the joy of the Lord in all things. Now think back to what we have been studying. It's been quite a lot even though we're only into chapter 2. But we have seen quite a bit of joy, quite a bit of happiness, quite a bit of thankfulness from the Apostle Paul in his circumstances and his relationship to the Philippians.

So we're continuing to look at joy although we're studying lots of different things throughout the book. Now tonight we're going to be back in this portion of scripture that has to do with great Christian examples. Paul is giving us some Christian models, examples, or great role models for our personal Christian living and also for us as a church. Remember that last week I gave us Webster's definition of the role model. The role model. The role model is, and I'm quoting Webster, "A person whose behavior in a particular role is imitated by others." And that is what we have here really starting in verse 16 or 17 and on down to verse 24.

We have four role models. We have the Philippian church. We have Paul obviously, and then we have Timothy, and then we have this man named Epiproditus. We'll get to him next week. And as individual Christians, Paul, Timothy, and Epiproditus behaved in their particular role in such a way that they should be imitated by us as individuals. And as a church, the Philippians behaved in their particular role in such a way that they should be imitated by us as a church, although they were not perfect. We're learning that although they were a model church, they were not perfect.

Now, just like last week, I want us to read verses 16 on down to verse 24. I have said that this section starts at verse 16, maybe verse 17, because Paul's transitioning to himself in verse 16. He definitely is in verse 17. He makes a transition with that word even in the English Standard Version. So let's read the verses because these verses contain our four examples or role models. Paul says, "Holding fast to the word of life so that in the day of Christ Jesus, I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of our faith, or of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. Likewise, you also should be glad and rejoice with me." There's that theme of joy. "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 Christ Jesus. 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." Notice he transitions to Epiproditus. "I have thought it necessary to send you Epiproditus, 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 him, but on me also. Least 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. 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." Now, last week we looked at two role models, the first two, Paul and the Philippians. We saw that both are role models of sacrificial and joyful service. That was really the title of the message. Paul and the Philippians, our role models for what? For sacrificial and joyful service.

And we saw that when Paul was describing himself and the Philippians, he used parts of the Old Testament sacrificial teaching, he used parts of the Old Testament sacrificial system as a teaching illustration. Paul likened the Philippians to the animal sacrifice, which was the primary sacrifice, and he likened himself to the drink offering, which was wine or water, water or honey. That was poured around the animal sacrifice, and the drink offering was secondary, and it was dependent on the animal sacrifice. I like how the New American commentary describes these two and connects them.

And I'm quoting, he says, "If Paul placed himself in the position of the drink offering, he saw their gift as the primary matter in his own circumstance as secondary. Their support, in fact, enabled him to be the drink offering. Without it, there would have been no need." And remember, we saw this last week, and we need to revisit this tonight. The life and death lesson here is this. The ministry of the local church is the most important ministry and sacrifice in the life of the believer. And if we allow any ministry or any ministry sacrifice to come before the local church, we're out of order and we're really actually in sin.

And there is the temptation for some to say something like this, "Well, my ministry, the sacrifices I make in this ministry are that ministry. These are very important things. So if that hinders me from serving in the local church, that's okay, because this ministry that I'm involved in is very, very important." Well, what's wrong with that? It's not scriptural. It's not what Paul illustrated and taught and lived, because he saw his ministry as secondary or dependent on the primary ministry of the Philippian church, the local church. And then we saw that Paul was joyful in his sacrifice.

He called the Philippian believers to share in that joy. Listen to verse 17 or the last part of verse 17. In verse 18 again, now I'm reading this in the New American Standard. "But even if I'm being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all." Notice, rejoice, joy, two times. Verse 18, "And you too, I urge you rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me." Simply Paul was filled with joy in his life and even in his ministry circumstances, which was a Roman imprisonment.

And he was calling these Ephesian believers to share in that same joy in Paul's circumstances and in their circumstances. Great example of sharing in joy is Kyle and Shanna. They had their baby yesterday. We know that they did not choose to see if it was a boy or a girl. So I called the baby, baby Dean. Well, it's a boy, so it's Henry. What do we do? We share in that joy, isn't that right? It's just not that we're happy. We share in that joy. I was at the hospital last night and I think Christie made the comment that every single one of the women of the church would have come up to the hospital if they thought they could.

Well, that's sharing in that joy. You're going to take food out to them. You can't wait to see them at church. You're going to share in that joy. We get that. And the lesson here is this. We should have joy in our Christian lives and in our ministry sacrifices. We should share joy with one another as we walk with the Lord and walk in obedience to God. And even as we experience trials, one with another, and we should share in our joy as we sacrifice and work in the life of the church. We should share in those joys. A good example. And our act like men weekend, lots of people worked hard and sacrificed and put in extra hours, lots of labor.

And we all shared in that. Now tonight, we're looking at our next example, our role model, and that would be Timothy. And Paul writes about Timothy in verses 19 to 23. Let's look at those verses again. Paul says, "I hope in the Lord 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 or spiritual welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. 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, there are a couple of general observations about what is happening here that I want us to see. Notice that Paul is writing about travel plans. Paul was writing about his plans to send Timothy to the Philippians. And he also said that he wanted to come and see them as well. And then later on in verses 25 to 29, we read and we will see that he planned to send a Papertitis back to them as well. But notice why Paul was making all of these travel plans. Paul wanted these men to travel between him and the Philippians for two reasons. And this was a long distance.

First, so that these men would be a spiritual blessing to the Philippian church. And then second, so that news of the church would be a spiritual blessing to him. Simply all of these travels and these ministries connected in these travels were meant to bless and to encourage and to strengthen the believers at Philippi and Paul. I'll give you an example. Most of you, all of you know we're part of a network of churches, Anchored in Truth. Well, the kind of the family reunion of Anchored in Truth is the True Church Conference.

And so when you go to the True Church Conference and you get to know missionaries and you get to know church pastors and you get to know those ministry points, those churches, you get to know them well when you reconnect with them and you talk and you visit, you bless one another and you encourage one another and you strengthen one another. You see? I'll give you another example. It's been a while since Steve McAllister, who is the missions pastor at Grace Life Church at the Shoals. It's been a while since he's been here. And he is the boots on the ground that keeps Anchored in Truth going.

He's always traveling among these mission points and churches and such. It's been a while since he's been here. Well, I arranged for him to come in December, 1st of December, to come and share what God's doing in Anchored in Truth and to minister the Word to us. And what do we see here? Churches, ministering to churches, blessing one another, encouraging one another, and strengthen one another. I'll give you an example. Brother Bill Blair, who came and taught and ministered at the Act Like Men weekend, he was blessed and he was encouraged. He left spiritually charged because of how you ministered to him.

Now, let's get to verses 19 to 24 in the example of the role model of Timothy. And I want us to see that Paul does three things here. First, he explained his plans to send Timothy to them and why. Second, he recommended Timothy to them and why. And then third, he stated that Timothy was a great but temporary substitute for him. It's really coming right out of the verses. It will be easy for us to see. Excuse me. So, number one, Paul explained his plans to send Timothy to them. And that was seen in verse 19. Now, we've already touched on some of this, but here we see that Paul was explaining his plans and why.

And notice that this was for two reasons. First, because Paul could not go to them. We know that Paul was in a Roman imprisonment, so he could not go to the Philippians. And then second, so that Timothy could bring good news from the Philippians to him. Obviously, Paul wanted to get a good report about the church, isn't that right? A good report would have been a big blessing to Paul, especially since he was in some difficult circumstances. A good report would have cheered him up, the English standard says. The King James says that this would have been of good comfort. Now, a question. Was Paul discouraged or depressed?

If I was in a Roman imprisonment, I would probably be distressed, discouraged and depressed. But last week, we saw that Paul had great joy in his circumstances and great joy in his relationship with the Philippian church. He was urging them that his ministry wasn't over. But a good report from Timothy about the Philippians would have been an even greater joy to Paul. And Paul knew that Timothy was the man that could bring back that report. And Paul knew that Timothy would have been a great joy to the Philippians as well. But one more important detail. Paul explained to the Philippians that his plans to send Timothy to them.

He explained those plans, but he prefaced those plans by saying that he hoped to do these things in the Lord. Simply, Paul was saying that if it was God's will, he would send Timothy to them. He was not putting his plans above God's plans. He was not putting his will above God's will. And look, the lesson here is this. We can make ministry plans, church plans. We can make plans for our own lives, and these may be good plans, but we must check to see if those plans are the will of God. And we must never presume on the will of God. Sometimes the best looking plans, even the best looking ministry plans, may not even be the will of God.

So notice he checked those plans by the will of God. And then number two, Paul recommended Timothy to the Philippians. And we see this in verses 20 to 23. Now, before we see Paul's recommendation, we need to remember and revisit and see who Timothy was. Timothy was Paul's right-hand man. Timothy was the very best of Paul's ministry associates. He was his best ministry partner. He was his best associate pastor. And that is not a stretch in saying that. And Timothy's personal spiritual journey is rather interesting. He was from Lystra, and he came from what seems to have been a broken home.

His mother was a Jewish believer, and his father was Greek, and most likely a non-believer. It even seems that his father was not even in his life. And it seems that Paul was led to faith in Christ on his first missionary journey, and that would have been, we can see that in Acts chapter 14. And Timothy's mother and grandmother were believers according to 2 Timothy 1.5, and they had a great spiritual impact on young Timothy through the Old Testament scriptures according to 2 Timothy 3.15. You could say that three individuals made a great spiritual impact on Timothy's salvation, spiritual development, and journey.

That was his mother, his grandmother, and of course the apostle Paul. And there were four things that made Timothy a great asset to Paul and his ministry. First, he was very spiritually mature, even as a young man. And I will touch on some of the spiritual maturity throughout the message. And then second, his Jewish heritage and his knowledge of the Old Testament scriptures. And that came from his mother and his grandmother. This made him relatable to the Jews. And then third was his Greek heritage, which came from his father and his father's culture. This made him relatable to the Gentiles.

So the combination of these things made him an asset to Paul and his ministry. But the fourth reason, and maybe the most important reason, that he was a great asset to Paul and his ministry was this. God had called him. God had saved him and called him for these things. But listen to what Paul said about Timothy. This comes from various portions of scripture. In great love and affection, Paul called him my true child in the faith. That's in 1 Timothy 1.2. He called him my beloved son in 2 Timothy 1.2. He called him my beloved and faithful child in the Lord in 1 Corinthians 4.17.

He called him his fellow worker, a brother, a fellow bondservant of Christ Jesus. And notice all the places that Timothy served with and without Paul. He was with Paul in Corinth in Acts 18. He was sent to Macedonia in Acts 19. And he was with Paul on his return trip to Jerusalem in Acts 20. And notice all of the letters that Timothy was connected to, letters that Paul wrote. He was connected with Paul as Paul wrote the book of Romans. We see this in Romans 16, 21. He was connected with Paul as Paul wrote 2 Corinthians. And we see this in chapter 1, verse 1.

We see that Timothy was connected with Paul in Philippians 1, 1 when he wrote Philippians. We see that he was connected with Paul as he wrote Colossians. We see that in chapter 1, verse 1. He was connected with Paul as he wrote 1 and 2 Thessalonians. And we see that he was connected with Paul as Paul wrote Philea. Sounds like he was there for all of them. MacArthur says that Timothy served as Paul's troubleshooter as well. I like that. It's true. MacArthur says that Timothy served as Paul's troubleshooter in Corinth. We see that in 1 Corinthians 4, 17. In Thessalonica, we see that in 1 Thessalonians 3, 2.

In Ephesus, we see that in 1 Timothy 1, verses 3 to 4. And in Philippi, and we see this in Philippians 2, 19. And that is what he was. He was a troubleshooter of a pastor. He was a troubleshooter as a minister. And he was sent by Paul to take care of problems in these churches. And my purpose in sharing all of this about Timothy is this. There's more I could say. Timothy was a faithful model and a minister in every way. Timothy was more than capable and qualified to teach the Philippians and to serve as a role model for them.

Besides the Apostle Paul, there was none better to minister to the Philippians and to be a role model for the Philippians and the believers there in any way. There was none better than Timothy. But if we get to the verses, if we pay attention to verses 20 to 23, we see that Paul describes young Timothy. He points out certain aspects of his Christian character that made young Timothy useful to Paul and useful to the Philippians and useful in this situation. And if we isolate each word and phrase, we will see that Paul highlights seven spiritual characteristics as he recommended Timothy to the church.

Now, some scholars will combine some of these. I ran across several lists this week. Some will combine them and talk about three characteristics. I like to break them down into seven. Some of these are shorter and some of these are longer. But first, Paul said that Timothy was one with Paul and he was one with Timothy. If we look at the English Standard Version, verse 20 reads, "I have no one like him." But the New American reads, "For I have no one else of kindred spirit." The King James says, "For I have no man like-minded." Now, this phrase, "kindred spirit" or "like-minded" came from a compound word in the original.

And it was a combination of the word equal and the word soul. This literally meant same soul, equal soul, one soul. And what Paul was saying was this. Although he had quite a few faithful servants around him, there was no one like Timothy. He had no one like him that was one in mind and one in heart like Timothy. They were same soul. They were like soul in all of these things. And what Paul was telling the Philippians was this. If he, Paul, could not come to them, one was coming to him, Timothy, who was one soul like him. And there are two spiritual lessons here.

First, we must all strive to be spiritually mature believers who can disciple and grow younger believers. That should be our goal, folks. Now, you're not going to be able to do that overnight. You've got to be a mature believer, and it takes years to become a mature believer. So we should strive to be spiritually mature believers who can disciple and grow young believers. And the second lesson is this. We must strive to replicate ourselves. Isn't that what Paul did in Timothy? We must strive to replicate or duplicate ourselves. Now, my question for you is this that I want you to ponder. Are you worthy of being replicated?

Let me expound on that question. Would our church be better if you were replicated? Would our church be better if there were two or three in our church who were just like you? Are you worthy of being replicated in every area of your life? See the lessons. And then second, Paul said that Timothy was genuinely concerned for the Philippians. We see this in the second part of verse 20.

The Newer American says, "For I have no one else of kindred spirit." "Who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare?" The Amplified says, "For I have no one else like him who is so kindred a spirit." "Who will be genuinely concerned for your spiritual welfare?" And Paul was not saying that Timothy had a casual concern. And these were definitely not just words of concern spoken by Timothy. This spoke of a deep concern. This spoke of a strong concern. This spoke of strong feelings in this strong concern. So what Paul was saying was this.

Just like Paul, Timothy had a very deep and very strong concern for the spiritual health and well-being of the Philippians and the church. And a question and application that we must all ask is this. Do we have a deep and a strong concern for other believers? Do we have a deep and a strong concern for each other? Do you have a deep and a strong concern for those in your small group, even those who are not in your small group? And do we have a deep and a strong concern for other churches? And then third, Paul said Timothy was single-minded. We see this in verse 21.

In verse 21, Paul says, "For they all seek their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus." But we have to ask, what was Paul saying here? He seems to be saying that all are seeking their own interests. And in saying all, Paul is saying a lot. To use an illustration, he's kind of using a broad brush with a lot of pain on it. Isn't that right? Now, remember that earlier in chapter one, Paul said that many in Rome were preaching Christ out of envy and robbery. But some were preaching out of goodwill. And surprisingly, Paul simply rejoiced that Christ was being preached, whether it was from good motives or bad motives.

And what Paul was saying here was that all of those around him in Rome were seeking their own interests and not those of Christ. Those who preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, and those who preach Christ out of goodwill, they were seeking their own interests is what he's saying. I like how William McDonald describes this group. And I'm quoting, he says, "The others have become engulfed in the ocean of their own private interests." That's a good way to describe it.

He continues, "They had become so engrossed with the cares of this life that they had no time for the things which are of Christ Jesus." And McDonald goes on to make application to us in our day. He asks, "Does this have a message for us today in our little world of homes, refrigerators, television sets, and other things?" And I believe we must ask ourselves a question here. Are we single-minded in our service to Christ? Or do we seek our own interests? Are we divided? Do we seek the interests of Christ while trying to seek out our own interests? Now we have to live life. We have jobs, so we should have jobs. We have families.

We have yards to mow, bills to pay, children to attend to, ball games to go to. Yes, even a hobby that we need for stress, relief, and enjoyment. There's nothing wrong with those things. But we have to ask our questions. We have to ask a question or a series of questions. Are we single-minded in our service to Christ? Or are we divided? And like those that Paul described. Then forth, Paul said, "Timothy had proven his worth." We see this at the beginning of verse 22. Here the verse says, "But you know, Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father, he has served with me." I like what MacArthur says here.

He says, "Timothy was seasoned." You know what that word means? Seasoned. And he was. Timothy was seasoned. This proven worth here speaks of that which is proven. It had been proven. It had been tested. This was used of metalworking in their day. When a metal like silver or gold was tested, it was proven in its worth or its value. And that is what was taking place in Timothy and had taken place in Timothy. He had served as a son to Paul in his apostolic ministry. So he had been tested and he had passed the tests and the testing. So he was proven to be a seasoned minister of great worth. And the lesson for us here is this.

We must make sure that we are proven and we are seasoned. We must make sure that leaders and workers in the church are tested and proven. You see? Our church must be filled with people, mature believers who were tested and proven. And what are they? They are of great worth and especially teachers, especially leaders, especially pastors and elders in the church. And then fifth, Paul said Timothy had proven to be a servant. We see this in the second part of verse 22. But there was more to this testing, as we'll see. Timothy was tested and proven to be a servant. You see?

The word Paul used here was a form of the word due loss, which spoke of a slave. And what Paul was saying was this. Timothy had been tested. He had been proven. He had been tested and he had been proven what worthy. And at the heart of that testing was service along with Paul as a slave to Christ and a slave to the ministry. You see? Hot builds. And right here we have to ask, what is at the heart? What is at the heart of our heart in our life? Christian service? Due loss? Slave service?

If we are tested and we are proven as worthy, if we are tested and we are proven, will service as a slave be found at the heart of our heart and our life and our service? You see? Many want a position. Many want a title. But they want those things without slave or due loss service. Many want attention. Many want a claim. But they don't want the slave service. You see? So Timothy was tested and he was proven as worthy. But at the heart of that was this due loss slave service. But there's more. Sixth, Paul said Timothy had proven to be a servant in spreading the gospel. At the heart of this testing was service as a slave.

And at the heart of this service was spreading the gospel. Listen to the Amplified. Verse 22. But you know of Timothy's tested worth and his proven character that he has served with me as a due loss slave. Two, advance the gospel like a son serving with his father. And how was this seen? If we follow Paul's travels with his missionary journeys, we see that at many times Timothy was traveling along with Paul. And what were they doing on these apostolic journeys? These missionary journeys, they were spreading the gospel. They were advancing the gospel as they traveled. And Timothy was right there with Paul.

And for us, we must make sure that at the heart of our Christian slave service is the spread and the advancement of the gospel. And then seventh, Paul said Timothy was available to serve. Listen to verse 23 in the English Standard and the New American. Paul says, "I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me." What is he talking about? His imprisonment. And then the New American says, "Therefore, I hope to send him immediately as soon as I see how things go with me." And what Paul was saying was this. Timothy was more than able to minister to them.

He had proven his worth in ministry and he hoped to send him to the Philippians immediately, immediately, but with one reservation. Paul hoped to send him right after he found out how things would go in his appeal to Caesar. And as John MacArthur says, and I'm quoting, "The context makes it clear that Timothy was willing to do what Paul had asked him to do." Think about that. This context, everything Paul has seen makes it clear that Timothy was ready to go. He was willing and able to do all that Paul called him to do. And the question we must ask of ourselves is this. Are we available for service immediately?

You see, Paul could have looked at Timothy and said, "I want you to go tomorrow morning." Well, he was ready immediately. And are we available to serve immediately? Or do we need some time to kind of get our lives straight? Are we not available to serve because our lives are filled up with self-interests? Are we not available to serve because we are not worthy? You see how it all builds? And we must see church that we must be a believer and believers who are ready and available to serve immediately. No reservation, ready to go. Now look at how Paul recommended Timothy. Listen to these verses. It's quite a lot, verses 19 to 23.

I'm going to read them in the Amplified starting in verse 23. Paul says, "And I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon so that I also may be encouraged by learning news about you. For I have no one else like him who is so kindred a spirit who will be genuinely concerned for your spiritual welfare. For the others who deserted me after my arrest all seek to advance their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. But you know of Timothy's tested worth and his proven character that he has served with me to advance the gospel like a son serving with his father.

Therefore, I hope that if it is God's will to send him immediately just as soon as I see how my case turns out." Maybe this is in the form of a prayer coming from me. May our Lord be able to say all those things about us as individuals. May our Lord be able to say all those things about all of the elders in the life of our church. May our Lord be able to say all those things about all of grace like church brocade. Now one more question before we transition. How can we become this kind of a believer? By looking at Paul and emulating Paul, by looking at the Philippians and emulating the Philippians. Remember, they are our role models.

How can we become like this by looking at Timothy and emulating Timothy? He is our role model. So we should imitate them spiritually. And if we do imitate them, our Lord will be able to say about us what he said about Timothy. And then number three, Paul stated that Timothy was a substitute and a temporary substitute. Paul says in verse 24, "And I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also." And what we must see is this. Although Timothy was a great substitute for Paul, he was not Paul. He could never be as effective as Paul. Why? Because Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles.

And here Paul expresses his great desire to go see and be with these Philippians. And to me, what we see here is heart. That's what we see here. It's heart. Remember, he is in a Roman imprisonment. And what does he say in verse 24? "And I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also." If it was us, we would say, "Well, I hope that if I get out of prison, I'm going to take a vacation." Anything wrong with a vacation? No. But what we see here is heart. Paul's heart was to go and to be with the Philippians, even though his best ministry associate would be there and would minister among them.

Paul simply had the heart for these believers. And if God allowed, he wanted to be with them. You know, this is a lesson on heart. We must have this kind of heart. And look, folks, God has to give this kind of a heart to us. We have to have this kind of a heart for what? For each other, for the work of the church, for the church in its totality. And then as God grows us and allows us to do things around the world, we must have a heart for the work of the church like Paul. Now, notice, God has to develop this.

If we emulate these role models, if we walk in behind them and God matures us, we will see and find that we're having this heart in us just like Paul. So tonight, out of verses 19 to 24, we have seen our second example, a role model. This is what I'm calling, this is the title of the message, Timothy, our role model for single minded service. Now, where do I get that term single minded? Lots of commentators use that term. But think about everything that Paul said about Timothy. He was single minded. And Paul didn't even write, but hold on. I have to check if he'll go. No, he was single minded.

So Timothy, our role model for single minded service. And let's pray. Let's all pray. Let's study. Let's work. Let's sacrifice and let's see if we can follow this role model so that others may follow us as well.