Kindred Servants, Part 2

Once again, and turn to Philippians
chapter two to a passage that we’ve already begun. I didn’t
plan it this way, and so I thank John for just tracking with my
thought, even without my planning, and I think specifically of that
third verse of the hymn that we just sang, though with a scornful
wonder men see her, the church, sore oppressed, by schisms rent
asunder, by heresies distressed. Yet, saints their watch are keeping. Their cry goes up, how long?
And soon the night of weeping shall be the morn of song.” That
thought in that third line is not unlike what Paul is addressing
here in this second chapter of Philippians. Paul, as you know,
is there in Rome under house arrest. He is concerned for the
Philippian church. He has made that abundantly clear
repeatedly, and he longs to continue to minister to them. He has even
suggested more than once that his hope is that he will be released
and that he will be able to go and to minister to them face
to face firsthand. But in the meantime, his desire
is so strong that he desires to minister to them the best
he can by sending to them young Timothy. Paul was concerned,
and rightly so for the Philippian church. In the case of the Philippians,
the problem wasn’t heresy, even as the third line of that hymn
spoke of, but rather schism, which is what Also, that third
line mentions there wasn’t so much doctrinal error and division
as there was personality clashes and factions that were developing
within the Philippian church that if left unchecked would
destroy this precious work of God from the inside. That’s Paul’s concern and Paul’s
desire to minister to them carries forth, even though he can’t be
there. And we spoke last week that this
is his effort to continue a vibrant ministry with them, even if not
face to face. If you would, let’s pick up again
in verse 19 of chapter two. Let’s consider the context of
this section. But I hope in the Lord Jesus
to send Timothy to you shortly so that I also may be encouraged
when I learn of your condition. For I have no one else of kindred
spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare, for
they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ
Jesus. But you know of his proven worth. that he served with me in the
furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father. Therefore,
I hope to send him immediately as soon as I see how things go
with me. And I trust in the Lord that
I myself also shall be coming shortly.” We began to look last
week at characteristics of faithful Christian servants. Knowing that
without these elements, without these elements active and built
up and strong in the midst of a Christian ministry, it cannot
and will not survive. That’s what we began to look
at last week. When Paul said, I hope in the
Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, Paul didn’t have
a real tight time frame in mind. As we recall, we weren’t sure
whether this was days or weeks. But in the meantime, as soon
as he possibly could, he would dispatch to them Timothy. Timothy
was his companion. He called him his son in the
faith. very likely was instrumental in leading him, if not directing
him and closing and discipling him in the ministry. Paul had great affection for
Timothy, as we saw, even from just a few references to him
in the pastoral epistles. He calls him his true child in
the faith, a beloved son. Timothy, as we saw, was essentially
met up with Paul during his missionary journey, accompanied Paul on
his initial trip to Jerusalem. He was associated with Paul for
most of the writing of the New Testament. But he was beyond
just a helper, he was a very precious minister of the gospel
and very precious in that regard to Paul. Paul said, I hope to send him
immediately as soon as I see how things go with me. And I
trust in the Lord that I myself shall be coming shortly. That
was Paul’s great hope that he would be released to join the
Philippian believers and to minister to them personally. In the meantime,
though, it’s Timothy. Timothy’s the focus. But by way
of looking at Timothy’s life and what Timothy brought to Paul’s
ministry, I said that we learned, not accidentally, we learned
that there are some features, some factors that are at work.
in a Christian ministry that should be there, that should
be a consummate part of a Christian ministry, that give it cause
for success. We looked at it last week. We
started with that passage and looking at verse 20, we saw,
first of all, that those who serve the Lord must first and
foremost cultivate a like minded care. It won’t come automatically. It needs to be developed and
cultivated. prayed through, discussed, dialogued. For Paul, he looked out over
the landscape of what he had to choose from with regards to
fellow ministers, with a small m, of the gospel. And he said,
I have no one else of kindred spirit. One of the saddest statements
to me in all of the Scriptures. There was, as we saw, and always
is, and always will be, a desperate need of cultivating that kindredness
of spirit. Because it’s such a rare thing.
A unity of heart and purpose and direction. And it doesn’t
come, as I said, axiomatically. Just by way of creating a ministry,
or just by way of having a group of people together that seek
to serve, it doesn’t come automatically. It must be cultivated. Paul says,
though, that in regards to Timothy, that is precisely what he had. A kindred spirit. It literally,
as we saw, meant one of equal soul. They were same-souled,
if you will. The word is only used here in
the New Testament. But what it. What it highlights. Is just how rare that kindredness
of spirit is in ministry, it wasn’t just true in the first
century church and in Paul’s day, it’s true even today. That kindredness of ministry
that works together and purposes together and moves together.
The problem is, as we said, there are so many that come in with
their own agendas and spread strife and they advance their
own self-promoting ideas. They have different priorities.
And as a result, there is disunified thought, even doctrinal confusion
because of that great diversity. What church hasn’t known some
of that to a degree? So Paul says that kindred spirits
were sparse. And the missing element, the
main ingredient, if you will, the thing that most illustrated
that sad condition for Paul was the sparsity of men who even
cared. Look again at the passage. I
have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned
for your welfare. There are always mercenaries. There are even mercenaries in
ministry. I can remember going to one black
church one time and I remember just hearing this phrase and
thinking that beyond being incredibly cute, it was so true. The pastor
said there’s some that was sent Others just went. There are always
those that will go with a mercenary spirit, go because there’s, they
think, money in it. They will go because they want
the power or the prestige. They will go because they want
anything but what Christ desires. And that’s what is in Paul’s
heart here. He says, I have no one else who
will genuinely And it speaks of that natural instinct, a familial
bond, what’s right and pure and proper. Timothy’s interest wasn’t
forced. Timothy wasn’t compelled into
the ministry. Timothy didn’t love the Philippians
only because Paul loved the Philippians. Timothy loved the Philippians
because Christ loved the Philippians. Timothy’s interest in them was
spontaneous. It was natural. It was the right
thing to do. The word concern speaks of divisions in the anxious
mind. It speaks of an anxiousness.
And we saw last week there is a good kind of anxiousness and
there is a bad kind of anxiousness. Here, what Paul is talking about
is a good kind of anxiousness that grit Timothy. He was anxious
for the Philippians. He cared about them to the point
of being rattled to his soul. As I said, that little word sometimes
talks about a good feeling of intense concern, which is directed
towards good and proper objects, much like a father or a mother
cares and is concerned for their child. And there is the unchecked
care and concern that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 6.25. Don’t be
worried about your life, what you should put on, what you will
eat or drink, all those things. That’s that inordinate concern.
The bottom line that we saw with verse 1 is that the harvest,
as Jesus said, is plentiful, but the workers, those who really
care, those who are of a like-minded spirit, are few. And there is
a very real need of cultivating that like mindedness, that like
minded care in any given ministry. Secondly, and here we begin to
just delve into another passage of this section. We’re looking
at characteristics of faithful Christian servants, those who
are reaping the Lord’s blessing, enjoying some degree of success. They are kindred servants, as
we have seen those who serve the Lord, first of all, must
cultivate a like minded care, but secondly, they must have
a single minded focus, a single minded focus. Look again at the
passage. I hope in the Lord to send hope
in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly so that I also
may be encouraged when I learn of your condition, for I have
no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned
for your welfare. And here is the negative side,
the deepening truth to what Paul was observing, for they all seek
after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. Paul says,
not only are kindred spirits sparse and a genuine concern
that engenders that kindred feeling rare, but those who are sincerely
focused on the Lord’s priorities are most rare. They are most
rare. He says, they all seek after
their own interests. And in and of itself, we looked
at this earlier in chapter two, in and of itself, seeking after
your interests isn’t bad. It’s when you put your interests
above everyone else’s interests and you drive your agenda above
anyone else’s. One pastor said it this way,
so severe has this censure seemed when Paul says they all seek
after their own interests. Many, he says, have attempted
to soften it by weakening the force. Certainly, Paul, you don’t
mean all. You don’t mean everybody except
Timothy. But to a degree, Paul did. Really, the only thing that you
can soften comes really not from what is written there, but from
an observation of the facts at hand. We know that Luke wasn’t
with Paul at this time. Barnabas wasn’t with Paul at
this time. There are many others that weren’t with Paul at this
time. But there was a church In Rome,
there were saints in Rome. There was a work of God already
having begun at Rome. There were those that knew Christ
and professed faith and sought in some degree to serve God.
There were those in Rome. So is it the entire Roman brotherhood
that Paul mentions? And I have to say, to a degree,
you have to come to that conclusion. Paul looks out on the landscape
of the church that was there in Rome with perhaps hundreds
of men, hundreds of men who had come to and professed Christ. Hundreds of men who said they
wanted to serve Christ no matter what, and yet there were very,
very few. Paul says, Even there were none
that he could send except Timothy. Another characterized this statement,
this superlative statement in these terms, he said, attempts
have been made to tone down the sharpness of this judgment. But
that isn’t warranted, is it? The words, he says, are simple
and direct. They do not apply to every gospel
worker who was at this time in any way associated with the apostle,
but rather only to those who might be available at this particular
juncture, who might for a moment be regarded as qualified for
a mission to Philippi. You see, that’s part of what
Paul’s problem was. He looks out. on all of those
who are at his disposal in Rome. And that’s who he has to be speaking
about. Because he could send people
from anywhere else, but he’s talking about someone who he
could dispatch from his side. And he looks at the great part
of the Christian landscape there in Rome and he says, some of
them aren’t even qualified. They don’t have a basic understanding.
Much like in the book of Hebrews, where Paul says, you ought to
be teachers by now. There were those that were spiritual
pygmies. They just had not grown up and
some legitimately so were newly converted. Then there were others
that just had misplaced priorities. They really didn’t want to serve.
They didn’t want to put themselves out, so to speak. And that sewed
up a greater portion, even still. And then Paul looked at those
perhaps chosen few, the leaders among the Roman church, and Paul sadly concluded that
they all seek after their own interests. They’re not interested. The whole passage here lets you
into some bitterness, some bitter disappointments, really, that
Paul was feeling and sensing in ministry. He couldn’t talk about every
Christian that he’d ever come in contact with because he does
know of at least one. And I would say, as you begin
to compile the list, Luke and Barnabas and so many others,
there were many faithful Christian servants that Paul considered
brothers and fellows in the trench. But there were so many that were
unsuitable for the mission that Paul, with a degree of heartbreak,
says, I have no one else to send you. Because they all seek after
their own interests. I’ll tell you a few. I’ll tell
you a few that probably would make the list. Demas turn over
to Second Timothy 410, if you would, for a minute. Second Timothy
410. In 2 Timothy chapter 4, Paul
is wrapping up his epistle. These are probably the last words
that Paul ever penned. He’s wrapping up his epistle
to Timothy, but he’s also wrapping up his ministry. And note, and
jump back to verse 9, where Paul says to this beloved servant
in the Lord, Timothy, make every effort to come to me soon. Fordeem
us. Having loved this present world
has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.” I mean, you get such a sadness
that comes over you when you think of this is the Apostle
Paul, the greatest pastor, the greatest evangelist the world
has ever known, the writer of the bulk of the New Testament,
the greatest discipler, the greatest theologian. And you have this
demis. that bails out on him at his
moment of need. Here he is in chains, probably
in bonds, under house arrest there in Rome, probably even
preparing for trial and death, and Demas pulls up stakes and
runs. Demas was with Paul. Stay there
in 2 Timothy 4 for a minute. Demas was with Paul. during his
first Roman imprisonment. We know that. And then he ultimately
is counted by him, considered by Paul as a fellow worker. That’s what is said of him in
Philemon 24. He’s mentioned again in Colossians
4.14 with Luke, the beloved physician. He was obviously a man of honor
and service and ministry. Demas had at one point been Paul’s
assistant. In the gospel ministry, as I
said during the first Roman imprisonment, he was in Rome with Paul. And
it’s probably safe to say just from observing. That he’s probably
there in that second Roman imprisonment there with Timothy or at one
point was, and yet he abandons Paul. One observed that for some time
the Apostle had to have observed his slackening zeal, his love
of ease and comfort. It never comes as a surprise,
really. It never comes as a total shock.
And what pastor, what ministry has not had these kinds of abandonments? You begin to see the zeal. You
begin to see the enthusiasm. You begin to see the fellow participation,
that kindredness of spirit. You begin to see that wane and
slacken. He must have observed his slackening
zeal, his love of ease and comfort, his growing dislike of the hardships
of pioneer work, his shrinking from the peril of being in Rome
as a Christian and an associate of Paul. And the climax of this
decline was reached when he deserted Paul at a time when he most needed
help and companionship. You get a note of heartbreak
from 2 Timothy 4.10. Demas, having loved the present
world, has deserted me.” Those are strong and solemn words. There’s no doubt that his profession
of Christ, no doubt exposed him to danger and hardship, even
persecution and even potential martyrdom. Demas knew what he
signed up for when he came to Christ, when he when he became
Paul’s fellow servant, Demas knew what he was in for, but
he lost heart somewhere along the way. Somehow he had given
abundant testimony of his of his desire to serve, otherwise
Paul never would have brought a man like this with him. He
was likely a faithful and strong proponent of the gospel, proclaiming
Christ at every opportunity. Paul would never have had, you
know, a ball and chain along with him, someone who was just
sponging off Paul and troubling the ministry. Paul would not
have tolerated it. The problem was, though, that he was ultimately affected
by not what hardship did to him, but by what the allurements of
the world did to him. He just got tired of the difficulty,
tired of the hardship. I can remember, I think I’ve
shared this story with you on occasion. I remember a very solemn
moment when I was at Dallas Seminary. Professor Howard Hendricks took
us to the windows of the classroom. And he took us to the skyline,
pointed to the skyline of downtown Dallas, and it’s an absolutely
beautiful sight. And he just solemnly told us
that men, that has taken more men out of the ministry than
anything. I can remember in seminary, you
know, the Professor Montoya used to say it this way, gold, girls
and glory, but in that order. The love for money, the love
of ease, the love of having things taken care of has taken more
men out of the ministry than either of the other two. One said it this way, what hardship
could not do, what peril could not do was affected by the allurements
of a world whose God is the prince of the power of the air. It took
Demas out. It sidelined him. and think of
it, he had Paul, the Apostle Paul to instruct him and teach
him and correct him and encourage him and serve alongside, even
if he just went along for the ride and listened to Paul’s sermons. And that verb that’s used there
in 2 Timothy 4.10, it implies that Demas not only left Paul,
but that he left him in the lurch. He abandoned him. He forsook
him. Paul desperately needed Demas. And at the moment when he needed
him most, Demas left. It’s a sad, sad situation. One wrote of this particular
event that this withdrawal of Demas was the result of carnal
influences and was regarded by the Apostle in the circumstances
as a dereliction of duty, a kind of desertion of his post. It
isn’t just that Demas came to Paul and they agreed to part
ways or sent Demas on a different way. Demas had a God-given calling. And he had answered that call
for a lengthy season and been faithful in it to a degree. And now when Paul needed him
most, he was nowhere to be found, even if Paul needed him for nothing
other than to send to the Philippian church, to dispatch to some group
of saints. Some believe so strongly and
so bad was this departure of Demas that Perhaps he even departed
from the faith. He apostatized. We don’t have
enough information about him. In the case of John Mark, we
know that ultimately John Mark was restored in the case of Demas. There’s not a word ever written
about him. He just left, just abandoned Paul. But you know
what? Demas isn’t that different than
most of us. I don’t believe that Demas necessarily
apostatized and abandoned the faith. Demas just did what most
of us do. We avoid the difficulty and inconvenience
of ministry for the same reasons. We just basically have to come
to the conclusion here that Demas wanted security and comfort. He wanted to get away from Rome
and away from the persecution, away from the danger, away from
the difficulty of being associated with Paul just by virtue of being
associated with him. We have no idea why he went to
Thessalonica. Maybe he had family. Maybe he
had friends. Maybe that’s where the big business
was that he was going to engage. We do know that the allurements
of the world pulled him away. Paul smarted from his departure. But, you know, Peter did likewise
under very similar circumstances when the chips were down, when
they came to arrest Christ. Peter, as you recall, denied
Christ three times, leaving his side, departing from the ministry.
Christ had to come back, as we see in John 21, and restore Peter
to ministry. Peter did likewise. There’s another person mentioned
in that passage. That’s why I wanted you to stay
in chapter four of Second Timothy. Read along. It says, make every
effort to come for Demas, having loved the present world, has
deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia,
Titus to Domatia. Only Luke is with me. Pick up
Mark. Bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.
Look down at verse 16. were Paul still now summarizing,
looking back over his ministry. And he says this, at my first
defense, no one supported me. What he’s mentioning is the very
circumstances that he’s in. Perhaps even the entire church
of Rome was saying, whoa, wait a second. If this is what’s involved
in Christianity, maybe we need to rethink it. And maybe they
were thinking that Paul was this reactionary, this troublemaker
that was bringing down on his own head all this trouble. And
maybe Christianity could be a kinder, gentler thing that doesn’t rub
so many people the wrong way. At my first defense, no one supported
me, but all deserted me. May it not be countered against
them. What a gracious spirit. What a gracious spirit. Here’s
Paul chained to a Roman soldier, abused in so many ways, loss
of freedom, the least of it. And he has people not only not
supporting him, but even deserting him. Faithful Christian men. It was true of Mark. It was so
true of Mark that Paul didn’t even want to bring him along
on a missionary journey. Not even as a helper. Because
he had done it one time. He abandoned the ministry. This
was grievous in Paul’s eyes. It doesn’t mean that Paul had
no genuine Christian friends in Rome, but that they all shrank. They shrank back from visiting
this distant country called Philippi. Making that statement, Paul doesn’t
even have in front of his mind every person in Rome. But certainly
he had those prominent ministers, those prominent men of the Church
of Rome that were totally unavailable to him. And this was a faithful
Christian group. When Paul was apprising them
of the circumstances there in Rome, In chapter one, verse 14,
he said, most of the brethren trusting in the Lord because
of my imprisonment have far more courage to speak the Word of
God without fear. This is a bold group. They were
preaching Christ. But some of those professing
Christians. Some of those who should have known better and
should have fared better and should have served more faithfully
were just totally unavailable. There were men who were probably
very few in number who had a personal relationship with not only Christ,
but Paul himself. And Paul, in looking at them,
judged them to be unworthy to send. Unworthy. And he says that
it’s because they all sought after their own interests. And it’s not unlike the church
today. Pastors often are concerned more
with their own thoughts than God’s. How else can you come
to the conclusion that so many come to in the sermons that are
delivered? If it’s not oriented and derived
from God’s word, then it is their own thought. It is a advance
of their own ideas. It does cater to their own interests
and desires. It’s their own agenda. It’s their
plan. It’s their method. It’s not God’s. Paul says the whole group of
brothers that were around him did not put the cause of Christ
in the forefront. Rather, it was relegated to the
foreground. It was pushed back. That statement, as I said, is
so all encompassing that so many people have tried to mitigate
against it and tried to reduce it and make it say something
that it doesn’t say. Some said this. That all who
were like minded with himself, like Luke, were absent at the
time of his writing that there were very many that were absent.
Those around him were so interested in promoting a party interest.
And that very much is true. We know that to be true in the
Roman church. Doctrinally speaking, for sure. Another said that no
one was willing to sacrifice his own quiet and security by
undertaking the journey to Macedonia. That’s a huge one. Nobody wanted
to be inconvenienced. Another suggested that they were
unwilling to sacrifice their own honor and profit to the welfare
of the church. That is true. Another suggested that the words
were used only in comparison with Timothy’s exceptional zeal
and fidelity. There wasn’t anybody like Timothy,
that much is sure. But certainly he could have come
up with someone. Both Augustine and Anselm were
the first to hold, as one said, to the full severity of this
charge. And they said that the apostles
companions, the best of them were mercenary. They didn’t have
the right heart for ministry and Paul would not send them. One said it this way. The professing
Christians to whom he refers were so obviously under the power
of worldliness. in some form or another as to
make it unlikely that they would be willing to go to Philippi
on a Christian mission. Or if they undertook it, they
would throw themselves into the work hardly and effectively.
Paul didn’t trust them. Paul looked at who they were
and what they what they brought to the ministry, and he said,
I cannot send these men. A ministry that is to be successful
must be a ministry that cultivates a like-minded care and a single-minded
focus on what does God want? What does Christ want? Thirdly, those who serve the
Lord must cultivate not only a like-minded care and a single-minded
focus, but thirdly, a duty-minded service. A duty-minded service. And I don’t mean to undo what
we just discussed. But there is a sense of duty
and a sense of honor in that duty that comes with any service
of God, isn’t there? Look at the passage again. I
hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly so that
I may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. For I have
no one else of kindred spirit who would genuinely be concerned
for your welfare. For they all seek after their
own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. But you know of his proven
worth that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel
like a child serving his father.” I’ll come to that in a moment. in reviewing, says kindred spirits
are sparse. The genuine concern that engenders
that kindred feeling are rare. Those who are sincerely focused
on the Lord’s priorities are most rare. And Paul says, lastly,
that there is another thing that is rarely seen on the landscape
of Christian ministry, and that is devotional service. A sense
of honorable duty A sense of serving the Lord for the Lord’s
sake. Not for mine. Paul says of Timothy, you know
of his proven worth. And they did know. They had seen
Timothy first hand. Paul says you know him personally.
You’ve seen it in action. Their knowledge of Timothy was
the result of experience. They had seen him and watched
him. That word there, proof, you know
of his proven worth, speaks of something that is tested and
found to be true. It’s a strong word, a powerful
word. It refers to those things that
have been tested and have met the test and have therefore been
approved. It is, as one said, proof after
testing when it’s used of a person. It described proven character
of tested value. Paul used the verb form numerous
times in his admonitions for believers to prove what the will
of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect to
examine themselves, prove yourselves by examination. Timothy was one
who had been proven. He was one who had been tested
countless times in his service to the Lord. The church of Philippi
had observed many of those and they had benefited from his faithfulness
in that testing. Timothy was a well-tried servant
of the Lord. He was proven and faithful. He
had stood the test and as such, he had been approved. We had seen that When Timothy
was little, when we first began to look at the Philippian epistle,
we looked at Timothy’s background. We saw that he was an eager student
of Scripture. So says 2 Timothy 3 15. From
a childhood, you have known the sacred writings. He grew up and
ultimately he was commended not only by God to Paul, but by the
church, by those who knew him. Acts 16.2 says he was well spoken
of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium. Once he was
converted, he became Paul’s beloved and faithful child in the Lord.
And a little later, he was a special liaison of Paul’s. Romans 16.21
says of him, Timothy, my fellow worker, greet you. A fellow worker. Paul puts him on a par with himself. The Philippian church knew this.
They knew of his proven value that he had served with Paul.
And then get this. And I didn’t do this just because
of Father’s Day. This is just God’s good providence. He served
like a child serving his father. You know what? Paul doesn’t elaborate
that at all. He lets it stand for what it is. A natural illustration
of what is good and right and expected. Paul said it elsewhere
to the Ephesians. Children, obey your parents and
the Lord, for this is right. It was the pure relationship
that is supposed to be there, the father-son relationship that
most naturally a son is going to grow up and eagerly serve
his father. It’s good and it’s right and
it’s natural. It’s a powerful image that Paul
uses there. It speaks of a devoted, loving
son, much like what you see throughout the Scriptures. Paul had called
him as such. And no wonder, because Paul knew
that Timothy had proven himself as such, as a faithful son. One pastor wrote of this, almost
this illustration that we breeze right past, that he served me
in the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father. We breeze past that, but there
is beauty in that. Listen to what one pastor said.
Of all the societies known among men, a family, is that which
is the strongest, tenderest, and most sacred of bonds. Its
ties are those by which God herein displays the unsearchable riches
of His love in Christ. He binds believers to Himself,
for He is our Father and we are brethren. In no other relation
among men does nature excite so warm an affection for those
with whom we are associated and so deep an interest in their
welfare. In none, therefore, does grace
originate so ardent a desire that their souls may prosper
and be in health.” It’s that natural love relationship. And
from a son to a father, it is that eager sense of duty and
a desire to please. A desire to do it right and to
do it well and to honor the father. Paul often used that metaphor
of a spiritual father. To the Corinthians, he wrote
that in Christ Jesus, I became your father through the Gospel. To the Thessalonians, he wrote
that you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring
each one of you as a father would his own children. But never more
strong was that father-son image reused and with his beloved servant,
his son in the faith, Timothy. Never more intensely did Paul
feel and express that father-son sentiment than with his spiritual
son. As the spiritual child of Paul, he served with him with
devotion and subservience. And there is that sense of duty
in ministry. There is that sense of propriety
in doing what we do as unto the Lord and to serve one another
in that. That’s what Paul says was proven
in Timothy. Everybody could see it. And if
a Christian ministry is to succeed, it must have that. It must have
that duty minded service that says, I want to honor the father
by serving these his people. Paul wraps up and reiterates
almost everything that he said in verse twenty three, therefore,
I hope to send him immediately. I don’t know when. I don’t know
when the trial will be. I don’t know exactly what will
become of me. But as soon as I see how things
go with me, I trust in the Lord.” Paul firmly believed that he
would be coming shortly. His expectation was that. Paul never dismissed entirely
the fact that he would be released from prison. As he said in Philippians
1.20, whether by life or by death, he held out hope for both. He
didn’t know where God was going to direct him. But in the meantime,
he had a faithful Christian servant in Timothy. And any ministry,
not just Paul’s, not just the first century church, but any
ministry that is to flourish and grow and be used by God must
cultivate these things, a like minded care, a single minded
focus and duty minded service. Let’s pray. Our merciful God, we are far
off from these ideals that Paul expressed that so characterized
the relationship between he and Timothy. Lord, we thank you and
praise you that all is not lost, that with you each day is new.
You grant us grace to change. And Father, you would have us
to change. You would have us to cultivate
these graces, which we cannot lay hold of except
by your grace. Your word says that unless the
Lord builds the house, they labor in vain. So, Father, we plead
with you to do this work in us and among us for your glory,
for the sake of Christ’s church. We pray these things in Jesus
name. Amen.