Decisions are incredibly important in our lives; our lives are, in essence, a series of choices we make. Those choices depend on what we believe is right or wrong. If our understanding of what’s wrong is flawed, most of our choices will be too. That’s why we spend a lot of time educating our minds. The first appeal of the truth is to our cognitive ability; we first understand the truth with our minds and then experience it. Unfortunately, in many churches today, as soon as you enter, you’re encouraged to “remove your mind and keep it in the corner.” It becomes all about emotional, sentimental, musical, stage entertainment and manipulation in the name of worship.
Insights from Paul’s Decision
If decisions are so important, wouldn’t it be wonderful to know how great saints made decisions in their lives? In today’s message, we’ll see how the apostle Paul made a decision, and he lists the reasons for it. There’s a gold mine of practical lessons here. The context is about a man named Epaphroditus. We saw five things last week: BWSMM—Paul’s relationships with Epaphroditus as his brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, and Epaphroditus’s relationship to the Philippian church as their messenger and minister.
In today’s passage, we’ll see Paul making the decision to send Epaphroditus in verse 25, a decision in which he says, “I considered it necessary to send Epaphroditus.” Then, he reveals the reasons for that decision in verses 26-28. He concludes in verses 29 and 30 with a command on the manner in which the Philippians are to receive Epaphroditus.
We will focus on two headings: the reasons for sending Epaphroditus and the manner in which the Philippians should receive him.
Reasons for Sending Epaphroditus
There are two reasons: the present condition of Epaphroditus and the expected result of sending him.
The Present Condition of Epaphroditus
“Yet I considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, but your messenger and the one who ministered to my need; since he was longing for you all, and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick.” (Philippians 2:25-26)
What was Epaphroditus’s condition? First, he was longing for all of them in Philippi. Paul himself used this word “longing” in a previous chapter when he said, “For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:8).
This isn’t a wishful longing like, “Oh, when will I go on a foreign trip?” This is a deep, heartfelt affection. Paul says he longs for them with the very powers, the very viscera, the very internal yearnings that are imparted by the Spirit of Jesus Christ. It’s the same word Peter uses when he says to “crave the sincere milk of the word.” (1 Peter 2:2). When a baby feels that longing, nothing will satisfy or distract it until it gets the milk. So Paul says Epaphroditus is deeply longing for what? He’s longing for the Philippian church. Remember, this isn’t the longing of a foolish, sentimental man; we saw what a man of character Epaphroditus was.
Yet, such a man had this strong experience of the longing of love. We might call this homesickness, but it’s deeper. Imagine the feeling of a soldier who loves his wife and children more than anything but has been away from them for three years in a war. Now, he’s coming back, and in two days, he’ll meet his wife and family. Day and night, every waking moment is possessed by one emotion: a longing or yearning to embrace his wife and children again. That’s precisely what the apostle says was the condition of Epaphroditus.
Not just longing, he also had a crushing distress with respect to the Philippians. The word “distressed” is a strong word. Can you believe it’s only used elsewhere in the New Testament when describing the experience of our Lord Jesus Christ in Gethsemane? In Matthew 26 and Mark 14, the gospel writers tell us that our Lord began to be sorrowful and “sore troubled/distressed” as Mark says. He expressed his feeling, saying, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.” “Distressed” is a word of internal anguish of the mind, a torture of the spirit, a confused, restless, continual mental and psychological distress. Again, it’s difficult to describe some deep experiences; you have to feel it to understand it.
So Paul says, “The first reason I’m sending Epaphroditus to you is because of his condition. He is not only characterized by this holy longing for you, but he is also sore troubled.”
Paul then explains what brought him to this condition. “Since he was longing for you all, and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick.”
Epaphroditus became this way because he learned that the Philippians had received news that he was sick—and not an ordinary sickness. This wasn’t some viral fever or stomach infection. “For indeed he was sick almost unto death.” (Philippians 2:27). He became so sick that it brought him to the very door of death, and even Paul wondered if he was going to die.
While he was suffering with his sickness, somehow the news of his condition reached the Philippians. Maybe some traveler went and told them, and then someone came back and even told Epaphroditus that the Philippians had heard the news about his grave, critical illness. Imagine the scene: As he’s suffering in his bed, which could have become his deathbed, news goes to the Philippians that Epaphroditus, their beloved messenger and minister to Paul’s need, is sick and at death’s door. The hearts of the Philippian church are broken and worried.
Meanwhile, Paul says in verse 27, “But God had mercy on him,” meaning he got well and didn’t die. He’s now well again, well enough that he can anticipate going back to his people and begin to feel as only healthy people feel. Now he hears that the Philippians have heard he is sick. He thinks, “Oh, how heartbroken my beloved church must be to hear of my sickness. They must be praying for me with tears and worry, waiting to hear about my condition. Oh, my poor Philippian brethren, they’re wondering if I am still suffering in bed or if I’m dead.” Epaphroditus is thinking about what it must mean for them to be in the dark about his present condition, how sad they must be feeling about him, so the Philippians’ sadness created this longing and sore distress.
We hear this and wonder, “Which planet did this guy come from?” We only know people who get angry because we didn’t hear about their sickness and feel bad. When was the last time you were so restless and distressed that somebody was feeling bad about your situation? Your distress isn’t because you’re going through a difficult time but because they are feeling bad. You don’t want them to feel bad. This is called depth of empathetic love. This shows that the bond the Philippians had with this man was so deep and so true that he was totally stressed over their sadness because they were worried about him. This is why Paul says, “I’ve got to send him to you because he cannot exist feeling that you don’t know he’s okay.” He loved his church so deeply that he did not want them to be sad. He wants to remove their sadness in any way. What a compassionate man.
Expected Results of Sending Him
Paul expects two results. First, the result for the Philippians will be uncontrollable joy. “Therefore I sent him the more eagerly, that when you see him again you may rejoice, and I may be less sorrowful.” (Philippians 2:28).
See, this is the epistle of joy. Paul expects the Philippians to rejoice. Think of it: the church has gathered, maybe even fasting and praying with tears, “Oh, dear God, have mercy on Epaphroditus, our dear brother. What a man he was! He loves us all like our own brother. He was a hard worker, such a soldier for the ministry, and for years, he’s been a faithful, empathetic man. How rare is it to find such a man? He went as our representative to minister to Paul, and now he is sick. We hear he may die. We don’t know if he is still alive. Lord, heal and bring him back to us.”
While they are praying, just imagine Epaphroditus walks into the church. What a hallelujah shock! That day will be a “hallelujah shock meeting.” It will be like someone risen from the dead to them. There will be so much joy, clapping of hands, spontaneous praising of God with tears, and breaking forth in doxology. When they see this glorious, golden man, their beloved, well-tested man, the esteemed messenger and servant to Paul’s need, receiving medals from the great Paul as a brother, fellow worker, and soldier.
You know the amazing thing? Paul, in prison, imagines how joyful the Philippians will be. Epaphroditus is very useful to me. I don’t have anyone else. I’m also sending Timothy. You know how painful it is to send someone you’re so attached to away during a difficult time. It will be very difficult for me, but if I send him to the Philippians, how their joy would be heightened! So I must send Epaphroditus back. Not only will the Philippians rejoice, but Epaphroditus may be so relieved from his distress and rejoice with his church. So the first outcome is the rejoicing of the Philippian church and Epaphroditus.
The second outcome Paul expects is, “And I may be less sorrowful.” (Philippians 2:28).
This is a strange statement: “And I may be the less sorrowful.” How will this make Paul less sorrowful? It shows the difficult situation Paul is in. In the Roman church, many are causing him trouble by preaching with wrong motives. In chapter 3, we read today, he said, “I tell you now, even weeping, there are enemies of the cross of Christ.” Paul’s heart was crushed with sorrow over these things. Two people who were great support were Timothy and Epaphroditus. But when Epaphroditus became sick, it made Paul even more sorrowful. See what he says: “For indeed he was sick almost unto death; but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.” (Philippians 2:27).
See again the difficult situation of Paul: “sorrow upon sorrow.” God delivered Paul from sorrow upon sorrow by healing Epaphroditus. But after Epaphroditus got well, hearing about the Philippians, he began to long for them and was so distressed about them. If I kept him here, my sorrow from seeing his anxiety would become more sorrow. “So I am sending him so that I may be less sorrowful.”
So, here are Paul’s reasons for sending Epaphroditus: Epaphroditus’s condition and the expected results of sending him—that the Philippians’ joy may increase, and he will be less sorrowful.
Applications
Let’s bring some applications here before we go to the next passage and see how the Philippians should welcome him.
- Genuine Love is Empathetic Love. We all know as Christians that both law and gospel command us to love our neighbors. We can all say, “Oh, we all love one another in a sentimental way.” But what is true love in reality, practically when the rubber meets the road? This passage demonstrates that genuine biblical love is empathetic love.
What a beautiful, amazing display of empathetic love. Seeing Epaphroditus, Paul could have said, “Look, Epaphroditus, I am the great apostle Paul, taking the gospel to the ends of the world and ready even to pour out my life. Do you see how much I’m suffering? Why were you sent? To help me! Come on, man, handle it. We all have feelings. Get your act together, be a man! We’ve got to advance the kingdom; this is big stuff, man. What are your wimpy feelings about how sad they feel? Grow up! Come on, man, snap out of this. You can’t be worried about how they feel about how you feel.” None of that is here. Paul feels bad because Epaphroditus feels bad that the Philippians feel bad. Everybody feels bad. So Paul says, “You’ve got to go because they feel bad, and you feel bad. You feel bad, and I feel bad. If you just go, they’ll feel good, you’ll feel good, and I’ll feel good. We’ve got to turn it around.” It’s that simple. This is empathetic love.
Do we know about this? This ability to get under the skin of our parents, wife, husband, brother, or sister and feel what they feel with our nerve endings and look at their eyes with empathetic tears. Oh, how powerful that love is. Do we know about this empathetic love? Children, if your sister or brother falls down and gets hurt, you try to feel what they feel. You haven’t actually fallen, but empathy makes you imagine, “Oh, if I fell, how painful it would be.” That feeling will make you run, lift them up, and do everything to somehow relieve their pain. Before you open your mouth and say things, empathetic love will make you think, “If someone says that to me, how will I feel?”
The scripture makes this empathetic love not a matter of personality—some are emotional, some are hard, covered with cow skin—no, no, it is the duty of every Christian. Wherever there is the love of Christ in a heart—in a man, a woman, a boy, or a girl—there will be some degree of this empathy. Romans 12:15 says to “rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep.” How can we do that without empathetic love? Hebrews 13:3 says, “Remember the prisoners as if chained with them.” To be empathetic is not a matter of native personality. It is a matter of Christian duty.
It is only when a heart is completely selfish, cluttered with itself and its own selfish world, that it cannot be empathetic. The heart is always filled with the thought, “How does this affect me?” Only that matters. Not a drop of empathy flows from that heart. Such a heart is so cluttered with self-centeredness it has no capacity to empathize. If we have such a heart, we have to examine whether we are believers. Remember the previous passage: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,” and “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”
I can tell you that it is the growth of this empathetic love that makes any Christian a person who does great things in the kingdom. Only people who have this kind of deep empathy for others, who feel deeply, wake up from their narrow, selfish world and do something for other souls. Matthew says the Lord had melting compassion, and then the passage says he traveled through more than 200 villages and towns, walking, teaching, and preaching. What drove him? Empathetic love. Even today, in the present ministry of Jesus, we may think he is far away, but he never forgets us for a second. He is always interceding, representing, uniting us with his spirit, revealing our great salvation, persuading us to believe and obey, and governing our hearts, protecting us from all enemies. Why? Because he is a sympathetic high priest. Every second, he gets into our skin and feels what we feel. He knows all our feelings. This makes him a great high priest before God, pleading for us with infinite empathy.
That’s why Paul was so successful in ministry; he had a heart filled with empathetic love. He says the greatest burden I bear in the ministry is “the care of all the churches.” You show me a man who tirelessly goes house to house, city to city like Paul and preaches the gospel and saves souls in spite of any hindrances, and I’ll show you a man who loves the people deeply. It’s little wonder that the result of his ministry was that when he said he was going to leave and they wouldn’t see him anymore, the leaders fell all over his neck, wept tears all over him, and kissed him. Why? Because the emphatic bond between them was deep. So these people loved greatly. It is that empathy here that, despite his difficult situation, he sacrificially sends Epaphroditus to them, making others happy and comfortable at personal cost. Why was Epaphroditus so successful in ministry, in Philippi and with Paul in Rome? Again, he was a man with a heart filled with empathetic love. This should be a rebuke to our selfish, unfeeling hearts for our indifference to relationships.
We all have to grow in empathetic love, or we cannot accomplish much in God’s kingdom. I can suggest we practice empathy at home; if not at home, where will we show it outside? Like we learned last Friday, turning commands into prayers. Husbands, how we need to cry to God, “Oh Lord, you have commanded me to love my wife as Christ loved the church. Live with empathy, getting into her skin, and learn to look at circumstances from her perspective. Lord, teach me to love my wife with empathy.”
If you have a working wife, empathize with how difficult it is to work outside, come home, work at home, and take care of the kids’ studies. If you have a non-working wife, empathize with how difficult it is to always be at the same home for years together, get up, and do the same old work: washing dishes, clothes, sweeping the house without any great challenges or opportunities for mental and emotional refreshment and maturity. We all should be known as empathetic husbands. Pray in each relationship—as a father, mother, child, or church brother—that God may fill you with empathetic love.
- Biblical Truth About Sickness and Healing. Another lesson we learn from this passage is about the reality of the biblical truth of sickness and healing. See, Epaphroditus gets sick, sick even unto death. Why? Because he was backslidden, or did he commit some sin? No, he was a sold-out servant of Christ. He was doing the will of God. He wasn’t like Jonah, running from the call of God. He was an obedient servant, doing the will of God. Sickness did come upon him, but not because of chastisement for unconfessed sin, disobedience, or unbelief. Did some demon of sickness catch Epaphroditus, like a demon for a headache, stomach pain, or some for piles? That’s funny.
See, sickness came upon him as it comes upon all people in the providence of God in this world. Until Christ comes again and redeems this sinful earth and brings a new heaven and new earth, sickness is a part of life for saint and sinner alike.
Understand the reality of the Bible’s truth about sickness and healing. God gave special healing gifts temporarily to some people to authenticate them as his messengers. They spoke and wrote God’s word, like Moses’ law, Elijah’s prophecy, and the apostles. But after scripture was written, healing was a temporary gift given to some; no man has that healing gift now. That doesn’t mean God is not healing now. When sickness comes, we pray to God and ask him to heal. Sometimes he heals, just like he healed Epaphroditus. How many healings have we seen in our own church? But I never claim, “I have healing power.” And sometimes he may not. When he heals, we give all glory to God and not to any person. Healing comes from him.
Here’s this great apostle, during the initial days of the gospel spreading in Acts. In certain places, God gave him such power that all he had to do was touch a handkerchief, and you could run to your sick loved one with that handkerchief and lay it on them, and they would get well. That’s what happened in Ephesus. Special miracles were worked by the hand of Paul. The same with Peter; in fact, just his shadow falling on sick people made them well. Now, many years have passed. Here is Paul in prison. Epaphroditus has a raging fever and is drawing nearer and nearer to the door of death. Why doesn’t Paul heal him? Why doesn’t he rebuke the demon of sickness? He couldn’t do it because it was a gift given to him at a particular time for a specific purpose.
Now, Epaphroditus got well not because of Paul’s miraculous power. Paul says, “God mercied him.” Paul was shut up to the same means that we have. He prayed to God to heal him, pleading, “Lord, I don’t want to have sorrow upon sorrow, please have mercy.” God healed him. There was no claiming of healing by a Paul here. There was no evidence of a miracle of healing by the apostle Paul.
Today, our country is full of these Pentecostal pastors who neither know the Bible nor are even thinking, just to draw in poor, suffering, sick crowds. They give all kinds of false promises, teaching them that sickness comes from the devil or that sickness comes because of sin and that they have the power to heal you. When we ask them, “Okay, please heal,” they cannot in most cases. Then you know what they say? They have the healing power, but the person with the sickness doesn’t have enough faith. They horribly and without conscience not only accuse people of this but take credit for all natural healings. In many cases, our body heals on its own. Other healings are mercifully given by God, and these people demand money from the people. See, Paul didn’t say, “Philippians, see, see! Epaphroditus was sick to death, but I healed him in the name of Jesus.” No, God was merciful.
It’s a terrible thing they do in Jesus’ name. They are pouring a poisonous, rotten, hell-pushing, damnable, destructive, and any other adjective you want to use, heresy into people’s souls and never allow them to come to the truth.
Oh, so many suffer in the bondage of that system. Once sickness comes, they don’t have the comfort of God’s sovereign providence and truth, and they torture themselves. “The pastor says I have no faith. Oh, then I am not a believer. What sin have I committed? Oh, what demon has possessed me? God has abandoned me, or when will I believe and be healed?” They flagellate their own souls and consciences. They suffer in this bondage. The sicker they become, these false teachers gather around them, saying, “Believe harder, trust harder, send more money.” And when they come near death’s door, they become so bitter against God and lose all faith. How many who could have died rejoicing in faith have died in agony because of a vicious, wicked twisting of the word of God.
See, this passage teaches the biblical truth of sickness, which is common to all. We can pray; sometimes God heals, and sometimes he allows us to go through it, but he gives all the grace to bear that.
You see that beautifully in this passage: God’s merciful heart that will not allow anything in his children’s lives where he will not give grace to bear. See in this passage God’s compassionate heart: “For indeed he was sick almost unto death; but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.” (Philippians 2:27).
Paul says it’s as though there was a scale. On one side of the scale was the grace of God supporting a sorrowing servant of Christ. And on the other side of the scale was the full weight of his sorrow. And Paul says, as he anticipated the death of Epaphroditus, that would have put such weight into the present sorrow on the scales that it would have tipped the scales, and the “sorrow upon sorrow” would have pressed me down into despair. But God, who knew my frame, lest I should have sorrow heaped upon sorrow that would tip the scales, God showed mercy to Epaphroditus and healed him. What a beautiful picture of the heart of God. Psalm 103 tells us, “Like as a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those that fear him, for he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.”
Why does God allow this? The way God makes us grow in faith is through trials and tests. Child of God, remember, God knows just how much his grace is able to sustain in you. Remember the promise in 1 Corinthians: “And He will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able.” And when he sees that one more gram of sorrow would push you over the hill and be unbearable, he will immediately have mercy. This ought to bring great comfort to some of us this morning who are in the midst, perhaps, of an unusual pressure of sorrowful circumstances. Some of you complain, “Oh, my trouble is so much.” Do you realize, do you believe, you have so much trouble because God has given abundant grace in your heart to bear in that situation? Sometimes our trials show how much grace God has put in our heart. When we go through that difficult time, we will be so matured. Like Job says, “After he has tested me, I will come out as gold.” “Pastor, how long?” In his own appointed time, he will be merciful to us, just as he was to Epaphroditus.
How Philippians Should Receive Him
So we have seen the reasons for sending Epaphroditus. Now, let us finish the chapter by looking at the manner in which the Philippians should receive him.
Having described the man in verse 25 and having given the reasons why he has decided to send him back in verses 26-28, he guides the Philippians on how they should receive him.
“Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such men in esteem; because for the work of Christ he came close to death, not regarding his life, to supply what was lacking in your service toward me.” (Philippians 2:29-30).
Paul gives them the manner in which they should receive him and gives them a general duty in verse 29, and then in verse 30, the reason for that duty is explained.
First is the manner in which they should receive Epaphroditus. When Epaphroditus comes through your church door, Paul says, welcome him, receive him. Paul doesn’t give this just as a suggestion that it might be a nice thing to welcome Epaphroditus; it is given as a command as an apostle of Jesus Christ to the Philippian church. Welcome the man Epaphroditus. How? He uses two prepositional phrases. Firstly, welcome him in the Lord, which points to the great reality of all believers’ union with Christ. All believers are inseparably united to Christ. This is the mysterious fountainhead of all the blessings that the people of God enjoy. Not only do all blessings flow from this union, but all the graces to fulfill our Christian duty also flow from this union.
That’s why Paul says your duty is to welcome him in the Lord. You’re not to welcome him with a worldly feeling of heroism, sentimentalism, or with human pride, like welcoming a great Olympic champion who achieved big things with his own skill, or with patriotic fervor like you would welcome a soldier who fought for his country in his own strength. Instead, you’re to welcome him in the full consciousness and humility of our union with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Recognize that whatever he was able to accomplish was because of his union with Jesus Christ. If you don’t welcome him in the Lord, but rather in a worldly or selfish spirit, you may have envy or hatred. You must realize that whatever he accomplished was through grace in the Lord; by his work, that Lord is glorified. Abide in the Lord and receive him in that spirit of godliness.
A Heart Full of Joy and Honor
The second prepositional phrase is that you’re to receive him with all joy and all gladness. Not with a minimal amount of joy, but with a boundless joy. You can do that only when you welcome him while abiding in the Lord. When you consciously receive him in the Lord, you will be able to see all that he accomplished for the Lord, for His glory, and by His grace, and you will be able to receive him with joy. You’ll have joy that he successfully accomplished your work as a messenger and minister to Paul’s need, so much so that Paul equated his service with a priestly, sacred service pleasing to God, and Paul sends him back with an honorary medal as a brother, fellow worker, and soldier. You’ll rejoice that even though he was close to death, God had mercy upon him and healed him. Rejoice that he is a proven servant.
So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and then thirdly, he gives a general duty. Notice verse 29: “and hold such men in esteem.”
Paul goes beyond the manner in which they should receive Epaphroditus and gives them this general duty to hold such in honor. What an honor for him! Paul says all who show the traits of Epaphroditus—who willingly sacrifice for Christ and His gospel and who manifest those same spiritual graces—should be held in honor. He doesn’t say you’re to worship or idolize them, but he does say you’re to honor them. In other words, you are to give them a place in your estimation, love, and attitude commensurate with their proven worth and stature. That’s what it means to honor.
So the Philippians are not only to receive Epaphroditus, and the manner of receiving him is in the Lord with all joy, but there’s an extension of their duty. You are to honor him and give all such men a place in your estimation, attitude, and affection that is commensurate with his proven work.
Now, that’s their duty. Having defined their duty, he gives them in verse 30 the reason for their duty: why should we receive and honor such men? Notice the text begins with the word “because.”
“Because for the work of Christ he came close to death, not regarding his life, to supply what was lacking in your service toward me.” (Philippians 2:30).
Epaphroditus came on a specific mission. It’s described by Paul as “to supply that which was lacking in your service toward me.” Because of distance and providential hindrance, you couldn’t come, so you sent him as your representative to serve me with what was lacking in you. To accomplish that mission, Paul says he came close to death, hazarding his life. The word means he gambled his life to accomplish that mission. He was so consumed with a passion that he did it so intensely and faithfully that he put his life at risk. This indicates not just his sickness. The verse says that “for the work of Christ he came close to death.” He probably risked his life to support Paul’s gospel-preaching work in some way, where he could have been imprisoned and then killed in the midst of opposition. He was willing to hazard his life for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ and for His work. Maybe he preached the gospel in prison and outside of prison. To be a constant attendant and assistant to a prisoner of Rome is also a big risk. Epaphroditus took that risk. The key phrase is “for the work of Christ.” Because of such proven commitment of Epaphroditus to the work of Christ, receive him in the Lord, receive him with all joy, and hold such in honor.
The Standard of Excellence
This ends the exposition of Philippians 2. You may ask, “Pastor, you’ve faithfully explained the verses and each word in them. Now, why should we understand that? How does it apply to us today?” Here is one application, and then you can go home.
First, behold the true standard of ministerial excellence. Anyone can say, “We are serving Christ.” I can say, “I am ministering for Christ.” But here is the standard for ministerial excellence. It’s a man who so loved his Savior and was so passionate about the work of Christ that he went beyond the mere limits of expected duty and service for the sake of Christ, even risking his life. He did that work so excellently that the church selected him as a messenger and minister. He was a man willing to count his very life as dear, to pour it out and die a privilege so that he might serve his Savior, who died for his sins. Paul sees the same inner substance that he has inside this man, who said, “I do not count my life dear to me; all I want to do is to finish the work Christ has given me.” Paul then gives him a medal as a brother, fellow worker, and soldier, and sends him back. He tells the church to receive him in the Lord with joy and honor such men. This is the ministry of excellence (MOE). You know what most of us do? We have a ministry of convenience (MOC).
See, I can get into an attitude like, “Oh, I have to preach, so let me gather some content and applications. I’m ready. Let me go. That’s it, I’m finished. Let me relax and sleep.” But you know what excellence is? It’s never being satisfied with what we are doing for the Lord. It’s always continuously thinking and striving, “What can I do better, and what can I do more? How can I do my best?” It’s doing it with maximum strength until exhaustion. It’s a drive for excellence. There’s so much of that in the world.
Why are we giving such a minimalist service to Christ? Most of our ministry is a ministry of convenience: “How much is possible? Relax. As much as is possible.” Where is the passion to drive for excellence, sometimes even risking our lives for the work of Christ? We should trouble ourselves so much. We do as much as we can and then are lazy and waste time watching TV. Such a service is frustrating and dishonoring to the Lord. Epaphroditus just came close to death, but our Lord poured out His soul as an offering for us in death; He died for us. And even now, He still offers Himself as a priest, prophet, and king.
Oh, each of you, think of it: when will we have men like Epaphroditus in our church? Not just offering a ministry of convenience, but following the standard of ministerial excellence, a drive for excellence. As members, what can each of you do more for the church? What can you do better? How can you do your best? Deacons and pastors, each of us should learn that drive for ministry excellence. How much our church will grow! Will Epaphroditus shame our ministry of convenience and stir us to a ministry of excellence? Why can’t we see any such men like this among us, whom Paul says, “and hold such men in esteem; because for the work of Christ he came close to death”?
Pastor Bala is willing to train men for the next level of leadership, deacons, and elders. We chose seven men and gave your names. I realized he sent a note two months ago asking when you have time for this training, but there has been no proper response yet. I don’t know why. Oh, GRBC men, remember Epaphroditus. How will the church grow if we don’t develop ourselves like this? How long are we going to be immature babies?
Oh, empathetic love and this ministerial excellence… All this may seem strange to some of you. You might say, “Pastor, all this seems like a different world.” Yes, because you are living in a sinful world. You are born a sinner, and they don’t know anything about this world. You can enter the world of Christ by believing in the work of Christ.
Epaphroditus just went near the door of death, but Christ, though God, took on human form, and He didn’t just go near death, but He actually died for our sins, even the death of the cross. He did this to supply what we lacked, namely satisfying God’s justice for our sins. He reconciled us by putting His righteousness on us and made us acceptable to God, and He continues to intercede for us.
Those who do not believe in Him, know that unbelief is such a sin that it will take you to hell. But belief in Him will save you. Now, what is the salvation experience? It is an experience where you realize you are a sinner before God, truly feel the sin in your heart, grieve for it, and then believe from your heart that Jesus bore your sins as an atoning sacrifice on the cross. When you believe, a divine peace and joy fill your heart. You receive a new heart. That is the salvation experience.
Those of us for whom He died, oh, may we not continue to dishonor Him with our careless, minimalist service. Instead, let us love Him and serve Him with a ministry of excellence, and if necessary, sometimes be ready to even gamble and hazard our lives in His service.
Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Bangalore 