485: Men of Honor | Dave Sloop

Good morning everyone. Well, just last week we had the incredible privilege of hosting some college students from China that Andy Fetzer had gotten to know during his work over there, and I was so struck by these kids. Some of you got the chance to meet them, and maybe your impression was similar to mine. They were some of the most gracious, humble people. They were just so happy with anything that was put in front of them. They had no opinions or preferences, low expectations, and so every simple thing you put in front of them—sometimes in concert—they would go "whoa." They were just so grateful.

In fact, I was so struck by their compliant, gracious behavior that I wanted to gather my kids and be like, "You see? Watch them. Do likewise."

By the way, I mentioned they're college students. They're humble, teachable, gracious college students. Anybody here college age? I'm not talking about you guys, but I've met some college students. In fact, for about 14 years of my young life's career, I worked with college students, training them to become volunteer Young Life leaders. In fact, some of the all-stars that I got to work with are in this room—we have eight or so that came from different colleges where Melissa and I got to serve, and they were the best of the best, the cream of the crop. And I'm definitely not referring to you when I say this.

However, I have met some college students over the years that were the opposite of these Chinese college students. They were entitled, they were a little bit arrogant, they were easily offended. Have you ever met a college student like that? I'm sure you have not, but because I work so closely, I experienced this.

And I've been pondering all week: Why is it that this intentionally anti-Christian, repressive government in China is producing such sweet, humble, gracious people, while in the American Christian West we are producing these entitled, self-interested, arrogant kids?

And here's what I think is the reason for that. If you can imagine growing up in an authoritarian police state where from the time you're a little kid everybody teaches you—don't have an original thought, don't challenge the people in authority above you, don't ever have a dissenting political or religious idea—when you grow up in that culture, you just sort of learn. It kind of just chokes the human spirit right out of you.

Now, I think it's also just part of the culture that there's a politeness, there's a kindness, there's something in the culture where Chinese people don't show negative emotion. We could learn a lot from them. But I think that is part of it.

Meanwhile, America is the land of the what? Free, and the home of the brave. In freedom, while great sometimes, looks ugly. It just does. I mean, in America we came up with the idea of rags to riches. We came up with this idea that you can come here, no matter who you are, what family you're from, if you have a dream and you work hard and you believe it, you can become anything you want to be. It's why people have wanted to come from all over the world to be here in America.

But there's a dark side to the American dream. See, the subtext of the American dream is this: life is all about me. And when that sort of extreme individualism is the air that we breathe, it has some negative effects on us. We can become a little bit entitled, a little bit arrogant, easily offended, until life humbles us. And that's kind of the path that we are on in Philippians chapter two.

The Heart of the Matter

This is precisely the issue that Paul is dealing with. He is dealing with an entitled, highly competitive, arrogant group of people. And they were bold evangelists, but they struggled to take their eyes off of themselves long enough to notice other people, to love other people. And Paul was concerned that this attitude that he witnessed in them would damage or hinder their gospel witness.

In fact, his exhortation at one point is so strong. Let's see what he says:

Holding fast to the word of life so that in the day of Christ I may be proud, and then listen to this—that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. — Philippians 2:16

In other words, what Paul is saying here is that these gospel traits becoming manifest in their life was the evidence that Paul didn't waste his time. Until they became this kind of community, displaying this sort of selfless behavior, he wasn't so sure that they were the real deal.

In fact, he says that the solution to this kind of self-focused life is to hold fast to the word of life. The word of life is just a synonym for the phrase that Paul uses—it's a synonym for the gospel. And he says hold fast to the word of life, cling to it. And here's the point: the gospel is not merely a message. It is also a mindset that is supposed to transform your whole life.

It's not just something we proclaim. It is something that we need to practice. It is something that we become. And Paul says the way that you are not going to damage your witness is by clinging, hold fast to this gospel. In fact, in the NIV it says it a little bit different—it says "holding out the word of life" or the gospel. And taking those two translations together, here's how I think Paul might say it, and I think both are true: The best way to hold out the gospel to a lost and dying world is to hold fast to the gospel. It is to cling to it. It is to be a gospel people—not just proclaiming a message about someone that we look nothing like, but practicing the gospel.

Tim Keller was famous for saying things like "the gospel changes everything." It isn't just the ABCs of the Christian faith. It is the A to Z of the Christian faith. Paul said the gospel should change you. He is gently exhorting them to bear the words of Billy Graham: that the most important person they would ever win to Christ is the one they look at in the mirror every day—it's themselves. And that their message, that they were so boldly proclaiming, would lack credibility until they started to look a little bit more like Jesus, who went to the lowest place to love others. That's what Paul is dealing with.

Gospel Summary: Where We've Been

I'm going to quickly slide through these next several slides. I want to give you just a quick summary and overview of where we've been so far. This is our third sermon from chapter two. And here's what Paul has done so far:

In verses one through four, he gives them the gospel mandate:

Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Secondly, he's going to give them the gospel model. The gospel model is Jesus Christ:

Each of you should have the same attitude as that of Jesus Christ, who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but he made himself nothing, taking on the very nature of a servant.

He's the one that we are to pattern our lives after. It's a tall order.

But so as to not be disillusioned by such an impossible invitation, Paul next tells us about the gospel might—or the gospel muscle. Where's our strength come from? Paul is going to say:

Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

But then he tells you where the strength comes from:

He who works in you both the will and to act—the will and to work—for his good pleasure.

The next thing he's going to tell you is where our motivation comes from. This is our gospel motivation. Paul says:

Even though I'm being poured out like a drink offering, I want you to be glad and rejoice, because I am glad in rejoicing.

Paul's like, "I don't care what happens to me. If I'm being poured out and you are flourishing, it's worth it."

And then finally, today, here's what we're going to look at: Paul is going to show us some gospel men. He's going to give us three pictures of people who have applied gospel principles to their life, and they're totally transformed.

A Picture of Instruction

How many of you have ever had to put together a piece of furniture or maybe even like a toy that you were going to give to your children at Christmas, and you only had written instructions to do it? Okay. How many of you have ever had to put something like that together with written instructions written by someone that clearly did not know the English language? Okay, have you had this experience?

When Sydney was about two years old, we got this trampoline for her. It was one of those gifts that was too big to hide somewhere in the house. And so I had to wait until Christmas Eve to put this thing together. Sydney goes to bed, then Melissa goes to bed, and I get cracking on this trampoline. Which—at the beginning of this project, I was pretty excited to give this to Sydney. But I'm reading these instructions, and guys, I'm telling you, I'm moderately intelligent. The instructions didn't make sense, and I was so frustrated and angry. And I have a bad back, and I'm leaning over in these awkward positions. And at 1:30 in the morning, Melissa comes out onto the deck looking for me because it was 1:30 in the morning. And she's like, "Honey, are you okay?"

Have you ever been so angry that you start crying? Me neither. But let's just say I was pretty upset. I eventually got through making that trampoline—if you know, about three months we threw it out.

But fast forward to this year, baby Claire. We were going to give her a kid-sized SUV. In fact, we were inspired by you Thompsons—we saw your little car, and we thought Claire needs one of those. And so I was gearing up for this miserable evening on Christmas Eve as I put together this toy car.

I'm telling you, guys, you just have to drive through our neighborhood sometime. Claire will just be cruising down. I'll come home from work, and she's got her beach towel around her neck.

She's waving at me heading down the street to see her friends. It's wonderful. Anyway, I go out to put this thing together and I get out there, but there's a QR code in the instructions and I scan the instructions. Do you know what it did? It took me to a video that showed me exactly how to do it and it was the most pleasant experience. I was in bed by ten. It was amazing.

Here's the point: written instructions are okay, verbal instructions maybe a little better, but if you can show somebody? Far superior. What Paul is doing here is he's giving you three examples. He's saying this is what it looks like, and they are people that they know. The last one is Epaphroditus. He was homegrown. He came from their community. Paul's going to say this is what it looks like to be a gospel man or a gospel woman.

Let's take a look at what he says. We're actually going to read again a passage that we read last week. We're going to start in verse 17. Philippians 2, starting in verse 17:

Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I'm glad and I rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should rejoice and be glad with me. — Philippians 2:17-18

Do you catch the language, the imagery that Paul is using here? Of a sacrifice, of a drink offering being poured out. This is what priests would do in the Old Testament. They would bring a grain offering or an offering to be burnt and they would place it on the altar as a primary offering, and then they would take a glass of wine and they would pour it on the altar and that wine would produce this fragrant smell that would be pleasing to the Lord. That drink offering was instantly and completely consumed.

Do you catch what Paul's saying? He's saying to the Philippians: you are my offering. Paul's offering was human beings, and here's what he said: even if I am being poured out, emptied on the sacrifice of your faith, I'm glad and I rejoice. Here's the point: Paul saw himself as a priest bringing these people before God, and he saw his own life as a drink offering—emptied completely, consumed, fragrant to God. And by the way, he was not speaking metaphorically. That word "poured out"—it means to spend, to empty, to completely spend. It means to die. In fact, in Isaiah 53, it's the same exact language used for Jesus, who poured out his soul unto death.

Paul knew that he might not get out of prison and he might die. Paul is a picture of ultimate sacrifice—that he would give his life for the good of others, to the glory of God. He followed his master down to the lowest place where Jesus' heart was and his people were.

Listen to what he says next: he says, "I am glad and rejoice. Likewise, you should be glad and rejoice." In other words, this life of sacrificial service—it's actually satisfying. Have you ever experienced that? It's counterintuitive, but what Paul is saying here is that to give my life away has actually become the cause for joy.

Now I'm going to ask some of you Young Life kids and adults who used to be kids in Young Life: how many of you have ever done a work crew, a month at a Young Life camp, or summer staff? In August of 1994, I went to Saranac Lake, New York. It's up in the Adirondacks, and I got to serve at a camp. To be on work crew, you pay to get yourself there, and then you get a job. My job was what they called "the pits," and from an outsider's perspective, it kind of was the pits. I mean, you wash dishes for twelve hours a day. We existed to make camp function for others. We would watch these kids experience all of these different amenities all day long that we would not get to enjoy for the entire month. We would clean toilets, cook food, wash dishes. We would set up for games and activities that we wouldn't get to participate in.

You know what we were paid? Nothing. Zero. And can I tell you, it was the best month of my life? And I know that many of you here who have experienced that would say the exact same thing, because the counterintuitive self-discovery of emptying myself, of giving my life away, is that I find my life. I find satisfaction. I find joy. And the opposite is true also: when we try, when we emphasize and focus on trying to satisfy ourselves, exalt ourselves, do you know what we discover? How deep and empty this cavernous heart is, and it is not satisfied by the things that we think will fill it.

Paul says that the secret to life is to be like Jesus—to give your life away. Jesus says, "Greater love has no man than this: that he would lay down his life for his friends." And that's precisely who Paul was.

Listen to what he says next in verse 19:

I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon that I too may be cheered by news of you

Paul says, "I hope in the Lord to send Timothy—why? So that I can be cheered. So that I can be glad hearing about how you are doing."

This is who Paul was. He didn't personally need to be comfortable. He was in prison, chained to some guard. But he really needed you to be flourishing, and when he heard that you were, it brought him joy. Because Paul had learned to be focused on others. That was the key to his joy, the key to his success.

Think about this too. He's going to say that he wants to send Timothy in a minute. He's going to tell us he wants to send Epaphroditus. Think about what little comfort Paul must have had in prison. He was willing to send away what little comfort he had in exchange for their comfort and their well-being and their flourishing. That's what it means to be a sacrifice. Paul followed in the footsteps of his Master down to the low places, and you already found there joy—and you would too.

Timothy: A Man of Genuine Concern

Listen to what he says about Timothy. He says:

I hope to send Timothy

And in verse 24:

I have no one like him

Timothy was one of a kind. He was so rare, and it was true. Timothy was mentioned like 24 times over 10 different books of the Bible. He was sent all over the world on behalf of the Gospel, but at Paul's commission, he would do whatever Paul asked him to do. He would go to Thessalonica or Corinth or Philippi, and eventually he would be the pastor of the church at Ephesus, which ended up being one of the most strategic churches in his day. He was Paul's man. He was his boy, his go-to guy.

There's a lot of things we could say about Timothy, but here's one in particular that Paul wants us to pay attention to. For our purposes in this passage, he says this:

I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare

Then he goes on to say:

For they all seek their own interests, but not those of Jesus Christ

Paul is saying, "There's this guy Timothy, and he for real genuinely cares about you." Not as a means to an end. Maybe you're thinking of Paul like an entrepreneur—"Man, we got to get those Philippians in shape so that we can expand this thing and grow it bigger." It's not what he was thinking. He cared about them not for what they would produce, but because he loved them.

The word "genuine" gives the idea of birthright—that it's a natural feeling. This wasn't manufactured concern. It was from the heart. That's how Timothy loved people.

Have you ever had someone love you like that? Where you kind of wondered why they kept showing up in your life, caring about you in a way that was foreign to you?

My Young Life leader—I talk about Young Life too much. I gotta come up with some new examples—but my Young Life leader came to my cross-country meets. My parents didn't come to those. He just cared. He really would call me and talk to me about how things were going at school and he would give me advice on how to handle different things that were hard for me. He would sometimes just be sitting on the counter in my kitchen while he was giving me advice on how to be more like Christ. I didn't know what he was doing at the time, but he just cared about who I was becoming.

Did you have someone like that in your life? I would suspect many of us—somebody comes to mind.

John Wooden was a basketball coach for nearly 30 years at UCLA. After he retired, he was speaking at this event and a couple of young basketball coaches came up to him and asked him, "Hey, we're starting our career. What advice can you give us?"

Here's the advice he instantly gave without hesitation. He said, "Don't just coach basketball—coach people. You're not developing basketball players." See, that would be the means to an end—"You're gonna help me accomplish my goals." That's not what he was saying. He said, "You're not developing basketball players. You're developing young men. They may forget the plays you teach them, but they'll never forget how you treated them—who you helped them to become."

This is who Timothy was: genuine concern. And it's who we are to be.

In verse 22, he goes on. He says:

But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he served with me in the gospel

That word "worth" gives the idea of something that has been tested and proven to be the real item. He was real to the core.

He was not a phony. He was not a fake. Everything about him was sincere and genuine—the real deal—because Christ had changed him from the inside out.

And here's what Paul points to to prove that he was the real thing: these people knew who Timothy was. And here's what he said: "he has served with me in the gospel." That word is actually slave. It's the verb form of the word slave—to slave alongside. I didn't say he served me; he served with me in the gospel.

In fact, do you know that in this letter, sometimes Paul, when he writes a letter, he will introduce himself as "Paul the apostle" or "the apostle Paul and Timothy your brother"? But do you know what he does in this letter in chapter 1? "Paul and Timothy slaves of Christ." He's intentionally showing them—Paul, in his intro, is taking the lower place. He is the one with authority, but he's putting himself down here as a slave. He went to the lower place. Timothy goes to the lower place. Just like Jesus did.

In John 13, I love this passage, and for years I didn't notice this verse. But John 13:3 says:

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he had come from God and was going back to God

Okay, so essentially what Jesus knew was: all authority has been given to me. I'm the most important person not just in this room but on the planet. But I love that it says here, and so—well, does it say that in this version? Maybe not. And so:

he laid aside his outer garments and taking a towel tied it around his waist and then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet

Jesus knew, "I'm the one in this room that deserves to be praised." But he got down on his knees and he washed feet.

Why was Timothy—I mean, if Paul is a picture of sacrifice, Timothy is the servant. How did he become like that? He watched Jesus do it. The one who had equality with God, but he forsook his power and privilege. He traded in his throne for a towel and his crown for a cross. And Timothy watched Paul do it, and Timothy started to do it. Eventually, Jesus's heart became his heart. He was a servant.

Epaphroditus

Finally, let's look at Epaphroditus. Let me tell you something about Epaphroditus. This is picking up in verse 25. The name of Epaphroditus—do you know what it means? Devoted to Aphrodite. Worshipper of Aphrodite. For those of you that don't know, Aphrodite is the goddess of sex, sensual pleasure. She is the picture of just self-gratification. His parents named him that. That's the kind of culture and home that he grew up in.

And yet he could not have been more different than the name he was given. It says:

I've thought it necessary to send you Epaphroditus, my brother, my fellow worker, my fellow soldier, your messenger and minister to my need

This was the guy that if you needed something done, you called him. I had a boss in Young Life named Rob Crocker, and he had a phrase that I've really come to love. He said, "Put your yes on the table." In other words: God, the answer is yes. What do you want me to do? This is who Epaphroditus was. He put his yes on the table, even at risk to his own life. He threw himself on the altar of God's plans.

Instead, what comes of me is of no consequence. I'm yours. Wherever you send me, I will go. In fact, it says here in verse 29: "receive him in the Lord." That word receive is the same root word of worth—about Timothy, who was proven worthy here.

He says receive him as someone worthy. And then he says with all joy, in honor such men. For he nearly died for the work of Christ. And then I love this word: risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me. That word "risk" essentially means to throw the sword or to throw the shield away—just to drop your defenses. Just to say, "Bring on. I'm not afraid of anything." This guy was unsinkable.

Now when I say the name Lieutenant Spears, how many of you—is that meaningful for you? I love you, Alan. I did this for you. Anybody seen the Band of Brothers series? Okay, episode seven: the Battle of Foy. Lieutenant Spears was legendary. He had no concern for himself, and whatever the mission was, he was your guy. He was your guy.

This series follows a group of soldiers called Easy Company. The leader of this company at the beginning of the series, a man named Richard Winters, who later becomes a captain and an executive officer so he can no longer be on the battlefield with Easy Company. The guy that took his place was a dude named Norman Dyke, and he was a sissy. In fact, he had shown himself in moments of pressure to be a weak and ineffective leader. And he was out there in the middle of this battle—the Battle of Foy—and things were falling apart. He was second-guessing himself and giving contradictory orders.

XO Captain Winters starts to run out onto the field, and his colonel yanks him back and starts to rebuke him. And you'll see this in the clip we're about to watch. And Winters just yells right over him: "Spears, get over here!" And he sent Spears because in the middle of this battle, where Easy Company is advancing, I Company was supposed to be flanking from behind, but they'd completely—I mean, things were out of control. And someone needed to throw away the sword and come save the day. Take a look.

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[Video clip plays]

"I'm taking over, sir. Most of the company is spread out here. First platoon trying to bend around—they're stretched out. They're pinned down by a sniper. I believe he's in the building with a caveman roof. All right, I want more—doesn't great aid launchers on that building till it's gone. When it's gone, I want first to go straight in. Forget going around. Everybody else following me." "Yes, sir." "First, the Germans didn't shoot at it. I think they couldn't quite believe what they were seeing."

[Video ends]

Isn't that the best? Don't we love just seeing people that just have no fear? They're so committed to the mission that they will take whatever bullets are flying, whatever harm comes their way. Worth it.

In that first clip, he takes over because there was no leadership. In the second one, there's a guy—I kind of cobbled a couple clips together. In the second clip, someone had to communicate with the guys who are hiding behind on the other side of the Germans, flanking from behind. And he just was like—he just runs right in across enemy lines.

Let me tell you why he was that way. In an earlier scene in this series, he's talking to a younger soldier who is a coward, quite frankly. And here's what he says to him:

"The only hope you have is to accept the fact that you're already dead. And the sooner you accept that, the sooner you'll be able to function as a soldier is supposed to function. All war depends on it."

Can I tell you something? You are a disciple of Jesus Christ—some of us, most of us. But until you recognize that you're already dead, you won't function as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

If anybody wants to come after me, he's got to deny himself. — Luke 9:23

I've been crucified with Christ. — Paul

Take up your cross and follow me. Jesus couldn't have been more clear: to follow me is to die.

In the moment that you understand that true and ultimate lasting fulfillment and joy is found in selfless service—emptying myself for the sake of others and for the glory of God—that is the moment you will begin to walk like Jesus.

The Work of Transformation

Let me end with this thought. If you leave here, and I leave here today, with this like a goal to try harder to be like Christ, you will be sorely disappointed. And it will last about as long as your New Year's resolutions did this year. You will fall on your face. It won't take long for you to run into the brick wall of your tendency towards self-interest and self-exaltation and self-gratification. It is hard work to imitate Christ, but it is not your work alone.

Work out your salvation, because it is he who works in you to will and to work for his pleasure. — Paul

The chief work in becoming like Christ—it's more about worship than it is about work.

It's more about marveling than it is about modeling. Because as you and I fix our eyes on the author and the perfecter of our faith—the one who went to the low place—as we follow him there, more importantly as we see him going there for us, taking the death that we deserve, it produces wonder and it produces a desire to be like him.

Prayer

Father, we could never be Christ-like on our own. But we thank you for the one who went before us, who showed the way, who modeled it. And Lord, we pray—not so much that we would drive ourselves crazy trying harder to be that way, but that we would so allow your sacrifice for us to impact us at the deepest places of our heart that we would naturally start walking like you.

Thank you for your word and for this time together. In Christ's name, amen.

Stand together and worship him.