Rev. David Holwick ZJ PHILIPPIANS
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
November 5, 2017
Philippians 2:19-30
HEAVEN'S HEROES
I. Where are the heroes?
A. Some stand out.
In September of 1940, a Polish army captain named Witold Pilecki
did what no one could imagine -- he sneaked into the
Auschwitz concentration camp.
Rumors had been heard of what was going on there, but no one
knew for sure.
Pilecki was a committed Christian and Polish patriot who
decided to find out himself.
In his daring plan, he got a false identity card that bore a
Jewish name.
He then allowed himself to be arrested by the Nazis during a
routine street roundup in Warsaw.
He was sent to Auschwitz and given inmate number 4859.
Pilecki, who had a wife and two children, knew he was saying
goodbye to all that he knew and loved on earth.
He was very aware that he might not survive.
Inside the camp he was treated like every other prisoner --
he was beaten, harassed and threatened with death.
From inside he began to carry out his mission, organizing
inmates into resistance units and documenting war crimes.
Pilecki had couriers who smuggled out detailed reports on the
atrocities he saw firsthand.
He helped organize a secret radio station using scrap parts.
In the spring of 1943, Pilecki joined the camp bakery where he
overpowered a guard and escaped.
From the outside he completed his report which estimated that
some 2 million people had died in the camp.
When his eyewitness reports reached London, officials thought
he was exaggerating.
One Jewish writer summarized Pilecki's life this way: "Once he
set his mind to the good, he never wavered, never stopped.
He crossed the great human divide that separates knowing the
right thing from doing the right thing."
#65791
B. Most heroes are not as dramatic.
1) Paul had two friends who were more conventional heroes.
2) They were willing to serve, and to lay down their lives,
for their fellow believers.
3) How heroic have you been in life?
II. Paul's friends did the drudge work of the church.
A. They never became the movie stars.
1) Most Christians aren't even sure how to pronounce
"Epaphroditus."
2) They served as messengers and care givers and quiet
teachers.
3) I think they turned out quite well in God's sight.
B. What are the important attributes for Christian heroes?
1) Paul highlights some of them in the actions of these men.
2) As we look at them, consider how well you exhibit them
in your own life.
III. Caring. 2:20-21
"I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern
for your welfare.
For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those
of Jesus Christ."
A. Timothy's story.
Timothy was a young man from what is now Turkey.
His mother was Jewish but his father was not.
He was probably educated as a Greek, and at some point became
a Christian, along with his mother and grandmother.
After meeting Paul, he served him faithfully his whole life.
It was like a father/son relationship.
B. We all have a need to bond closely to other people.
1) A new movie is coming out in December about John Paul Getty.
He was an oil tycoon who was the richest man in the world
in the 1970's.
He endowed an art museum with $660 million.
Yet he didn't have the time to attend the funeral of his
favorite son.
When his grandson was kidnapped by the Italian Mafia, Getty
refused to pay the $17 million ransom.
Eventually he negotiated them down to $3 million, and put
up no more than $2.2 million himself because that was
the maximum that would be tax deductible.
He lent his son the remaining $800,000 at 4% interest.
One commentator has said,
"Concerning intimacy, he was an utter failure." #65947
In the movie, John Paul Getty will be played by Kevin
Spacey....
2) Relationships are more valuable than things.
a) The Bible says, "These three remain: faith, hope and
love. But the greatest of these is love."
b) You can be a success in everything else but if you
don't have love in your life, you're a failure.
c) How strong are your relationships?
C. People are naturally selfish.
1) We are designed to want to take care of ourselves, but
your faith should transform this into caring for others
as well.
2) The best sign of Christianity - love others more than self.
IV. Consistent. 2:22
" ... Timothy has proved himself ... he has served with me
in the work of the gospel."
A. God is looking for people who put character before conformity.
1) They're not afraid to be different and to stand alone.
2) It has been said, "If you don't stand for something,
you will fall for anything."
3) What are you willing to stand up for in life?
B. Integrity matters.
1) "Prove" means his character has been tested.
a) The name "Timothy" means "he honors God."
b) This young man did not cave in to pressure.
2) People of integrity are committed to their values,
consistent in their beliefs and convictions.
a) How solid are your values?
b) Proverbs 10:9 - "Whoever walks in integrity walks
securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will
be found out."
C. Success over the long haul is built on character, not on image.
1) The person of integrity will not be afraid of what is going
to be found out.
2) Is your private life consistent with your public image?
3) Or are you more like Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde?
V. Cooperative. 2:25a
"I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus,
my brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier ..."
A. God is looking for people who put cooperation before competition.
1) Paul recognized that even he would get more accomplished
if he worked together with other people.
2) He describes the cooperation in three terms, covering
three relationships -- brother, worker, soldier.
B. Three things about the Christian life:
1) It is a family: we're related.
a) 133 times in the New Testament Paul uses the word
"brother" to describe the relationship between
Christians.
b) Some experts say that only 10% of men have real friends.
1> Christian men don't know how to relate to each other.
2> They are afraid to let anybody get close to them.
c) If you don't feel that close to other believers,
work at it.
1> Let me know, and I'll put your name in the bulletin!
2) It is a fellowship: we have the same task, assignment.
a) We have the Great Commission, the duty given to us
by Jesus to share his message with the world.
b) We are to serve and work together, not independently.
3) It is a fight: a Christian is an enemy of the devil.
a) We need to give strength to one another in our spiritual
battles.
VI. Committed. 2:25b-27
"(Epaphroditus) is your messenger, whom you sent to take
care of my needs. ... He was ill, and almost died.
But God had mercy on him ..."
A. God wants people who put the cause of Christ before comfort.
1) Paul is in prison in Rome and the people in Philippi took
up an offering to help Paul with his expenses.
It was 800 miles and 6 weeks' travel over rough terrain.
Epaphroditus volunteered to do it.
On the way there he caught a disease or infection and
it was feared he wouldn't make it.
But Epaphroditus was persistent in spite of his pain.
2) How committed are you to the cause of Christ?
B. God uses people of action who take the initiative.
1) Around 100 years ago Lenin talked to a little group of
12 to 14 people and said,
"Give me 100 totally committed men and I will change
the world."
Evidently he got them because eventually two-thirds
of the world came under Communist domination.
That is the power of commitment. [*]
2) Spiritual awakenings occur when people in a church become
participators, not just spectators.
VII. Courageous. 2:29-30
"Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like
him, because he almost died for the work of Christ.
He RISKED his life to make up for the help you yourselves could
not give me."
A. Gambling for God. (Barclay)
1) The word used for "risk" is a gambler's word, and means to
stake everything on the roll of the dice.
Paul is saying that for the sake of Jesus Christ,
Epaphroditus gambled his life.
In the days of the early church there was an association
of men and women called "the gamblers."
It was their aim to visit the prisoners and the sick,
especially those who were ill with dangerous diseases.
Even in modern times, this has been a great challenge.
2) The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918.
Almost 100 years ago, a great pandemic spread across the world.
It was called the Spanish Flu, not because it originated there,
but because Spanish newspapers publicized it while papers
in the United States and northern Europe censored it.
We were at war and didn't want the population to get upset.
As it was, the disease killed more people than the war did.
It is estimated that 500 million people came down with the
disease, and 50 to 100 million died.
In the United States alone, 670,000 died.
Life expectancy in the U.S. dropped 12 years per person.
Society began to disintegrate.
In most disasters, people come together to help each other.
We have seen this in recent hurricanes.
In 1918, people only looked out for themselves.
The head of Emergency Aid in Philadelphia pleaded for
volunteers to help the sick.
Almost no one came. The fear of contagion was overpowering.
Children starved to death because their parents had died, and
no one would risk giving the kids food.
In many industries, only half of the workers would show up.
A worker at an emergency hospital in Philadelphia encountered
so few cars on the road he took to counting them.
One night, driving the 12 miles home, he saw not a single car.
The life of the city had almost stopped.
Who was left to help?
In Philadelphia, it was the priests who drove horse-drawn carts
through the streets to pick up the bodies.
During times of plague, for two thousand years, committed
Christians have been willing to sacrifice themselves and take
care of the sick, the hungry, and even the dead.
Would you lay your life on the line for the sake of your
community?
It is at times like these that you discover if you really
believe God's promises are true.
#65946
B. God is looking for people who will put service before security.
1) The whole goal in life is often to become financially
secure.
2) Security becomes the goal of life rather than service.
3) God is looking for people who are willing to risk serving.
C. The greatest failure for Ledgewood would be to end up a nice,
community social group.
1) We come in and talk about things that are real nice and
leave making no difference at all.
2) What are you sacrificing for Christ?
a) How much time? Finances? Concern?
b) When you stop risking you are dying.
c) You need a challenge that is bigger than life, and
only Christ can provide it.
D. God doesn't need Superstars.
1) Timothy and Epaphroditus were just ordinary guys, yet
2,000 years later we're still talking about them.
a) When you look at your life and work, how much is it
going to count 50 years from now? Or 100 or 1,000?
b) Will you have made any difference?
2) If you are not this kind of person, will you be?
________
* This passage originated with Rev. Rick Warren. His version says
two-thirds of the world was controlled by communism but one-third
is more accurate. I cannot find the quote on commitment he
attributes to Lenin anywhere. The closest I can find is "Give me
but 20 men who regard themselves as 'dead men on furlough' and I
will change the world." Lenin also said, "One man with a gun can
control 100 without one."
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
Much of the material in this sermon is from my sermon “Real Men Love Jesus”
(Kerux sermon #962] preached on April 26, 1998. The original source of
many of the ideas is Rev. Rick Warren’s sermon “God’s Model For Manhood”
(Kerux sermon #64056].
#65791 “The Man Who Sneaked Into Auschwitz,” by Rob Eshman,
JewishJournal.com, 12-5-12; adapted from “The Auschwitz
Volunteer,” by Captain Witold Pilecki, (A. Polonica, 2012).
Secondary source is Kerux sermon #65684 by Rev. Ken Larsen.
#65946 “America's Plague Year,” adapted by Rev. David Holwick from the
article "Journal of the Plague Year," by John M. Barry,
Smithsonian magazine, November 2017, page 34-43.
#65947 “Money Mattered More To Him,” by Rev. David Holwick, adapted
from the article "John Paul Getty III" in Wikipedia.org,
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_Getty_III>, with
further elements from Rev. Rick Warren's sermon "God’s Model
For Manhood” [Kerux sermon #64056]. The Kevin Spacey
comments alludes to the actor's current accusations of having
molesting a series of men.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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