Philippians 2:26-30

Hello Everyone!

We are talking about sacrificial love in Philippians, Chapter 2.

Our 4 examples are Jesus, Paul, Timothy and Epaphroditus.

The last 5 verses of Philippians, Chapter 2, discusses Epaphroditus or as I stated

last Monday, in all due respect, we will call him "Ep".

Speaking of sacrificial love, I searched "sacrifice" on God Tube and found this

video. This is to honor all of the many adoptive families in our nation and world.

This honor has been interwoven in the fabric of our family tapestry. (And

somehow, I have the feeling that more "beautiful threads" are going to be taken on

the "loom of our life" and intertwined with our heart strings.) This is to honor you,

the doers of "pure religion and undefiled before God our Father" (James 1:27)

Now, I know that adoption is not everyone's calling in life, but to those that it is,

may I present to you the "Ep Award"!!!!!!!

Since Ep would be the one most like us common people out of the Fab 4 listed

above, Ep would also be proud of you!! Ep would approve!!

Verses 26-30:

(26) "For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill.
(27) Indeed he was ill and almost died. But God had mercy on him and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow.
(28) Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety.
(29) Welcome him in the Lord with great joy and honor men like him,
(30) because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me."


In verse 25 we learned that Paul was sending him BACK to Philippi.

Why would he send him back to his home after the 5 glowing attributes

that Paul used for him in verse 25?

DID HE:

∆ Have a moral failure?...NO

∆ Get into tax trouble with the U.S. Senate or the IRS?...NO

∆ Ask his "followers" for money and lived a lavish lifestyle?...NO

∆ Get homesick for good 'ole Philippian cooking?...NO

∆ Missed his wife and children?(if married)...probably, but not the reason...

The Philippian church would see him coming through the "lobby" of their

church and say..."WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING BACK HERE???

WE SENT YOU THERE TO STAY AND TO SEE PAUL THROUGH TO THE END,

EITHER HIS RELEASE OR THIS DEATH."

So, we must ask the question...WHY

Verse 26 ~ "For he longs for all of you..." There it is...homesick...nice try!

No, you did not read far enough. "and is distressed..." You say...There it is

again...so homesick, pining away that he became distressed!

The word "distressed" describes the confused restless half-distracted state

produced by physical derangement or mental distress. So he says that Ep

is restless and he is in turmoil and he is distressed.

By the way, this is the same word used in Matthew 26:38, where Jesus in the

Garden of Gethsemane says that His soul is deeply grieved to the point of death.

Full of heaviness. He is really upset.

It is the distress that follows a great traumatic shock.

This, I believe, is what we use the term for Post Traumatic Shock Disorder

or PTSD in today's world.

But the rest of verse 26 and part of 27 says: "because you heard he was ill. Indeed

he was ill and almost died."

We may think: "What planet did that kind of guy get off of?

I have never heard of such a thing."

When is the last time you got completely disoriented and restless

and totally distressed because you knew somebody was feeling bad

about your situation? And your distress was directly related to the fact

that they were having a difficult time with your situation?

Now...that will show you the depth of love.

Now...that will show you the bond.

Unfortunately, in our society, we are more concerned with things than people.

More concerned with possessions

than relationships.

"Our" Ep was some kind of guy.

He loved his Philippian church family so deeply that he does not want them to be

distressed. Paul says that he has to send him back because he is so distressed

that you have heard about the fact that he almost died and he wants to eliminate

your distress. And what a compassionate man Paul was! Paul could have said,

"Look, Ep...get your act together, for mercy sake, we have got to advance the

kingdom. Don't you know that I am THE Apostle, and you have to stay here for

me? You can't be worried about how they feel about how you feel!"

Nope.

The problem is that Paul feels bad because Ep feels bad that the Philippians

feel bad. Everybody feels bad. So, Paul says..."You've got to go because they

feel bad, you feel bad, I feel bad. If you just go, they'll feel good, you'll feel

good, I'll feel good."

Isn't it wonderful to know that some people in the ministry are compelled

by relationships rather than programs?

Paul is saying that he is more concerned about Ep's and the Philippian church's

JOY than his...

That's humility...that is absence of complaining.

In Philippians 2:3-4, Paul writes:

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."

Paul was walking the talk.

Which brings me to some life application questions:

1.) Have you tried to out-love your spouse, children, parents, inlaws?

2.) Have you sacrificed in ministry to others?

3.) What allurements have you turned from in order to wholly focus on Christ?

4.) What have given yourself away for a cause other than your own fulfillment?

Let's pray...

Dear Heavenly Father,

Lord, help us to be like Ep. He had a humble concern for the needs of others.

He was so loving. We see him risking his life to meet the needs of Paul. Help

us to put relationships above things and not to find ourselves trying to insulate

ourselves into comfort zones. Put us out there on the cutting edge where we

risk, where we can see Your mighty hand of deliverance in our behalf. Some

of us don't even know what it is to be rescued because we have never been

where there is any danger. We've never opened our mouth to speak of Christ.

We've never taken a stand. Help us, Lord, to know how to listen for Your direction

and Your calling. We want our lives to be a pleasing fragrance rising to Your

throne. We want our sacrifice of our lives to be acceptable for Your glory in

Jesus name. Amen.

In sobering repentance,

Debbie G.

(Resource: www.preceptaustin.org - Look under "Links" on the sidebar of thisblog and click on "Online Commentary". Commentary by John MacArthur for Philippians 2:25-30)

Philippians 2:25

Hello Everyone!

I pray that everyone had a great week!

OK...this is what I was doing instead of working on this Bible Study blog:

hehehehe!! We went back to Indiana over the weekend to celebrate two

of our grandsons birthdays!!

The above grandson is Zane, age 5. (it is not his birthday) His big brothers, Chase and Trey (pictured here with their birthday

cup cakes and getting "silly stringed") celebrated their

birthdays. Chase was 12 on October 31 and Trey will be 9 on November 16.

Happy Birthday to our wonderful grandsons!!

My daughter Andrea and her husband Jim, had a blow-out party in their

back yard with many adults and many kids!!

The only regrettable part of this day was that we were missing family members

that could not come because of various reasons, one being that they were in India!!

OK, now onto our purpose here....

I was reading ahead in Philippians last week.

I was reading in the 4th chapter.

I am so excited about the 4th chapter!!

To be transparent here...when I read our Scripture for today,

and 26-30...

I thought...oh my...

what am I going to say...(notice that I said "I"...leaving out the Holy Spirit...)

there did not seem to be much material there.

THEN I read a commentary from www.preceptaustin.org

(link on the sidebar)

The commentary was from John MacArthur on Epaphroditus...

OH MY....

But first, I wanted to tell you of a new website that I found this week.

I know many of us are trying to cut back on our expenses.

This website gives us practical tips on using everyday products to clean, etc.

I have been using my mom's "recipe" for a window/surface cleaner,

which is white vinegar, ammonia and water.

I had to ditch the pricey cleaners in a bottle.

Here is a sample of what you can do yourself.

This website also has a daily tip that comes to your email.

It is called:

http://www.tipnut.com

Floor Cleaning Recipes:

1. All Purpose Floor Cleaner: 1 cup of vinegar in a pail of water


2. For greasy floors: 1/4 cup washing soda and 1 TBS vegetable oil based soap (Murphy's Oil Soap is one type) to every two gallons of hot water


3. Polish linoleum floors with club soda


4. Clean & Deodorize Carpets: Mix two parts cornmeal with one part borax. Sprinkle generously over carpet, allow to sit for one hour then vacuum

Windows & Mirrors: Store these solutions in spray bottles.

1. One part vinegar added to four parts water


2. One cup cold strong black tea with 3 TBS of vinegar (interesting...:>)

Oven Cleaner: (NO this is not my oven!)

1. A paste of baking soda and hot water or sprinkle the soda on a damp sponge and wipe.

Water Spots On Furniture (Removal Tips):

1. Massage white toothpaste on the spot, let dry, and buff with a clean cloth.


2. Scratch or Stains: Rub the meat of a walnut into the scratch.

Homemade Citrus Household Cleaner:

• Fill a large, wide mouth jar with citrus peels (such as lemons, oranges, limes, grapefruits). Cover the peels with white household vinegar. Let brew for four weeks, shaking the jar occasionally (just to mix it up a bit). Strain (I did this twice).


• Use as a laundry booster (I just tossed it in with the whites), window cleaner, floor cleaner, counter tops, appliances (Dilute in water–1/2 cup per gallon of water works well). For a stovetop grease buster I just sprayed it on undiluted. Test surfaces first before using.

Homemade Vegetable and Fruit Wash:

1 cup water

1 cup vinegar
2 TBS baking soda
2 TBS lemon juice

Directions:

• Mix ingredients then pour in clean spray bottle. Spray fresh vegetables & fruit generously. Sit for 5 minutes then rinse off well.


• Note: Make sure to first mix ingredients in deep container since there will be some fizzing from the baking soda & vinegar.

There’s also this Fresh Fruit & Veggies Washing Tip:

• Sprinkle wet fruit and veggies with baking soda then gently scrub and rinse. This cleaning method safely removes dirt and residue off produce. Mentioned previously on this page: 50 Quick Tips For The Kitchen.

Did You Know: You should wash the outsides of melons before cutting through them? If you don’t, the knife will drag the pesticides/dirt/bacteria from the outside rind into the fruit as you cut.

Now...onto our one verse for this week...(I keep getting side-tracked!)

Philippians 2:25

Verse 25 ~ "But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs."

(New International Version)

Last week, we talked about the third out of four examples in Chapter 2 listed as

as sacrificial people. This week, we will look at the fourth ~ Epaphroditus.

For sake of my fingers...we will now refer to him as Ep ~ no disrespect intended.

Ep may be the one most like us out of the four.

The other three, we can readily agree that they are very gifted.

(See last week's blog for the other three ~ sneaky...I know!)

What do we know about Ep?

We really don't know anything directly about him.

>>We don't know anything about his background.

>>We don't know anything about his parents.

>>We don't know how long he had been a Christian.

>>We don't know what his function in the church was.

All we know is what is implied in verses 25-30.

The fact is that the Philippian church sent Ep with money;

staying to be at the service of Paul ~ serving all of his personal needs.

Now that alone would tell us something about Ep in addition to:

~ The Philippian church would never have sent a man to work

in close proximity with the Apostle Paul, who may have been the most

discerning human being that ever lived and who could see through anyone.

So, we can be fairly certain that Ep was a man of genuine spiritual virtue,

a man in depth in terms of his love and devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ.

~ We can be relatively sure that he was a man with a servant's heart.

The Philippian church to have chosen him to be their ambassador,

means that they knew that this man would literally give his life away in service

to Paul. Because to not do so, would betray the Philippian church's love for

Paul.

~ We can assume that he was a man of great courage because he knew

exactly what he was walking into. There was no question in his mind how the

Roman government felt about Paul. It was possible that Paul could lose his life

at any time. The Roman government would consider taking the lives of those

who served alongside of Paul.

...So here we can introduce Ep as a godly man, a servant and has courage.

And he is willing to do that.

He came out of a pagan background and was converted to Christ.

We don't know where or in what way.

It could very well have been when Paul founded the church at Philippi.

He has become, however, a key Christian in the church, a sacrificial man

who has left his home, his employment, his ministry, his church, his friends...

to go and serve the Apostle Paul...

Paul addresses him with 5 titles:

1.) My brother ~ "my" ~ they both have the common source of life, God the Father

having given them life through Jesus Christ. Also, friendship, camaraderie and

affection.

2.) My fellow worker ~ This phrase is used 13 times in the New Testament; 12

times by Paul. Common effort ~ workers together.

3.) My fellow soldier ~ this is a very,very honorable title. My fellow strategist, my

fellow commander-in-chief, leader in the matter of spiritual warfare.

4.) Your messenger ~ the word messenger in the Greek is "apostolos".

Question: Does this mean that he was an Apostle like the Twelve Apostles or

Twelve Disciples?

5.) "To take care of my needs" ~ many translations have "to minister" instead.

The money he brought is talked about in Chapter 4, verse 18 as and acceptable

sacrifice. Ep was a "priest" doing a sacred service and offering a sacrifice of money

for the needs of Paul.

This reminds me of a story that I read while researching the topic of being

a servant. It seems that there were two men riding on a city bus.

All at once, one of the men, stiffened and fell to the floor where he writhed

in a terrible seizure. The man sitting next to him calmly secured his head and made

sure that he did not swallow his tongue. The second man calmly waited until

the seizure was over and helped his fellow passenger back up to his seat.

A man gawking from across the aisle could not help but ask if this man knew

the man who just had the seizure. The "helping" man said..."Oh, yes. You see

we were in the Vietnam War together. I was being surrounded by enemy fire.

My friend here, carried my wounded body to safety while taking on bullets himself.

I returned back to normal, but my friend has developed these seizures over the

years. When I learned that he was developing more and more seizures each year,

I made the decision to leave my home and my friends to come and take

care of my friend. I am his constant companion, for whenever he has his seizures,

which can be multiple ones a day, I am here to take care of him. I am here for

him, to serve him in whatever way he needs me. Because without him, I would not

be here today."

This is what we can say about our wonderful Lord Jesus,

**who took the punishment that we deserved

**who stepped in and bore our sorrow and our pain on the cross

**who thought more of us, than he did himself

**who paid the price so that we may have eternal life

**who ministered to us

Jesus, may I say, is our Ep...our sacrificial example!

(More on "our Ep" this Friday, verses 26-30.)

Go with God and He will go with you,

Debbie G.

What does the town of Philippi look like now?

Welcome back to our Bible Study Blog. Thank you for all that have contacted me and encouraged me. I appreciate your kindness.

Since I love history, I thought that it would be interesting to do a little background/sidebar study on the history of Philippi before we start with Chapter One. What does the town of Philippi look like now? Paul was writing this letter from jail or house arrest in Rome to the Philippians who had been so kind to him when he ministered in their town.


My research has told me that the ancient town of Philippi was near the town of Kavala, Greece. That would be at the North Eastern top of the map of Greece, right below Bulgaria. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/europe/greece

Here are some pictures of what the "town" looks like today:

(1 of 18)
Greece: Philippi: Acropolis (1 of 18)

(3 of 18)
Greece: Philippi: Bascilica B (3 of 18) (Bascilica means a large oblong building used for a court of law, public assemblies or a church.)

(14 of 18)
Traditional site of the prison at Philippi

Greece: Philippi: Via Egnatia (17 of 18) (A road which stretched for 696 miles through Roman provinces. It was named after Gnaeus Egnatius ((Gesundheit!)), the governor of Macedonia.)

Map of the Via Egnatia: (The red line is the Via Egnatia.)

Top 4 pictures from http://www.padfield.com/greece/philippi/

Map from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_Egnatia

http://www.bibleplaces.com/philippi.htm

Toilets!! Public bathrooms were not uncommon in ancient Roman cities, such as these in Philippi. http://www.bibleplaces.com/philippi.htm Facts about Philippi: Founded in the 4th century B.C. and renamed after King Philip of Macedon, Philippi was an important outpost on the Via Egnatia. The Via Egnatia was built beginning in 145 B.C. This route was Rome's primary artery to the east and Philippi was an important outpost along the road. The Egnatian Way made it easier for Rome to move troops throughout the empire and it was the route that Paul traveled on from Neapolis to Philippi, Amphipolis, Apollonia and Thessalonica. Philippi means "Fountains" and is located near the head of the Aegean Sea and at the foot of Mt. Orbelos. Paul preached for the first time on European soil in Philippi (Acts 16:12-40) and baptized a woman named Lydia, a purple dye merchant in a river to the west of the city. In 49 or 50 A.D., Paul was imprisoned with Silas in the Philippian jail. An earthquake caused their prison to be opened. (Acts 16:16-24) Paul visited the city on two other occasions in 56 and 57 A.D. The Book of Philippians dates from around 61 and 62 A.D. I liked what wikipedia.org had to say about the Book of Philippians: "The Philippians had sent Epaphroditus, their messenger, with contributions to meet the needs of Paul; and on his return Paul sent this letter with him. With this precious communication, Epaphroditus sets out on his homeward journey. The joy caused by his return, and the effect of this wonderful letter when first read in the church of Philippi, are hidden from us. And we may almost say that with this letter the church itself passes from our view. Today, in silent meadows, quiet cattle browse among the ruins which mark the site of what was once the flourishing Roman colony of Philippi, the home of the most attractive church of the apostolic age. But the name and fame and spiritual influence of that church will never pass. To myriads of men and women in every age and nation the letter written in while he was under house arrest in Rome, and carried along the Via Egnatia by an obscure Christian messenger, has been a light divine and a cheerful guide along the most rugged paths of life." So...in answer to the title of this post...nothing but ruins. But we have the Book of Philippians. God's Word will never pass away.. "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away." Luke 21:3 Please join me next week, when we will start in on the first chapter of Philippians and see how far we get... In His Service, Debbie Gerstenberger www.crossgenerations.org