Real service is measured not in what we give but in how we care.
Sermon Title: MARKS OF GENUINE SERVICE
Sermon Text: PHILIPPIANS 2:19-30 (ESV)
Sermon Series: PHILIPPIANS: FINDING JOY IN THE JOURNEY
By: PTR NESTOR SY
Sermon Notes:
PHILIPPIANS 2:19-30 ESV
19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 They all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy’s proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel. 23 I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, 24 and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also. 25 I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, 26 for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. 29 So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, 30 for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.
Every Christian is called to serve.
ROMANS 12:1 ESV
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
worship | Greek: latreia
“service rendered to God.”
COLOSSIANS 3:23-24 ESV
23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
MATTHEW 5:14 ESV
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
PHILIPPIANS 2:14-16 ESV
14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
I. PEOPLE, NOT PROFIT
like him | Greek: isopsuchos
“like-minded.”
genuinely | Greek: gnésiós
“sincerely, truly.”
Real service is measured not in what we give but in how we care.
Mark of Genuine Service
Do we truly care for people?
II. CHARACTER, NOT CONFIRMITY
proven worth | Greek: dokimé
“(the process or result of) trial, proving, approval.”
The most important thing you bring with you is you.
Mark of Genuine Service
Does our character match our confession?
III. SERVICE, NOT STATURE
“There is no limit to how far a man can go if he doesn’t care who gets the credit.”
Mark of Genuine Service
How do you view your service?
IV. SACRIFICE, NOT SECURITY
PHILIPPIANS 4:15-18 ESV
15 And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. 16 Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. 17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. 18 I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.
MATTHEW 13:44 ESV
44 The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
The Christian life is about losing something in order to gain what is even better.
Mark of Genuine Service
Is your sacrifice about giving up or about gaining Christ?
V. PARTICIPATION, NOT PRIVILEGE
Everyone who is carrying out their humble service for Christ is participating in the work of Christ.
1 CORINTHIANS 12:12 ESV
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
1 CORINTHIANS 4:1-2 NIV
1 So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. 2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.
“A little thing is a little thing, but faithfulness in little things is a great thing.”
J. Hudson Taylor
Mark of Genuine Service
Is your sacrifice about giving up or about gaining Christ?