Live Like Epaphroditus: Joy, Service, Humility

But from the cross, he looks at humanity and says, father, forgive them. Forgive her. Forgive him. They don't know what they're creating. And when I see him, it's really hard for me to hold a grudge. When I see that kind of love, it's hard for me to strike out at people I don't like. When I'm beholding him, it's hard for me to reflect selfishness and greed and anger and angst. If I behold him long enough, something happens. Oh, wanna be like him. Lord, to be like Jesus. To be like Jesus. That's all I ask, is to be like him. All through life's journey from earth to glory, all I ask is to be like him. This is the message of Philippians. You can behold him, you can reflect him, you can live like Epaphroditus. Amen? [00:38:12] (59 seconds)  #BeLikeJesus

Those that the world looks like and goes, that's the lifestyle I want. I want the wealth and the fame and the influence and all this stuff. I want the glory. Let me tell you something. You were not designed for that kind of glory. And the reason that rock stars and movie stars and famous people collapse and go into addiction is we were not built as humans to sustain and carry the glory. Why? Because all of the glory and the honor belongs to him. It don't belong to me. So your best life is a life that's lived with longevity where you can look back and say, yeah, I went through some trials. I suffered some things, but in the end, I rejoiced in the Lord, my savior. And I can stand today and say, he's been faithful every season of my life. Come on. [00:17:50] (49 seconds)  #FaithOverFame

Don't try to impress oh, it stopped there again. There's another one. Don't be selfish. Don't try to how much time have I wasted in my life trying to impress people? How much time have you wasted? You're trying to impress people. They don't care. They're not paying attention to you. You know why? They're selfish. They're just thinking about themselves. And you're over here scrambling around trying to wear what they think you should wear and trying to do what you think, they think, you think, they think. What a colossal waste of energy. Says don't don't try to impress others. Be humble and look, value others above yourselves. Don't look out only for your own interest. Oh, this is a stretch. [00:31:42] (43 seconds)  #StopPeoplePleasing

And and if you look at lives and culture, you could even look at the last twenty years of rising musical stars, rock stars, movie stars, and you'll see this. It might look like the life you wanted and the life you'd love to live until they almost always end abruptly and soon with shame and brokenness and addiction and suicide. They're they're shooting stars to quote bad company. Don't you know you are a shooting star and the whole world will love you just as long as you are. You're welcome for the old rockers in the room. I remember I was standing in a hotel room in Puerto Rico many years ago and it was a break during the afternoon session and the news came on that Michael Jackson had died. Man, I had hard time wrapping my brain around that one. [00:16:37] (49 seconds)  #FameIsFleeting

With your bible open, hey, here's a tip. Slow down when you're reading. Just slow down, especially when you're reading about Jesus. And this is my practice, just so you know. I'll be reading along, and I'll hit a verse, and I I just feel the Holy Spirit pump the break moment. And go back over that verse and think of him and consider him and watch the way he operates. Watch the way he loves on people. When we consider him and behold him, we begin to reflect the beauty of Christ. Final verse, second Corinthians three eighteen. So all of us who've had the veil removed, that is the veil and the deception of sin. Okay? That's what he's talking about. [00:34:52] (42 seconds)  #BeholdAndReflect

Because the god of this world is blind to the eyes of the unbelieving. They cannot see the truth. But when the holy spirit comes, that veil is lifted and we see Jesus for who he is. And when the veil has been removed, we can see and reflect the glory of the Lord, and the Lord who is the spirit makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. This is spiritual growth. This is a life worth living. This is the practice of those that are becoming more and more like their savior. They simply behold him. And if anybody exemplified a life of selfless existence, it's Jesus on the cross. No greater love has no man that he might lay down his life for his friends. And then Jesus went ahead and laid down his life for his enemies. [00:35:34] (51 seconds)  #TransformedInChrist

Paul, that's easy for you to say. You don't know what I've been through. But when you know what Paul's been through, it is easy for him to say and for to instruct us to do everything without complaining and arguing so that no one can criticize you. Live clean innocent lives as children of God shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Now remember, Paul is writing this while he is literally chained to a Roman soldier. There'd be soldiers that would rotate in on six hour shifts. So one soldier who would be shackled to the leg of Paul with a short chain, his shift would be over. He would remove the shackle and the new guy would come in and shackle up next to Paul. Paul was literally in chains. [00:11:03] (42 seconds)  #LightsInDarkness

Now I noticed something. As as Paul gets to his final years in his ministry, you know, he doesn't reminisce about the churches he planted. He doesn't tell the stories of when he raised somebody from the dead. He's not talking about all of his great accomplishments. You know what he's talking about? His companions in ministry. He he's reflecting how he longs to be with the people that he's loved and poured into and done life with. He brags about people who are laying down their lives for the cause of Christ. And Epiphroditus was one of those guys. By the way, if you ever wonder, how do we get these sermons? Let me just give you a little insight to our preaching team. We have a preaching team meeting, and there's six of us in there, six to seven. [00:20:02] (43 seconds)  #CompanionsInMinistry

he's praying for boldness to preach Jesus all the more until the entire prison guard in all of Rome heard the gospel. How many of these men came to faith because of Paul's testimony and the power of the Holy Spirit that will reside in those prison cells? But in order to sing from prison like Paul and Silas, in order to preach from prison as Paul did, in order to say to be able to say I count everything as loss for the gain and the knowledge of the one who saved me, it's gonna take some longevity. It's all about walking a journey with the Lord to where you look back and you see the seasons of your life, what God has brought you through. You know, from the time that Paul was struck to the ground by a blinding light on the road to Damascus, it would now be thirty years later as he scribes this letter. Thirty years he's walked with the Lord. [00:13:19] (51 seconds)  #LongGameFaith