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From Philippians 2:19-30: What is more important? Competency or character? What does success look like? In this message, we see how Paul articulates success in the kingdom of God through two real-life people who he used as sermon illustrations.
What is success?
Have you ever thought about that? Or maybe I could ask you a question that will help you answer the first one: who do you think about when you think about successful people?
I found an article on Business Insider this week that was titled, “How Successful People Define Success.” And I thought, well that’s interesting. We can see the author of that article’s definition in the people they chose. In fact, the title that displayed on the page was an alternate title: “12 rich, powerful people share their surprising definitions of success.”
And guess who these people were, the successful people… They were business tycoons, a hall of fame coach, authors, a president, and a famous inventor.
They were people who had one or two things, at least, in common. Rich and powerful.
They were the type of people that if you had to make a list of “successful” people, many of them would probably make our list.
What is success?
You know, there’s a problem with being asked that question, though. When it comes to answering it, we answer it far more honestly with our actions, our goals, and our desires than we do with our words.
Maybe the better question is, if we’re going to get honest, what do your actions declare success to be?
Here’s my hunch: we all need to question how we really view success and consider that maybe we’ve got it all wrong.
A couple weeks ago I shared with you how I realized that I had a face-to-face encounter with my own sinfulness in a ridiculous way. I told you how I caught myself feeling down and frustrated because my house that we bought was one of the smaller ones in our neighborhood.
Right then and there, I realized that my picture of success was wrong.
I was giving in to the idea that success is about one thing when in reality, all I was doing was being a sermon illustration for Jesus when He said “what good is it for you to gain the whole world and lose your soul?”
What is success?
If you answer this incorrectly, it will set you up for a life of frustration.
But if you answer it correctly, it will set you up for a life honors Christ and makes a difference.
Couple Weeks Ago & Last Week
A couple weeks ago, we read in the book of Philippians where Paul told them that the way of joy is the attitude of Jesus. That the path forward for all Christ followers is to have the same attitude as Jesus.
He talked about how God came down, became a human, and stooped to be with us. He talked about how Jesus emptied himself by becoming a slave and died a death by Roman crucifixion. He told us how there is coming a time when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
And then last week, he went on to tell us something so important, so key for us to live the Christian life well. He said to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. And the way to do that is to hold firm to the word of life.
So I challenged all of us to get a Bible reading plan and to begin paying attention to the text of our lives—the story that we’re writing. We talked about how we need to pay attention and make edits in real time.
Did you do that this week? Did you begin to pay attention? Did you get a Bible reading plan?
Well, let’s continue our journey with the apostle Paul in Philippians.
And as we read, remember our question, what is success?
Philippians 2:19-30
19 Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon so that I too may be encouraged by news about you. 20 For I have no one else like-minded who will genuinely care about your interests; 21 all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know his proven character, because he has served with me in the gospel ministry like a son with a father. 23 Therefore, I hope to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. 24 I am confident in the Lord that I myself will also come soon.
25 But I considered it necessary to send you Epaphroditus—my brother, coworker, and fellow soldier, as well as your messenger and minister to my need— 26 since he has been longing for all of you and was distressed because you heard that he was sick. 27 Indeed, he was so sick that he nearly died. However, God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 For this reason, I am very eager to send him so that you may rejoice again when you see him and I may be less anxious. 29 Therefore, welcome him in the Lord with great joy and hold people like him in honor, 30 because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up what was lacking in your ministry to me.
More backstory
So here we get some more backstory to how this interaction between Paul and the Philippian church has come about.
They sent a man to minister to Paul in Rome and it seems like a couple things have happened:
Epaphroditus, the guy they sent to minister to Paul while he was under Roman house arrest became deathly sick. We don’t know if that happened while he was on the way to Paul or if it happened while he was with Paul, but word got around to the Philippian church that their brother, their minister was deathly sick. And while it appears that he was supposed to stay with Paul for the long-haul, Paul wanted to send him back to Philippi because he could do more ministry there and be an encouragement to them.
And the second thing we can see here is that Epaphroditus was the person who delivered this letter to the Philippian church after his health had improved.
Two men who are sermon illustrations for Paul
But beyond the backstory, what we see here is Paul taking his command for them to adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus earlier in this chapter to flesh and blood examples of people doing just that.
So let’s take a closer look at these two men.
Philippians 2:19-24 — Timothy
19 Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon so that I too may be encouraged by news about you. 20 For I have no one else like-minded who will genuinely care about your interests; 21 all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know his proven character, because he has served with me in the gospel ministry like a son with a father. 23 Therefore, I hope to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. 24 I am confident in the Lord that I myself will also come soon.
Paul commends Timothy to them
With the backdrop of a lot of people who have let Paul down and have turned against him in the midst of his imprisonment, he points to Timothy and explains to the Philippian church why he wants to send him to them.
He talks about how Timothy is the kind of person who genuinely cares about their interests.
And not only that, how he, unlike many people Paul knows, seeks the interest of Christ Jesus.
This commending of Timothy is interesting and telling to me, not only because of what Paul says about Timothy, but also because of what he doesn’t say about Timothy.
What he doesn’t say about Timothy
Take a look again at this. Do you notice anything missing?
He doesn’t talk about Timothy’s giftedness, even though he certainly is gifted.
He doesn’t talk about Timothy’s strategic thinking.
He doesn’t talk about, in any way, form or fashion, Timothy’s competence.
Instead, he talks about his character. He talks about his attitude. He talks about his faithful service along his side like a son serving with his father.
For Paul, it seems like character is more important than competence.
But let’s see what he has to say about this other guy, Epaphroditus.
Philippians 2:25-30
25 But I considered it necessary to send you Epaphroditus—my brother, coworker, and fellow soldier, as well as your messenger and minister to my need— 26 since he has been longing for all of you and was distressed because you heard that he was sick. 27 Indeed, he was so sick that he nearly died. However, God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 For this reason, I am very eager to send him so that you may rejoice again when you see him and I may be less anxious. 29 Therefore, welcome him in the Lord with great joy and hold people like him in honor, 30 because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up what was lacking in your ministry to me.
Brother, coworker, fellow soldier, messenger, minister to Paul’s need
Epaphroditus seemed to have made quite the impression on Paul while he was with him.
Not only did he travel hundreds and hundreds of miles to reach Paul, but he was faithful in his service to him and, most importantly, to Jesus. Even through a sickness that almost cost him his life, he was still focused on what he was called to do.
And Paul, this mighty leader, this apostle of Jesus Christ, ultimate church planter, looked at Epaphroditus as a brother, a coworker, a fellow soldier in the fight. He was the Philippians’ messenger and likely, one of their pastors, and a minister sent for Paul’s benefit.
Distressed because they were worried
And while he was sick, while he was facing death, Epaphroditus had his concern, not on himself, but on the church in Philippi.
When the church found out that he was sick, they were, of course, concerned for his well being. And because Epaphroditus had the attitude of Christ, he was more concerned about them than he was himself.
Paul says he was longing for them and distressed because they heard that he was so sick.
Common Thread Between These Two
There seems to be a common thread between Timothy and Epaphroditus. And you know what it is?
A concern for others above themselves.
Almost like they had become living examples of what it meant to have the same attitude of Jesus.
That’s what happens as we surrender more and more to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit brings our concerns and our focus off of ourselves and onto others.
And we realize, then, what success is…
True success is Christ-centered selflessness.
Want to be a man of God? Want to be a woman of God? Get the focus off of yourself and place it on others.
Be concerned for the concerns of Jesus. Be concerned for the concerns of others.
Most of us aren’t successful in the economy of God’s kingdom because we’re too concerned about being successful.
Philippians 2:29-30
29 Therefore, welcome him in the Lord with great joy and hold people like him in honor, 30 because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up what was lacking in your ministry to me.
Hold people like him in honor…
That’s often what we don’t do in the church
Paul is presenting us with this idea again… That character is more important than competency…
And when you find someone with high character, someone who has the same attitude as Jesus, honor them. Honor them.
But that’s often what we don’t do in the church.
Instead, we elevate someone just like the world does.
A gifted and competent pastor comes in. They are charismatic, they are passionate, the church grows, their leadership takes hold, the church grows, their preaching is dynamic, the church grows.
But over time, some cracks begin to show in their foundation, their character. But the church is thriving. Things are going well. Surely, that crack that someone saw was just an outlier, of course this gifted pastor is fine.
Time goes on and their competency continues to shine, but little does the church know that their character is crumbling. And before the church realizes what is happening, their senior leader is being removed.
It happens in small churches, medium churches, large churches, and mega churches.
A leader’s high competency creates a celebrity culture where they are on a pedestal, high and lifted up. They begin to isolate themselves and surround themselves with “yes people” because life is easier that way and the lack of accountability leads to a crumbling of character.
This happens all the time because we too often are infatuated by competency and we ignore character.
If I preach a great message but my character is crumbling, then I have no business being your pastor.
Because success isn’t about being the most competent person.
What Paul is saying is that an honorable person is a faithful person.
Think about this:
What if successful really means faithful?
And what if that’s true not just for me as your pastor, but what if that’s true for all of us?
What if successful really means faithful?
Marathon > Sprint
Would we be successful if we used this kind of measure?
Do you spend more time attending to your character as you do your competence?
What we often do is we have moments of sprinting faithfulness because we sin in some kind of way that hurts someone else or we get called out for that sin or we feel especially convicted about some sin and we then spend some dedicated time in prayer. We ask God to help us. We ask Him to change us. And then we spend time working on it. We make some progress and then we let our guard back down.
That’s called sprinting faithfulness and that won’t work in the marathon of life.
You see, life is far more like a marathon than it is a sprint.
You can’t just have spurts of time when you’re working on your character and then take a month off and act like that’s all going to work out.
We need marathon faithfulness. We need to train. We need to work on it. And we need to run the race at a steady pace.
Our World Needs More Timothys and Epaphroditus’
This world, this community, this church, your kids, your grandkids, we all need more Timothys and Epaphrodtus’. We need people who will be people of high character. We need people who will look out for the interests of others rather than their own interests.
We need people who aren’t infatuated with “arriving” but are committed to serving throughout their journey.
You know these kinds of people. You’ve been around them. You’re thinking of them.
An example — Gary P.
In fact, as I was writing this message, there was a person that just kept coming to mind.
He’s one of the best men of God I know.
He’s, without a doubt, the most encouraging person I’ve ever met.
According to him, every single one of my sermons have always been great and impactful.
And not only is he the most encouraging person I’ve ever met, he’s also one of the most prayerful people I’ve ever met. When he prays, you have no doubt that everything he says to you and everything he is pleading with God about is completely genuine. He’s the kind of guy you want to be on your side. He’s the kind of guy you can always depend on. His wisdom is off the charts.
He’s not the most assertive kind of guy, but when he speaks, people listen. Why? Because his Christ-like character oozes out for all to see.
And that’s what we need more of in this world.
This Church—Filled With People Who Are Concerned About Others
One of my dreams for our church is that there will be an overflow of men and women who will decide today and every day after this that Christ is enough.
Because that’s what it takes to embody this kind of life.
People who believe that true success is Christ-centered selflessness.
Because if more people like that will rise up, we will run out of space in this building for people who want what they have. The amount of people in this community who will be touched by the love of Jesus will be beyond what we could imagine.
When we decide that our goal, our mark, our aim, is Christ-centered selflessness more people will surrender to Christ and more people’s eternities will be changed because God’s people will be doing what God’s people are called to do.
Elevate Your Character. Elevate People.
So elevate your character. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Preach the gospel to yourself. Hold firm to the word of life.
And elevate people. Lift others up. Be concerned about them more than you are yourself.
And to help us do this, I want to issue a little challenge to us all.
Identify one person in your life and as you go to God in prayer this week, before you ever ask God for something for yourself, bring that one person to His throne first. Ask God to bless them and to use you to show them the love of God.
What is success? It’s not being rich. It’s not being famous. It’s not being powerful.
True success is Christ-centered selflessness.
The question is, do you believe that?
