we’re all being watched you see what we do matters how we live counts we may not like to accept that responsibility but I’ve told you before that God has called me to comfort The Afflicted and afflict the comfortable and I’m trying to do that this morning we need to get to the place where we understand that we have a decisive role in the lives of people who are around us our families our neighbors the people we work with we are Jesus Christ to them the only Christ they will ever see is the Christ they see in us we
may not like that we may feel that’s not fair we we might try to wiggle out from under that I’m just telling you it’s true it’s true for me it’s true for you everyone in this room as a role model to somebody I don’t care who you are somebody looks at you and takes their cues about life from the way you live good bad or indifferent in the book of Philippians in the second chapter Paul is going to introduce to us three Role Models first of all the Apostle Paul who will role model for us a life of sacrifice and then young Timothy Paul’s
Protegé who will show us how to live a life of service and then a man whose name is hard to pronounce a apodius who will teach us about suffering role models in sacrifice service and suffering we begin with the Apostle Paul because verse 17 begins with him he says in the 17th verse as he writes to the Philippian Believers yes and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith I am glad and rejoice with you all for the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me now in this passage that we’re
studying six verses each are devoted to Timothy and aphodius and only two verses are dedicated to Paul that seems kind of backwards to me but it’s amazing that in these two verses that speak of the Apostle the words glad and rejoice are found twice as Paul is talking about sacrifice how many of you know glad and rejoice and sacrifice don’t usually fit together in the same sentence it’s almost a disconnect I want to take just a moment before I explain to you what this passage means and relate to you a truth that I think is worthy of us
taking a moment to talk about I don’t know what you say when people tell you that they would come to church if there weren’t so many Hypocrites in the church when we hear that here’s what we say and if you shake your head up and down I’ll know you agree with me we say something like this oh you shouldn’t watch other people they will disappoint point you keep your eyes on the Lord and He will never let you down isn’t that what we say and that sounds good and in a way it is true but it’s also flawed first of all the only Christ any people ever see
