Philippians 2:22-24 - "Served With Me in the Gospel"

Today we are continuing in Philippians 2, looking at verses22–24. Here Paul gives us a beautiful statement anda wonderful description of Christian service. He says of Timothy, “As a sonwith his father, he served with me in the gospel.” Noticethat Paul does not say Timothy served under him. He says Timothy served withhim. There was a deep relationship between these two men. Paul had becomeTimothy’s spiritual father, and Timothy had become Paul’s spiritual son. Ihave often reflected on my fifty-plus years as a senior pastor and all thestaff members I had the privilege of serving with. I never said they servedunder me. I never viewed myself as their boss, because I was not. I was aleader, and I always felt my responsibility was to help these men become thevery best they could be and to encourage them forward for the glory of God. Mydesire was to help them grow in every area of life as disciples of JesusChrist. Yousee, the Christian life was never intended to be lived alone. God usesrelationships to shape us. Moses had Joshua. Elijah had Elisha. Jesus had Histwelve disciples. Paul had Timothy and Titus. One of the greatest blessings inministry is investing in others. Some of the most rewarding moments in my lifehave come from seeing others taught, encouraged, discipled, and faithfullyserving the Lord. Iwill never forget our first ministry together with Eric Farel, Bob Quinn, RonCombs, and others. We spent many hours serving together, but even moreimportantly, we spent private hours praying together, reading God’s Wordtogether, encouraging one another, discipling one another to be all that wecould be for God, and holding each other accountable. In our next ministry atCalvary Baptist in Holland Michigan, I was privileged to regularly be involvedin discipleship with dear friends like Rick Flowers, Tom Weaver, and FrankSenters, among many others.  Realdiscipleship is much more than simply going through a discipleship course. Itmeans being established in the Word of God and prayer. It means beingestablished in the fellowship of believers. It involves having anaccountability group with whom you pray, talk, encourage, and support oneanother when someone is struggling. It also means being established in thestructure of the local church. You discover your spiritual gift, use that gift,and help others become all that God wants them to be. You build them up in thefaith. Finally,it means being established in the ministry of Jesus Christ. That is, doing whatJesus did—sharing the gospel of the Kingdom of God, telling people how to besaved, and then leading them to follow Christ and abide in Christ. That is whatreal discipleship is all about. Paulpoured years into Timothy. He taught him. He traveled with him. He prayed withhim. He encouraged him. He corrected him. He prepared him. As a result, Timothybecame capable of carrying on the work. That is discipleship. 2 Timothy 2:2says: “The things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, committhese to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” Did younotice the four generations in that verse? Paul, Timothy, faithful men, andthen others also. That is God’s plan. Everyone of us should have someone who is learning from us how to become a betterbeliever and follower of Jesus Christ. We are all disciples, and we should allbe disciplers. So today, who are you helping grow spiritually? Who are youteaching the Bible? Who are you encouraging in their walk with the Lord? Theseare important questions for us to ask ourselves. A church that intentionallydisciples others will remain healthy for generations to come. Let’spray. Father, thank You for the people You have used in our lives. Help us toinvest in others as Paul invested in Timothy. Use us to encourage the nextgeneration to follow Jesus Christ faithfully. We pray this in Jesus’ name.Amen.