Reflection 4

Reflection 4 Tuesday 17th June 2008

I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know Timothy’s[a] proven worth, how as a son[b] with a father he has served with me in the gospel. I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.
Philippians 2: 19- 24

I hope … I trust in the Lord (implies confidence in God)… such spirit of hopefulness drives Paul on even in the darkest hours. He is hopeful that in the present suffering in the prison, he will be delivered in a way only God can supply. Paul practices what he preaches. In the ‘practical’ section of chapter 2, he now give the philippi church of how these practical pointers are apply. The key verse in 2:4 gives the grounding and inspiration for all involved in 2:19- 30 : Paul, Timothy, Epaphroditus and the Philippi Church. “Each of you should look NOT only to your own interest, but also to the interest of others” All of those mentioned in the text displays such mind-set: serving like a real servant like Jesus Christ, obedient even to the point of death (applies exclusively to Epaphroditus) ; serving in the interest of others…

“have this mind among yourselves which is in Christ Jesus…” those who are in Christ, who are true believers would have this mindset to work towards a loving, God-honouring, unified community. Unity would certainly faced opposition, but , in humility, such opposition can be overcomed… humility and unity , unity through humility, serving one another NOT out of pride(selfish, envy, rivlary agendas found in 1: 15). Paul is smart here… he is subtlety encouraging the Phil church to stay away from these people: those who preach out of selfish, unChristlikeness, insincere, not genuine agendas. BUT on contrast, he is sending someone like timothy, one that is truly of Christ- as paul had experienced with him in the ministry… (he has served with me, like a father-son relationship, in the advancement of the gospel) Paul has send his BEST solider possible to comfort the Phil church. Another characteristic that comes to mind when describing both tim and Eph based on previous section would be 2:14 -> do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe. > we cannot possibly imagine tim to be a complaining ministry staff, working under a cruel slave master like Paul – NO! instead, pure love and pure grace flows thru these people , even in such difficult times.

Paul had commend Timothy on 2 counts: (1) “For I have no one like him” -> implies sharing the same mindset as Paul- one that is rooted in the description found in 2:6-11. (2) true CONDUCT and CHARACTER that is genuine and sincere ( l like to quote the instructions in Romans 12:6) towards ministry.

Application:
HOPE : am I a hopeful person – not impractical or wishful hope- but a hope that in truly rooted in Christ! That no matter how either way a situation would turn out , I would rejoice? TO live is Christ (meaning to serve him and others more while alive here on this earth!) and to dies is gain( the finality of the reward in heave, the finishing line in the race) – how can I pray for others in need (eg. It is my praer that your love may abound more and more… ) when I myself have a problem with hope?

Unity , and Character of Sincerity: how can I practise them in the context of church and the world? Do I serve out of a selfish agenda? No… serve like Christ! That is the message!!! Coming in the form of a servant, despite shame and dishonor, still press on , being obedient to serve others? Despite hurts and disappointment, would I press on to preach and to serve others in need? When can I truly say look not only to MY own interest, but also to the interest of others? God, give me a sensitive spirit to sense what others need…. ;-)

One sidetrack: to stay away from those who like to preach the gospel out of envy and pride… sometimes it is better to stay away from certain Christians whose behaviour (despite the correct doctrine) does not display the right means. Their ends (goal of sharing of the gospel) may be commended BUT their motives/ intentions/ agendas is certainly of question. How can I NOT be one of such person? Hold back in giving my opinions on certain issues? I believe the way is found in the loving transformation that God is doing in me (2:13 + 1:9) those who are truly spiritually formalized in Christ would not have behaved or speak in a certain way- and we should distant ourselves from these fellows. And it is my prayer that they too will find the transforming power in Christ!

To be very direct: those groups or churches that plays the ‘number game’ should be highlighted. I am very sorry to mention that a certain youth parachurch assigns quota to its interns in sharing the gospel. The intention may be well , but I am afraid to say that it carries bad connotations as well. For what does it implies? That those who do not meet quotas are lousy Christians? It is a prideful approach to ‘reach out ‘ to masses. Its sends out the wrong message to Christians. It is good to distant ourselves, but not cut ties, with such groups. A practical advise/solution (and one that I insist on myself) is look dig deeper within the heart – find the transformation there first before pouring out one’s life into others.

How do we spot them? If one group pushes evangelism(or any other components/functions of the church) without working on discipleship, we should highlight them and warn others about it… the symptoms may be easy to spot: an not-so-united front among its people! (see 2:1-3). Their faces kinda tell it all… these grps may slip into legalism very easily (another treatment later on in phil 3). There is not much joy( a ongoing theme in phil) in their service to each other, as well as to the bigger body of Christ. Their leaders spend more time defending themselves on their agendas and decisions than actually working on the land. They do not display the fullness of Christ (see 1:11) , speaks unlovingly (even in their preaching), and basically serve out of the sake of serving. Their fragrance is not of Christ. They don’t love people out of a sincere heart! (their compassion is weak), they like to exploit and USE people for the sake of their agendas in ministry.

Let us all avoid such ministries, and such mind-sets… if my ministry has hints of such feelings, i would have stop all activites and go on to find out what exactly happen. Feedbacks and group reflections are VERY important to me.

Let us have a unified mind , found upon the transforming power of Christ , serving each other out of humility, and always on the lookout for the interest of others…