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August 26, 2021 2:00 am
Some of the greatest people are relatively unknown individuals. They serve diligently behind the scenes with no desire for the limelight. In the message "How to Treat Good (but Imperfect) People," Skip shares how you can encourage your fellow believers.
This teaching is from the series Technicolor Joy: A Study through Philippians .
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For some of us have been conditioned to be so negative that if you put us in a situation where we meet new people.
We immediately go negative.
Pick out all the files on the problems of the reasons it can't be done.
Bob Loblaw, so you need to be trained by God's grace and hopefully this message will help a little bit to start looking for positive traits. As you can find positive traits in the worst people.
The church is made up of improved cross-linking the perfect slave, but God still calls us to honor one another today on connect with Skip Skip shows you hope all affirmed the sacrifice of one of his dear friends, you'll learn how YouTube can encourage your brothers and sisters in the faith communities program Skip and his wife Lynn looks like those around you in a way that honors Jesus.
So I think you do that by telling them you appreciate them. Just tell I noticed you do this thank you goes a long way and then show them you know you could them that this thank you, but you could have a doughnut hamburger that you were there gift card something nice that says I know you do this, I just want to serve you this way. Thank skip.
Be sure to stay tuned after today's message to the phone conversation. Now we want to tell you about a resource that will include you even more in your walk reading the Bible can lead to asking some serious questions like is the rapture real or how can I overcome anxiety. These two questions are among those answered in pastor Skip text a new DVD of four impactful messages my Skip I think, imagine knowing somebody who knows everything about.
Now imagine somebody who knows everything about you and loves you and that's what were dealing with and we deal with the knowledge of God. This collection of some of Pastor Steph's most memorable teachings also includes what most people don't know about heaven and our thanks for your gift of $25 or more to connect more people to God's life changing word visit connectwithskip.com/offer to get online securely or call 800-922-1888, 800-922-1888 and request your copy of pastor Skip strap Skip Heitzigs, extort next time a missionary comes to town. We have our missionaries in the field come back during the year they set up a kiosk often in the foyer, sometimes Lotta ones and I bring them up and pray for them and hear from them next time you see a missionary back home. Would you mind going up to them and just give him a good word of encouragement. Thank them for going to the field on your behalf on my behalf.
Yes on your behalf you're not there you go. I didn't go so they are sent out by us from us, and there out there in very difficult situations and it's always great when somebody acknowledges that they did that you thank them for that.
My dad was a fisherman and he was inefficient and he had his buddies and he try to get us in the fishing inside whatever I really went into it and sorry for your fisherman.
You hear that I disappointed you. Perhaps. But whenever talk about fishing having man. They were just so into whether we go hunting or fishing and if I were to adolescent your fisherman here really got it. I would ask you. Okay, think of the best place you can think of in your mind right now.
Best place you've ever gone fishing. You probably won't say Shady Lakes. That's a good place for your family because they stock it full of fishing trailer alignment deficient it in a week, but probably not your favorite mom and hear something probably like us all man I know this place, but it's so far away and it's hard to get to and once you get that hike and camp out and it's kind of difficult and dangerous. But man the fish are hungry. That's missions that's missions whirling to go to another difficult place because the fish are hungry, there so treat your ambassadors, your messengers with respect and love was 1/5 that Paul mentions about a proper Titus and that is also in verse 25 the one who minister to my need all five of the brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier your messenger and the one who minister to my need was just throwing that in. He's using a very particular term here for minister to my need the word he uses is overlaid toward DOS liturgy from that it speaks about a sacred duty like a priest would perform a sacerdotal duty, a sacred duty of a priest. So what the apostle Paul is doing with his friend and brother a proper Titus is taking his service and elevating it to the performance of a sacred task. Now I have a question for you. Have you done that with your occupation go to work go. I hate my job is thank God I have this job.
You go to the job and say I am here by divine appointment. God called me to this and I am embracing this as a calling of God to discover what people he wants me to reach when I saw a working medicine, radiology, and I would share the gospel with people and there were breaks or we had time to have discussions. I remember one guy came up to me, that I work with is Skip think about getting out of this and getting into full-time ministry and I remember I said to him, let me let you when I'm a little secret. I am in full-time ministry right now is what you mean is what I'm talking. I've invited you to church you go to church so I'm here right now talking to you and I see this is my full-time ministry and and I love that Paul does that with the path that is axis services ministry brings it up to the level of a sacred duty like the housewife who had a sign above her sink that red divine service rendered here three times daily. She saw that as a calling from God to minister to her family, a sacred duty from the Lord. So all said learn to look at people through the lens of their strengths of their attributes of the beneficial qualities don't always notice their faults start noticing their strengths not I have to say something. This won't come naturally. For some of us for some of us we have been conditioned to be so negative that if you put us in a situation where we meet new people will immediately go negative got all the files all the problems all the reasons it can't be done. Bob Loblaw, so you need to be trained by God's grace and hopefully this message will help a little bit to start looking for positive traits because you can find positive traits in the worst people so there's a woman who always complimented everyone and it drove her friend that's in one day, a friend said you know I think you would probably even complement the devil. She thought about that so well you got it would mean that he is persistent so it can be done about that. It acknowledges strengths as a second principle in treating good but imperfect people not only acknowledge our strengths accept their shortcomings except their shortcomings okay.
What's happening here because you you read blepharitis makes 800 mile journey six week journey comes to wrong. He gets sick and what is very strong word same word used of Lazarus when he got sick and died buses. Blepharitis almost died so he comes and gets sick either on the journey or while he is in wrong and the proper Titus finds out that the Philippians found out that he was sick. So when they found out that he was sick. They got all distressed both blepharitis found out that they found out and that when they found out they got distressed. He's distressed because their distress.
He's anxious because they're anxious. He's concerned preserve concern and so watch this verse 25.
Yet I considered it necessary to send to you the proper Titus providers came from Philippi, he sending them back to Philip verse 26 since he was longing for you all and was distressed because you heard he was sick good on verse 28. Therefore, I sent him the more eagerly when you see them you may rejoice and I may be less sorrowful. Normally when a guy gets sick and gets better. You just write a letter and say he's better now. Don't wear yourselves. He's good he's healthy things great, but because Isaac was I'm writing this letter and you up. Aphrodite was taken aback. I'm sending you back. You stay back on why will look at verse 26 just wants more time he was longing for you all.
The word means a deep, intense longing, a deep desire a yearning for. So the new English translation renders it. He greatly missed all of you. Here's what I think is happening. I think that not only put up Aphrodite's get physically sick is a bad case of homesickness as well. He's yearning for them. He immerses them he misses home and now he hears that there distress that he was distressed with all these pineal rites of passage, you know, I found it necessary to send back home. I'm sending back to he's coming back therefore receive them.
Now I see this as Paul's gracious attitude and overlooking the young man's weakness is not making a big deal of it.
He's honoring and building them up and sending them back up.
He's yearning for you. I'm sending them back home now follow me here. I believe Paul the apostle himself has grown in grace a little bit little I meet while on his first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas take a young man, Barnabas's nephew named John Mark John markets homesick runs back to Jerusalem and they went to Pamphylia because I'm out here goes Michael so journeys done. And Paul says you know Barney is Barnabas to go back in and visit all those places one more time and see all those people who made their decisions and follow Christ and Barney goes some undertake John Mark, my nephew again. Paul goes know you're not.
He left us the first trip he flaked out one time he is not going back with us again.
Will an argument broke out between Barney and Paul and they went their separate ways.
That was then this is now. Now we have a proper Titus was for you all buses I'm sending him back home, but he does it very graciously. He makes it easier for up Aphrodite us to go back home. He does not say I'm sending up Aphrodite is the lamp back to you weasel so we can stay with you and Philippi. The guy who couldn't cut it is very gracious with you makes it easy for him to go back home. There was a family and the kids decided to give dad for his birthday. A genealogical record of his family history. He always wanted to know who his relatives were in the past where you come from. So the kids got together. So let's give that gift to dad.
They hired a biographer to look in the records and find out the different family trait will biographer came to the family got the kids aside and said well we have a problem. It seems that in your family history.
There's this uncle George, who down in Alabama killed somebody's a murderer and he was sentenced to death by the electric chair and a phone that's a blotter in our family record that's the black sheep of the family went a lot better now.
At the same time. That's part of our history. You have to write about it so they said just go ahead and include wall when the biographer was done and presented the Journal of the family records.
They were delighted in the way he treated uncle George.
He put it this way.
Uncle George occupied a chair of electronics at an important government institution.
He was attached to his position with the strongest of ties and his death came as a real shock you handed to the biographer for adding a little finesse and grace to the story of uncle George making the truth a little easier. You remember the Paul the apostle calls the church by the title, the body of Christ, and he said the church is like a human body. There are parts of it that are noticeable or parts of it that you don't see but are very vital so he writes this is going to install those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable and those parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. Everybody has strengths and everybody has weaknesses. Everybody has assets. Everybody has deficits. Everyone is gifted in some area. Everyone is not gifted in other areas, but friendship flourishes at the fountain of forgiveness and when you can overlook certain people's faults and foibles. It goes a long way. That's how you treat good but imperfect people acknowledge their strengths and accept their shortcomings and give you place well let you respond sorry to give you thermal close a firm their sacrifice now watched verse 27 buses for indeed will really man. He was sick almost unto death. But God had mercy on him. Another not only on him but on me also less.
I should have sorrow upon sorrow. Verse 29 receiving therefore in the Lord with gladness and hold such men in esteem because of the work of Christ, he became or he came close to death not regarding his life to supply what was lacking in your service toward me. Consider some remote Paul the apostle says I got a guy here with me who's working with me, whose got really really really sick and he almost died really a guy with Paul got sick. Paul the apostle, the one who moved in the miraculous Paul the apostle and the Bible says had sweat bands taken from them later on sick people in the got better at summary with Paul who sick because Christians get sick.
Don't ever think what if your child of God, and you have faith in Jesus, you just get snapped on the forehead hallelujah and you're here that's just weird up Aphrodite's got sick and he almost died. Paul said he admitted it wasn't just up Aphrodite's there was Timothy that Paul writes a letter to insensate. I know you have a stomach problem take some rhyme for which was in antiquity medicine takes the medicine for stomach not come to healing service.
If you have enough faith to be healed just take medicine proper Titus and Timothy both got sick.
Not only that patrol theme is the Ephesian it says in second Timothy chapter 4 pulses I left them at Melita sick.
Not only was he sick Paul left him sick. I want to write, so not only Timothy not only up.
Aphrodite is not only from FEMA's but even Paul got sick… A thorn in the flesh. Second Corinthians 12 in his adversity and infirmity that he had.
He said I prayed three times that the Lord would remove it effectively. God said no because he said my grace is all you need to reset. I will then glory in my infirmity of glory my sickness. I went glory only if I'm healed of it but godly people can get sick to doesn't mean you lack faith. Now I will say I do not understand physical healing. I love when it happens, just to get your formula.
I can't and if you say we are the sages have enough faith to be healed.
I won't because that's not biblical. I pray for people. I watch them get healed before my eyes on some occasions. I pray for other people and they got worse and died on other occasions.
So this is what I know God does want our faith and does engender our faith, but healing is according to God's sovereign plan and purpose. So he was sick and he affirms that this guy sacrifice almost to the point of death.
So verse 30 look at it for the work of Christ.
He came close to death not regarding his life due to words not regarding his word.
Paul Bloom and I it's a Greek word that means to throw the dice to gamble to bet on to put all of the chances upon he sang up Aphrodite. This place is very life in danger, risking it all. Putting all of his chances on God.
You might say a gambler for God and he made it all the way from Philippi to Rome, got sick, I'm sending him home but you got to affirm that he made a sacrifice and so Paul says therefore receive in verse 29 and the Lord with all gladness receiving like Jesus would receive any says hold such men in esteem those servants are sacrifice for the gospel respect and admire them. First Thessalonians 5, Paul said, respect those who work hard among you who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. We have a little saying around here that we teach our staff about honor goes like this honor up on or down on her all around. So we want those above you to be honored, your supervisors, your boss is the one who cast the vision one. Who are you, you honor them, you honor spiritual leaders, which are also honor down units on to be honored. You know how can I honor and serve you.
Those that you give directions to those who help out in a variety was you honor them. You'll find them on or about honor down on her all around the guest speaker. Honor the guest speaker.
The guest musician honor the guest musician because it's so easy to overlook those who serve ushers those who take care of your kids in the Sunday school room.
People who smile at the doors and walking from the parking lot and the VIP treatment. The security think about the cop an attitude. You can look in my backpack.
Know your business. Yes, it is when you bring a backpack into a group of people you could hide something dangerous and it may I please see it don't don't don't cop an attitude think them honor them affirm their sacrifice.
Listen a pat on the back only a few vertebrae removed from a kick in the pants is miles ahead and results a few more pats on the back for these volunteers not kicks in the pants.
So learn to be a servant learned the blessed servant images and by saying to you, no matter if you're a lion or a golden retriever or an order or hard-working people are on behalf of heaven. Thank you, thank you for serving God and serving God's people and being willing to take time and give to them and help us all roll in the grace and knowledge of thinking that includes six message from the series, studio, Skip this tissue looks like those around you waited Jesus.
Aphrodite was an example of a servant of God sacrificed the gospel.
Apostle Paul recognized his commitment and he him and his letter I can't even imagine cool to be mentioned by Paul Wright skip. There are many people who serve God's kingdom that are not always recognized how can we better honor the serpent gospel while you know when you serve.
You don't always expect to be recognized. You don't serve to do it. You served serving the Lord. You believe your reports coming from him. Having said that though those of us who see other people serve.
I think we we owe a debt of gratitude to them. Paul honored people. I think that we should as well you know we we believe that honor is a keyvalue effect as part of our little code here at our fellowship.
One of our axioms is that we honor off.
We honor down and we honor all around the Bible says what esteem those who labor in the Lord for their work's sake. So I think you do that by telling them you appreciate them so just tell them I noticed you do this thank you goes a long way and then show them you know you could dump that just thank you, but you could bring up a doughnut hamburger veggie burger gift card something nice that says I know you do this, I just want to be able to serve you this way.
So tell them, show them and then if you can be with them. Spent a few minutes with them and build them up in RC learn to be a servant. Then you learn to bless a servant, and it just makes your serving the Lord together all that much better. I might add one more tell other people about them met another man slips praise you and not your own, and am having then reload love and travel to many places.
I now get to see where missionaries have invested their lives and they are pretty nameless and there often far off places, jungles, deserts, or whatever. But to come home and to talk about tell their story how their stories and so I would encourage you include someone else's story conversation about me conversation about somebody out. God has done for millennia. His conversation with getting my next family stated he pursuing God in history now share.
That way you can help encourage others by keeping teachings like today's diecast going strong. Just call 800-9800 19 to 18 or does it connect with Connie/Downing connect with gift.com/Downing student explains how to guard your joy when circumstances may presentation of connection through ever-changing time