# The Cost and Consequence of Caring for Others. (Philippians 2 17-30)

An episode of [The Bible Journey Daily Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1570210433), 22 Oct 2026, 27 min.

Audio: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1728449/episodes/19928984-the-cost-and-consequence-of-caring-for-others-philippians-2-17-30.mp3

Send us Fan Mail This podcast is entirely the work of Jeremy R. McCandless and is part of season 24 of a project to complete an in-depth, chapter-by-chapter, verse-by-verse study of the entire Bible. Follow and support me on Patreon. Jeremy McCandless | Creating Podcasts and Bible Study Resources Episode Notes: Some years ago, on Christmas Day, my wife and I invited a single friend over for dinner. We knew she didn't have family nearby, and we wanted to make sure she wasn't spending the big day alone. It seemed like a small thing. Just dinner, just one afternoon. But during that meal, the friend began to open up about some significant struggles in her life. What started as a dinner became the beginning of a long ministry journey. Looking back, I would estimate that we spent hundreds of hours helping that woman. What we thought was going to cost us an afternoon and early evening ended up costing us a great deal of time, energy, prayer, and emotional investment. But that's how caring for people often works. When you genuinely become concerned about someone, it usually costs more than you expect. It's one thing to say, "I care." But it's another thing to invest your time, your energy, your prayers, and sometimes your tears into someone else’s life. What happens when we take seriously Paul's command to look not only to our own interests, but also to the interests of others? What does that kind of Christlike concern produce? As we come to Philippians 2:17–30, Paul gives us some living examples. He talks about himself, Timothy, and Epaphroditus, and through their lives we can begin to see both the cost and the blessing of genuine concern for others…. Save the World Podcast In-depth lectures and interviews on issues affecting the continued survival of human... Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify Support the show This podcast is entirely the work of Jeremy R. McCandless... Follow and support me as an independent podcast creator on Patreon. Jeremy McCandless | Creating Podcasts and Bible Study Resources | Patreon To receive my weekly newsletter and keep up to date with all five of my podcasts, subscribe at: Jeremy McCandless | Substack Check out my other Podcasts. My History of the Christian Church: https://thehistoryofthechristianchurch.buzzsprout.com The L.I.F.E. Podcast: Philosophy and current trends in the Arts and Entertainment. https://the-living-in-faith-everyday-podcast.buzzsprout.com The Renewed Mind Podcast. My Psychology and Mental Health Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2568891 The Classic Literature Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2568906 To visit my Author page on Amazon and view my entire back catalogue of books on both Amazon and Kindle, and now also on Audible, Visit: Amazon.com: Jeremy R Mccandless: books, biography, latest update

## Chapters

- 11:15 \[Ad\] Save the World Podcast
- 12:02 (Cont.) The Cost and Consequence of Caring for Others. (Philippians 2 17-30)

## Transcript

[0:16] SPEAKER_00: Welcome back everyone.
[0:17] SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to the Bible Journey Deary Podcast as we continue our study time together through the letter of well Paul's letter to the Philippines.
[0:27] SPEAKER_00: I'd like to begin today by telling a quick personal story.
[0:30] SPEAKER_00: Some years ago, on Christmas Day, my wife and I invited a single friend over for dinner.
[0:36] SPEAKER_00: We knew she didn't have any family nearby and we simply wanted to make sure she wasn't spending her Christmas day alone.
[0:44] SPEAKER_00: It seemed like a small thing at the time, just dinner, one afternoon, but during the meal the friend began to open up about some significant struggles in her life.
[0:54] SPEAKER_00: And what started as a dinner together became the beginning of a long journey of ministry.
[1:00] SPEAKER_00: Looking back, I would estimate that we spent hundreds of hours helping that woman.
[1:05] SPEAKER_00: What we thought was going to cost us an afternoon, maybe an early evening as well, ended up costing us a great deal of time, energy, prayer, and most importantly emotional investment.
[1:17] SPEAKER_00: But I suppose that's how caring for people often works, doesn't it?
[1:21] SPEAKER_00: When you genuinely come concerned about someone, it usually costs you more than you first expect.
[1:28] SPEAKER_00: It's one thing to say I care, but it's another thing to invest your time, your energy, your prayers, and sometimes even your tears into someone else's life.
[1:38] SPEAKER_00: Which raises an interesting question, doesn't it?
[1:41] SPEAKER_00: What are the consequences of caring for other people?
[1:44] SPEAKER_00: What happens when we take seriously Paul's commands to look not only to our own interests, but also the interests of others?
[1:53] SPEAKER_00: What does that kind of Christ-like living really produce?
[1:58] SPEAKER_00: Well, as we come to Philippians chapter 2, verses 17 through to verse 30, Paul gives us some living examples of exactly that.
[2:07] SPEAKER_00: He talks about himself, Timothy, and Aphroditus.
[2:12] SPEAKER_00: And through their lives, I think we can begin to see the cost and the blessing of showing genuine Christian concern for others.
[2:20] SPEAKER_00: So that's what we're going to look at today.
[2:23] SPEAKER_00: What are the cost and consequences of caring for others in today's episode of the Bible Journey Daily Podcast?
[2:56] SPEAKER_00: Okay, let me begin by reading the text, the whole text we're covering today, and then I'll return and we'll work our way through it.
[3:03] SPEAKER_00: So, Philippians chapter 2, beginning of verse 17 through to verse 30.
[3:09] SPEAKER_00: He writes, But even if I'm being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all, so you too should be glad and rejoice with me.
[3:21] SPEAKER_00: I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you.
[3:29] SPEAKER_00: I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare.
[3:35] SPEAKER_00: For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.
[3:39] SPEAKER_00: But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served me in the work of the gospel.
[3:46] SPEAKER_00: I hope therefore to send him as soon as I see how things go with me.
[3:50] SPEAKER_00: And I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon.
[3:55] SPEAKER_00: But I think it is necessary to send back to you Ephroditus, my brother, co-work and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs.
[4:06] SPEAKER_00: For he longs for all of you and is distressed, because you have heard he was ill.
[4:11] SPEAKER_00: Indeed he was ill, and almost died, but God had mercy on him, and not only on him, but also on me, to spare me the sorrow upon sorrow.
[4:20] SPEAKER_00: Therefore I am eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad, and I may have less anxiety.
[4:28] SPEAKER_00: So then welcome him in the Lord with great joy and honour people like him, because he almost died for the work of Christ.
[4:45] SPEAKER_00: Now, as I've already suggested, I believe one of the major themes of Philippians chapter 2, certainly, is found in the opening verses back in 3 and 4.
[4:54] SPEAKER_00: We verses 3 and 4 we covered a couple of days ago, when he said, Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit.
[5:02] SPEAKER_00: Let each of you look out not only for your own interests, but also the interests of others.
[5:08] SPEAKER_00: In other words, Paul is calling us to have concern for other people.
[5:13] SPEAKER_00: He then points us to Christ as the ultimate example of that.
[5:17] SPEAKER_00: Christ humbled himself, he said.
[5:19] SPEAKER_00: Christ became obedient unto death.
[5:22] SPEAKER_00: Christ gave himself for others at the most profound level.
[5:26] SPEAKER_00: Then in the next section, which we looked at yesterday, Paul told us to work out our salvation, meaning that Christ is to be magnified and made visible in our lives, and if Christ has been seen in our lives, then one thing will inevitably follow on from that.
[5:41] SPEAKER_00: We will become genuinely concerned about other people.
[5:45] SPEAKER_00: But now beginning in verse 17, Paul chooses to give us three living examples of that truth, illustrations of that truth.
[5:55] SPEAKER_00: First, he offers himself, then Timothy, and then this character, Aphroditus.
[6:01] SPEAKER_00: And these three men not only demonstrate concern for others, but they also show the consequences sometimes of caring for others.
[6:09] SPEAKER_00: What does it cost?
[6:11] SPEAKER_00: What does it produce?
[6:12] SPEAKER_00: And what happens when concern moves beyond words and becomes action?
[6:17] SPEAKER_00: So let's start with Paul himself.
[6:20] SPEAKER_00: Our opening verse today says, But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.
[6:33] SPEAKER_00: So Paul uses two vivid pictures here.
[6:36] SPEAKER_00: First, he pictures the Philippians as offering a sacrifice to God.
[6:40] SPEAKER_00: Now, most likely he's referring to the financial gift that they had clubbed together to send to him to support his ministry.
[6:48] SPEAKER_00: Later in chapter 4, Paul will describe that very gift as a sacrifice offered that was pleasing to God.
[6:55] SPEAKER_00: But then Paul adds a second image.
[6:57] SPEAKER_00: He says, I am being poured out as a drink offering.
[7:01] SPEAKER_00: Now in the Old Testament, after a sacrifice was offered and placed on the altar, a drink offering would sometimes be poured over it in response.
[7:10] SPEAKER_00: And Paul takes that particular imagery and applies it to himself.
[7:15] SPEAKER_00: But remember where he is at the moment.
[7:17] SPEAKER_00: He's in prison awaiting trial and facing the very real possibility of execution.
[7:23] SPEAKER_00: So Paul says in effect, if my life is being poured out for the service of Christ and in service to you, then I rejoice in that.
[7:31] SPEAKER_00: What an amazing perspective to have.
[7:34] SPEAKER_00: Most people would say in that situation, look at everything this ministry has cost me.
[7:39] SPEAKER_00: But Paul says, look at what Christ has allowed me to give.
[7:44] SPEAKER_00: The concern he has for others cost him his freedom, it cost him comfort, and it might even cost him his life.
[7:51] SPEAKER_00: And yet he says, I'm glad about that.
[7:53] SPEAKER_00: Not because he's saying suffering isn't pleasant, but because the sacrifice is accomplishing something eternally valuable.
[8:02] SPEAKER_00: So right away we discover something important here, being that one of the consequences of caring deeply for other people is that it can cost you sometimes.
[8:11] SPEAKER_00: It will cost you time, it may cost you energy, it may cost convenience, and sometimes it costs an emotional investment, and occasionally, like here, the cost can go far beyond even that.
[8:26] SPEAKER_00: But Paul says that when the cause is Christ and the goal is helping others, the sacrifice becomes a reason for joy rather than regret.
[8:34] SPEAKER_00: And that's a radically different way of looking at life, isn't it?
[8:39] SPEAKER_00: Most people measure success by what they accumulate in life.
[8:42] SPEAKER_00: Paul measures success by what he's willing to give away.
[8:46] SPEAKER_00: And that's the first lesson that these opening verses teach us about Christ-like concern for others.
[8:52] SPEAKER_00: Remember, Paul's in prison and he's awaiting trial before Caesar, and while of course he hopes for release, he's also realistic enough to know that execution is a very real possibility.
[9:03] SPEAKER_00: In fact, later in his life that's exactly what will happen.
[9:06] SPEAKER_00: Paul would eventually give his life for the cause of Christ.
[9:10] SPEAKER_00: But what's remarkable isn't his situation, it's his attitude towards it.
[9:15] SPEAKER_00: Paul sees his own life like a drink offering poured out upon that sacrifice.
[9:21] SPEAKER_00: In other words, if serving Christ costs me everything, then so be it, he says.
[9:26] SPEAKER_00: And he doesn't say it reluctantly, he says it joyfully.
[9:29] SPEAKER_00: And what's even more striking is that Paul isn't primarily even worried about himself.
[9:34] SPEAKER_00: He's concerned about the Philippians because he knows that if he's executed they will grieve.
[9:39] SPEAKER_00: They love him, they've prayed for him, they've supported him.
[9:43] SPEAKER_00: So he tells them, if that happens, don't mourn, instead rejoice with me.
[9:49] SPEAKER_00: Imagine that, a man who is on what amounts to death row is comforting someone else.
[9:55] SPEAKER_00: That's the kind of concern for others that Paul's been talking about through this chapter.
[10:00] SPEAKER_00: Back in verse four he said, Look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
[10:07] SPEAKER_00: Paul isn't just teaching the principle here, he's actually showing he's living it.
[10:13] SPEAKER_00: And one of the consequences of personally caring for others is that it requires, always requires, a degree of personal sacrifice.
[10:21] SPEAKER_00: Time, comfort, convenience, and occasionally, like here, far more than we might have initially expected.
[10:29] SPEAKER_00: This actually reminds me of John Wesley.
[10:34] SPEAKER_00: Most people remember him as the founder of Methodism, but sometimes we forget what he gave up for the sake of serving others.
[10:43] SPEAKER_00: He was described as a brilliant scholar in his early years, an Oxford graduate, a gifted thinker, and a very capable writer, yet he spent much of his life travelling the English countryside, rising early, travelling on horseback and ministering to people and preaching the gospel wherever he went.
[11:02] SPEAKER_00: One writer I read said that despite deep personal disappointments in his life and heartaches, Wesley chose to devote himself to helping others rather than focusing on his own gifts.
[11:55] SPEAKER_00: Now that sounds a lot like Paul to me, and that's because mature believers, I think, eventually discover something, or they should, that life becomes more meaningful when it is given away and sacrificed.
[12:10] SPEAKER_00: The second example then Paul gives is Timothy.
[12:14] SPEAKER_00: In verse 19 he says, I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly.
[12:19] SPEAKER_00: So Paul wants Timothy to visit these Philippians that he's writing to, and return to them with news about what they've been doing.
[12:28] SPEAKER_00: Why?
[12:28] SPEAKER_00: Again, because Paul cares about them.
[12:31] SPEAKER_00: And then he says something stunning, for I have no one like minded who will sincerely care for your state.
[12:37] SPEAKER_00: Think about that.
[12:38] SPEAKER_00: Paul says he knows no one who cares for the Philippians in the way Timothy does.
[12:44] SPEAKER_00: And that actually, if you dig a little bit deeper underneath and read between the lines, is a rather sad observation in the letter.
[12:51] SPEAKER_00: He adds, for all seek their own not the things which are of Christ.
[12:55] SPEAKER_00: So it seems that human nature hasn't changed much in over two thousand years, has it?
[13:01] SPEAKER_00: Most of us naturally focus on ourselves, and most people do, our plans, our needs, our comfort, and our preferences.
[13:09] SPEAKER_00: We don't have to teach selfishness, it actually comes quite naturally.
[13:13] SPEAKER_00: Now as a young man, I used to spend too much time talking about myself.
[13:18] SPEAKER_00: You still do I think I hear someone shout Well once upon a date a girl stopped me mid conversation and says Well I've heard you talk about you for long enough.
[13:30] SPEAKER_00: Why don't you let me speak for a little while and I can talk about you instead?
[13:34] SPEAKER_00: Oh what a burn.
[13:35] SPEAKER_00: That's funny because it's still uncomfortably close to the truth with me.
[13:40] SPEAKER_00: We tend to be self-centered creatures, but Paul says Timothy was different in this, and he adds, You know his proven character.
[13:49] SPEAKER_00: Timothy wasn't merely gifted, he wasn't merely talented, he had a proven track record of caring about people, and they knew that at Philippi.
[13:58] SPEAKER_00: Paul also describes him as being like a son serving alongside him as father.
[14:03] SPEAKER_00: Paul remember had led him to Christ, and after that Timothy had faithfully served with him in their gospel ministry.
[14:11] SPEAKER_00: The distinguishing characteristic of Timothy's whole life was simple.
[14:16] SPEAKER_00: He genuinely cared about others, and not because he had to, and not because it benefited him, but because Christ had changed him.
[14:24] SPEAKER_00: I once read about an English statement with the unusual name of Sir Bartle Ferrer.
[14:31] SPEAKER_00: When he returned home from a trip, his mother sent a carriage and a driver to meet him from the train.
[14:37] SPEAKER_00: The driver asked how well I recognized him, and she replied He'll be the one helping someone else.
[14:43] SPEAKER_00: And sure enough when the train arrived there was one man helping an elderly woman with her luggage.
[14:49] SPEAKER_00: The driver walked up and asked, Are you Sir Bartle Ferrer?
[14:53] SPEAKER_00: And he said he was.
[14:55] SPEAKER_00: What a testimony that is.
[14:57] SPEAKER_00: Imagine being so consistently concerned about others that a stranger could pick you out from a crowd by that one characteristic.
[15:04] SPEAKER_00: Well that in a sense is Timothy, and that's the point Paul is making here.
[15:10] SPEAKER_00: Back in the opening verses of this chapter he said look not only to your own self-interest but to the interest of others, and now he has given us a living example of that.
[15:20] SPEAKER_00: Timothy wasn't looking out for merely himself, he sincerely cared for the needs of other people, and that kind of concern is becoming increasingly rare these days, I'd said, which makes it all the more valuable when you see it or find it in someone or express it yourself.
[15:39] SPEAKER_00: Okay, now finally he points to this man named Aphroditus.
[15:44] SPEAKER_00: And if you're wondering who exactly he is, well you're probably not alone.
[15:48] SPEAKER_00: From the passage it becomes clear that Aphroditus was the man the Philippian Church had sent to Rome.
[15:54] SPEAKER_00: He carried their financial gift to Paul and then he stayed behind to minister with him while he was imprisoned.
[16:00] SPEAKER_00: And in verse 25, Paul describes him in a very short verse, but with a series of titles.
[16:07] SPEAKER_00: He is my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier.
[16:11] SPEAKER_00: That's a powerful trinity of description, of character descriptions, isn't it?
[16:16] SPEAKER_00: He was a brother in Christ, he was a fellow worker in the gospel, and a fellow soldier in the battle for faith.
[16:23] SPEAKER_00: Paul is in effect saying, This man stood shoulder to shoulder with me, but then Paul describes him also from the Philippians perspective, and he said he was your messenger and the one who ministered then to my needs.
[16:38] SPEAKER_00: In other words, Aphroditus was their representative.
[16:42] SPEAKER_00: He'd been sent to care for Paul on behalf of the church, and somewhere along the line his concern for others almost cost him his life, it seems.
[16:52] SPEAKER_00: That's remarkable, because he tells us here that at some point Aphroditus became desperately ill.
[16:58] SPEAKER_00: He says he was sick almost on to death.
[17:00] SPEAKER_00: But here's the fascinating part, friends.
[17:03] SPEAKER_00: He wasn't distressed because he was sick, he was distressed because the Philippians had heard he was sick.
[17:09] SPEAKER_00: Do you see what's happening here?
[17:11] SPEAKER_00: He was lying in a sick bed fighting for his life, and he's worried about the people who are worried about him.
[17:18] SPEAKER_00: That's an extraordinary level of concern for others.
[17:22] SPEAKER_00: Most of us would be focused on ourselves at that point.
[17:25] SPEAKER_00: Aphrodite was focused on them.
[17:28] SPEAKER_00: Paul says God had mercy on him, spared his life, and because of that Paul is now eager to send him back to Philippi.
[17:36] SPEAKER_00: Then Paul says something that many people in his day, and I would say even more today, overlook.
[17:42] SPEAKER_00: Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such people in esteem.
[17:49] SPEAKER_00: In modern language, Paul is saying, Welcome this guy back, honour him, throw him a party if you like.
[17:55] SPEAKER_00: Why?
[17:56] SPEAKER_00: Because he has distinguished himself in serving Christ and serving others.
[18:01] SPEAKER_00: Now, apparently his illness was at least partly the result of his tireless efforts in ministry.
[18:07] SPEAKER_00: He gave himself so fully to serving others that it nearly killed him.
[18:12] SPEAKER_00: And Paul says people like that should be honored.
[18:15] SPEAKER_00: And frankly, that's a principle that the church sometimes forgets.
[18:19] SPEAKER_00: As societies, particularly these days, we tend to celebrate people like athletes, entertainers, people who are celebrities just for the sake of being famous.
[18:29] SPEAKER_00: But Paul says we should learn to honor the faithful servants of Christ.
[18:34] SPEAKER_00: People like missionaries, pastors, volunteers, men and women who quietly give themselves away for the Lord and for other people.
[18:41] SPEAKER_00: Those are the people worthy of our respect.
[18:45] SPEAKER_00: So what are the consequences of caring?
[18:47] SPEAKER_00: Well, as we step back from this passage and take the big picture view, it's clear that Paul, Timothy, and Aphroditus are all offered as illustrations of the principle he set out at the beginning of the chapter, chapter two, verse four, when he said, Look out not only for your own interests, but also for the interests of others.
[19:11] SPEAKER_00: But I believe they show us something else as well.
[19:14] SPEAKER_00: They show us what caring for people can actually cost.
[19:18] SPEAKER_00: Timothy cared for others, and it cost him time and effort.
[19:22] SPEAKER_00: Paul was sending him now on a long journey because he was concerned about the Philippians.
[19:27] SPEAKER_00: Aphroditus as well cared for others, and that nearly cost him his health.
[19:31] SPEAKER_00: He overextended himself, some say in service to Christ and to God's people.
[19:36] SPEAKER_00: And Paul cared for others, and it potentially here might even cost him his life.
[19:42] SPEAKER_00: But he was prepared to live a sacrificial life for the sake of Christ and the church, even under that threat of death.
[19:49] SPEAKER_00: So what are the consequences of kindness pointed out here?
[19:53] SPEAKER_00: What are the consequences of genuinely caring about people?
[19:57] SPEAKER_00: Well, the answer is it'll cost you.
[20:00] SPEAKER_00: It may cost you time, money, energy, it may cost you comfort for a while, it may even cost you your health.
[20:07] SPEAKER_00: And in some circumstances, as we see here, it threatens to cost far more.
[20:13] SPEAKER_00: But here's the beautiful thing in all of this.
[20:16] SPEAKER_00: Not one of these men offered here as examples considered the cost too high, because they understood something that were inclined to forget.
[20:25] SPEAKER_00: A life spent serving others is never a life wasted.
[20:29] SPEAKER_00: And that's exactly the lesson Paul wants the Philippi and by nature us, anyone who reads this letter, to learn.
[20:43] SPEAKER_00: So as we come to the end of today's passage, I think one question remains.
[20:48] SPEAKER_00: Is it all worth it?
[20:50] SPEAKER_00: If being concerned about other people costs you these things, your time, your money, your comfort, your health, and even more sometimes, is it really worth it?
[20:59] SPEAKER_00: And Paul's answer?
[21:00] SPEAKER_00: Well, it's an emphatic yes.
[21:02] SPEAKER_00: Just let me remind you of the three examples he's given.
[21:05] SPEAKER_00: Paul says of himself that his life is that if his life is poured out like a drink offering, he is still glad and rejoices.
[21:14] SPEAKER_00: Think about that.
[21:15] SPEAKER_00: The man himself is facing possible execution, yet he's talking about joy.
[21:21] SPEAKER_00: Now that's a complete paradox to the world.
[21:23] SPEAKER_00: The world thinks joy comes from getting more, keeping more, protecting more.
[21:28] SPEAKER_00: Paul says joy comes from giving yourself away, even giving your life away for Christ and for others, not because the sacrifice itself is present, but because it's meaningful.
[21:40] SPEAKER_00: Then look again, he offered Timothy as an example and said, I have no one like-minded who will sincerely care for your state.
[21:47] SPEAKER_00: And then he adds, you know his proven character.
[21:50] SPEAKER_00: Timothy had earned something money cannot buy, the respect of Paul and the respect of the Philippian church.
[21:58] SPEAKER_00: The respect that comes from a life of genuine concern for others.
[22:02] SPEAKER_00: People trusted Timothy because they knew he wasn't serving himself, he was ultimately serving Christ.
[22:08] SPEAKER_00: And then there is Aphroditus, and Paul says, receive him with all gladness and hold such men in esteem.
[22:15] SPEAKER_00: In modern language, honour this man.
[22:18] SPEAKER_00: Why?
[22:18] SPEAKER_00: Because he gave himself in service to Christ and to others, and he actually at one point nearly died caring for other people.
[22:25] SPEAKER_00: And Paul says, Men and women like that should always be honored.
[22:29] SPEAKER_00: Sometimes by the church, but certainly always by Christ himself.
[22:36] SPEAKER_00: But here's where all of this can get a little bit.
[22:39] SPEAKER_00: Tricky.
[22:39] SPEAKER_00: If you set out to pursue joy, admiration, and honour directly, you probably won't get them.
[22:46] SPEAKER_00: You'll miss them because they are not goals to aim for in life.
[22:50] SPEAKER_00: They're the benefits of living the sacrificial life, and there's no shortcut to gaining them directly.
[22:56] SPEAKER_00: They are the fruit of something deeper.
[22:59] SPEAKER_00: They are the result of saying, I want Christ to be magnified in my life and I want to care for other people.
[23:05] SPEAKER_00: They are the result of looking beyond yourself and investing in other people.
[23:11] SPEAKER_00: I've known some very self-centered people over the years, and frankly, many of them were miserable.
[23:16] SPEAKER_00: And I've also known people who poured themselves out in service to Christ and others.
[23:21] SPEAKER_00: They are some of the finest people I've ever met, but they're also some of the happiest people I've ever met and some of the most fulfilled people I've ever met.
[23:30] SPEAKER_00: And why?
[23:31] SPEAKER_00: Because they've discovered the secret that Jesus taught all along, that the life that is given away is the life that is ultimately found.
[23:41] SPEAKER_00: So get involved, friends.
[23:43] SPEAKER_00: Yes, caring is costly.
[23:45] SPEAKER_00: It may cost you time, money, comfort, it may even cost you your health over time.
[23:50] SPEAKER_00: But let's be honest, you're going to spend your time on something, and you're going to spend your money on something, and your life is going to demand energy from you regardless of what you do.
[24:01] SPEAKER_00: So why not spend it on something that really matters?
[24:04] SPEAKER_00: Why not spend it serving Christ and why not spend it helping other people?
[24:09] SPEAKER_00: Why not be the kind of person who, like Paul, Timothy, and Aphroditus can truly be said to have looked not to their own interests, but to the interests of others?
[24:21] SPEAKER_00: That's the heart of today's passage.
[24:24] SPEAKER_00: Become concerned enough about other people that you're willing to invest your life into them.
[24:31] SPEAKER_00: Your life in them.
[24:33] SPEAKER_00: The Lord, he will take care of the joy in your life if you do that.
[24:38] SPEAKER_00: The Lord will take care of the honor.
[24:39] SPEAKER_00: The Lord will take care of the future rewards.
[24:42] SPEAKER_00: You simply are called to give yourself away in his service.
[24:46] SPEAKER_00: And I can assure you of one thing, it will be worth it.
[24:52] SPEAKER_00: Thanks for being with me today.
[25:36] SPEAKER_00: In our next episode tomorrow, we'll move into Philippians 3, verses 1 to 9, and tackle a subject that is just as relevant today as it was in Paul's day.
[25:46] SPEAKER_00: A warning, if you like, to be aware of being drawn into toxic situations or by toxic people.
[25:54] SPEAKER_00: Paul warns the Philippians about influences that look spiritual on the surface but were actually dangerous and destructive.
[26:02] SPEAKER_00: So how do we recognize these toxic influences?
[26:05] SPEAKER_00: How do we guard our hearts and minds against them?
[26:07] SPEAKER_00: And how do we avoid being drawn away from the simplicity and the sufficiency of Christ?
[26:13] SPEAKER_00: Well, we'll discover the answer to that as we continue our journey through Philippines.
[26:18] SPEAKER_00: So I hope you join me next time when we cover the opening nine verses of chapter three.
[26:24] SPEAKER_00: Until then, may the Lord help you live for something bigger than yourself and serve others with joy, and let Christ be magnified in your life.
[26:33] SPEAKER_00: Thanks for being with me today.
[26:35] SPEAKER_00: Bye bye for now.

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