Who are your role models?

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There we go. Thank you so much for leading us this morning. It's wonderful, isn't it, to be able to enter into a time where we can just focus in and worship like that. Wondering whether we've got any sports crazed nuts in the congregation here, any? I won't ask this morning about which football team or anything like that and whether these people don't even care about football. But you know, every four years or so there's an opportunity for us to explore the broader sense of sport. Sometimes we only think there is rugby league or FL and they're the only two sports in the world. But every four years we get the opportunity to consider some other sports when the Olympics are on. And I don't know about you, but I enjoy watching some of the different sports. Last year we, of course, had the Olympics in Paris and the Olympics are a hot topic at the moment, aren't they? Looking forward to 2032 when it's supposed to be our turn to host these and what are we going to do? Where are we going to put them? I'm wondering whether you've got any land out the back here that you can put a sporting venue on or something like that. But last year, 2024, we had the Paris Olympics. Who watched a little bit of the Paris Olympics? Yeah, a fair number of you and then different sports, different events. But did you know that 100 years prior to last year there was another Olympics that was held also in Paris in 1924? So Paris had this 100 year gap. And in that 1924 Olympics, a hero emerged. I don't know whether you know who it was, but it was a man called Eric Little. In our generation, made famous through that movie, The Chariots of Fire. Who's ever watched The Chariots of Fire? Okay, you're showing your age. You young people, you need to actually go back and pull it off the shelves. It's not the most action-packed movie, but it's significant because it actually tells the story of a man of faith. Because you see, back in 1924, Eric Little, he was a Scotsman. He was actually a football player before he was a sprinter. But he was on target. He was the favoured athlete to win the 100 metres at the 1924 Olympic Games. And everyone was watching him, but they turned up at the Olympic Games and Eric refused to run. Because the heats for 100 metres were actually being held on a Sunday. And Eric was a staunch man of faith and refused to run on a Sunday, the Lord's Day, which was the Sabbath. The officials in the Great Britain team were trying to sort of, they were the DEFCON 5, I think, trying to figure out what they could do to get Eric to run and change his mind. He refused. The stopgap or the compromise position was that Eric would run in the 400 metres instead of the 100. It was not his favoured event. He wasn't expected to win, but he won the 400. And so was a gold medalist in the 400 metres. Now, I don't know whether you know the story about what happened to Eric after that. Because he went home a hero, obviously, a gold medalist. But within one year after winning that gold medal, Eric left the fame, left the glory of athletics and he went to China as a missionary with the London Missionary Bible Society. He first taught in a private school and then he moved into the rural regions of China, where he basically was church planting, evangelising, ministering to the poor. But this was about the time of World War II. He stayed there, he married, he had kids, but then World War II came. He had sent his family back home because he knew it was dangerous, but he remained. When the Japanese invaded China, all the Westerners, all the people who were threats were gathered up and they were put in internship camps, Eric Little included. He was put into an internship camp at Wayson in 1943. It was an area about four times the size of a football field to give you a sense of how big it was. And 1,800 people were crammed into accommodation barracks on there. We've got a photo of it up there. Many of those prisoners were children. They weren't prisoners of war, but they were prisoners nonetheless. But in this camp, Eric continued his ministry, supporting and ministering to other prisoners, helping the elderly, teaching Bible classes, arranging games, teaching science to the children in the camp. Even in this camp, he continued to live out his Christian faith. Norman Cliff was a fellow inmate in that camp. He wrote about Eric Little in his book, The Courtyard of the Happy Way. He described little this way. He said he was the finest gentleman, Christian gentleman, it has been my pleasure to meet. In all the time in the camp, I never heard him say a bad word about anybody. That's pretty impressive. David Mitchell was actually a child in that camp with Eric. He remembered Eric Little this way. He said, none of us will ever forget this man who was totally committed to putting God first, a man whose humble life combined muscular Christianity. I love that description. With radiant godliness. Muscular Christianity with radiant godliness. Eric Little died just a couple of months before that camp was liberated at the end of World War II. He died of a brain tumor on the 21st of February in 1945. If you go to the side of that camp today, you will see a plaque, a memorial to Eric Little. He was a national hero, but he also lived out his faith such that he was a model for people to follow. I wonder if I asked you today, who are the examples, the people that you follow as role models? Who are they? As you think about them, are they sportsmen or women? Are they movie stars? Young people, are they social influencers on TikTok or Insta? Who are the people that you're watching that you're looking at that you're getting advice from? Are they politicians? No, they're probably not politicians. I don't know, maybe they are. Who are they in your life that you're trying to emulate to be like? It's a good question, isn't it? It's a challenging question. Even as you look around this church today, are there people that you would identify to say, I want to become like them? They're my role model. There should be, but are they? If you've got your bibles there today, I want you to open them up to the book of Philippians, because I want to have a look at the last part of Philippians, because it actually challenges us about how we should leave our lives. I'm actually going to read from the beginning of this chapter, even though we're just going to focus in on the back part of it, because I think it gives some context. It sets up what Paul is going to be talking about in the final parts of this. Philippians chapter two, just give me some grace to read through the beginning of this chapter. It's a passage you'll know well, but I think it's a great passage. It starts with Paul saying, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose, do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility, consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but to the interests of others. In this chapter, Paul is going to point out some examples for us to follow. Give us some examples of people that we can emulate and we can follow as role models. The first and the ultimate example is Jesus. Okay, Jesus. Let's read a little bit about Jesus from verse five. He says, your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who being in very nature, God did not consider equality with God, something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness and being found in appearance as a man. He humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on the cross. Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. It's an example for us to follow, an incredible example of godliness, but it's a challenge because there's the perfect example. Paul then writes in verse 12, he says, therefore, my dear friends, because of the example that Christ has set for us, as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to good purpose. Do everything without complaining, he says, 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 as you hold out the word of life in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. I want to focus in these next few verses in this chapter, because Paul is exhorting the Philippians to continue to live a life, live a life that is worthy of Christ, live a life that is following Christ. But you know, sometimes when we just think about Christ's life, we think it's unachievable. I can never do that because he's God, and he's not here for me to follow, and what would he do in this situation anyway? We have these sayings, don't we, what would Jesus do to try to get us to think about what would he do if he was standing right here in my situation? Paul knows that it's difficult for us to picture Jesus and to follow him perfectly, so what he does in the rest of his chapters, he gives us three other examples. Examples with skin and on, examples that people knew and could identify, three examples, and I want to focus in on these three examples people with flesh on Paul himself, Timothy, his co-worker, and Epaphroditus. The first one is Paul. Let's have a bit of a read from verse 17. It says this, 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. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me. Today we're here to induct Doug as your pastor, and to date I do want to speak to Doug directly to him, I want to challenge him, sorry Doug, but you'll forgive me later I'm sure, but I want to challenge him to be a model for the rest of you to follow. As a senior pastor, many of you are going to be looking to him and watching him and how does he respond, how does he react, and Doug needs to be that model who is first and foremost following Jesus, emulating Jesus, moving out that price-like life so that you can see what on earth it looks like in 2024, when it was very different to first century Palestine when we have our scripture written. So I'm going to challenge Doug, but I'm also going to be challenging each of you to think about how you are living your life. Are you being a role model for those around about you who are watching you? So that's the challenge here today. Doug, you are a person with skin on in this church, and we need people like Doug, but we also need people like Eric Little, don't we, in every corner of the globe. Paul starts to talk about himself. He starts to talk about his own service, and he describes himself as a drink offering in verse 17. This is a really fascinating little picture. This comes from the Old Testament, the drink offering. When a person was making a sacrifice, they would bring an animal, it might be a lamb, it might be a dove, it might be a goat. They would bring an animal to slaughter, a bit gruesome, I know, but this was how they worshiped, and they would bring it to the temple, and they would put it on the altar, and it would be burnt as a burnt offering or a sacrificial offering, burnt to the Lord. That was the normal sacrifice for sin, for transgressions, for coming as a worship to God. But a drink offering was considered like the cherry on top, even, of the cream, because if you brought up a sacrificial offering, an animal to be burnt, sometimes what you would do is that you would, while it was burning, while it was being consumed, you would bring a cup of wine, and you would pour it over the top of that burnt offering. What happens when you guys have been camping, I'm sure? What happens when you throw some water onto a fire? Everything goes up, steam goes up, cloud of the ashes and even things like that. Imagine pouring a cup of wine onto a burning or raging fire, that aroma, that steam emanating up. And this was, again, just a symbol of a person's devotion, of their love to God, that they would pour this. The main sacrifice was there on the altar, the animal, but as they poured this extra little bit, this libation on the top, it went up in honor and glory of praise to God. Paul had served the Philippians faithfully, he had served them selflessly. He administered them to them, he loved them, he had brought many of them probably to faith. But what Paul here is saying is, my life is like the drink offering that's being poured out on your sacrifice of service. The main sacrifice, the main deal, the main thing was their sacrifice, the church, the individuals. Paul considered his contribution, that little extra bit, to saying, God, take it. Isn't that incredible? That Paul is the leader, probably the key guy in this early church would actually consider himself, now I'm not the main deal here. The actual key service is that of the one sitting in the church every Sunday. And Paul was more than willing to pour his life out as a drink offering, poured out because he knew that what really counted was the service and the faithfulness of the Philippian church. Doug, as you come to serve here, what's your motive, what's your goal of serving in this church? I know you're well enough to know that probably isn't this, but are you seeking to make a name for yourself, to build your little kingdom? I don't think so. Are you settling in for a bit of an easy, comfortable ministry? You're coming back here to a place that's known as cruising into retirement. I hope not. Don't let him do that. But you know, often when we come and when we serve, we think that our service doesn't matter. It does. I mean, Paul's ultimate desire was to see the faith and the service of those he ministered among grow, to be effective, to be significant. It was a selfless ministry that was given to other people. Others, and what they were doing for Christ, was adducing Paul's crown to use another analogy. And Paul gave himself sacrificially, selflessly, to that end so that others could be found in faithful service. And he rejoiced in that. Doug, if you're going to be a role model here, you're going to have to selflessly invest into others. And I know you will, to celebrate them as they grow, as they mature, to celebrate them as they serve, as they sacrifice, to give yourself as a drink offering. Not the main thing. Your stuff isn't the big thing here. It's every single person sitting here, their contribution, that is the main thing. And as people call to equip the servants of God for acts of service, that's what our role is. So will you do that? Will you be a model to this congregation about what real sacrificial service looks like? That's the first role model we have here in this passage. Role models with skin on, Paul being that selfless offering. But then it goes on in verse 19 to talk about Timothy. So verse 19 says, I have, I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. I have no one else like him who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know that Timothy has proved himself because as a son with his father, he has served with me in the work of the gospel. I hope therefore to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. And I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon. I love Paul's description here of this guy, Timothy, who we read about in scripture, don't we, quite regularly. He says of him, there is no one else like him. Could that be said of each of you sitting here this morning? In a positive way, I mean, not a negative way. There is no one else like him or her. There was no one else like Timothy. He was a son to Paul, who was probably his spiritual father. Paul likely led Timothy to the Lord. But at the same time, he was a co-worker with Paul. He served with Paul, not for him, not under him, but with him. And Timothy is always presented in scripture as a good worker, which is why I'm sure he is given more and more responsibility and trust in leadership. See, Timothy is presented as a willing servant of Jesus, not for his own interest. That wasn't what was important. It was Jesus Christ's interest that drove him. And therefore, he was one who was genuinely concerned about the welfare of other people, including the Philippians. Timothy lived out his faith practically. His commitment to Jesus was lived out in his commitment to other people. And for that reason, Paul wanted to send him back to Philippi so that he could serve and he could bless the congregation there. And I suspect the Philippians were overjoyed to hear that because they knew Timothy. They loved him. They knew the quality of person that he was. But I ask you again, what is your reputation like? When we talk about your service, is it admired? Would people say, I would love to have John on my team? I'd love to have Ann on my team because they are such committed, hardworking people who are just so concerned about other people. What would people say if they knew you were available to serve on a team? What's your reputation like? In the last couple of months, I've been really disappointed to hear of two instances where people haven't been demonstrating self-assurance. One was in a Christian organization where the leaders seemed to have an attitude of that they were more important than the other workers in the organization. And rather than taking a genuine interest in each other, they lauded it over other people in that organization, expecting them to do things that they would not be willing to do themselves. You know, oh yeah, we're having a morning tea. You clean up. I'm too busy. Those sort of things. That wasn't an example of selfless service. The other instance was a person who regularly visited a particular mission field serving his church and the Lord and the people in that other country. However, instead of showing respect and care for the members of the church in which he was ministering to, he assumed a position of control of authority. Instead of working with, he lauded over. He bossed around. He sought to control and tell them what to do. Became an authority unto himself. And as a result, the leaders in this other country have asked that he not be allowed to return. How would others describe your service? Is it like Timothy? Selfless? Or is it like something else? Doug, you're being called here to serve. I encourage you to serve selflessly with humility and I know that's a characteristic of your personality. The last role model with skin on that Paul talks about here after himself and Timothy is this guy called Epaphroditus, verse 25. But I think it necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier who is also your messenger whom you sent to take care of my needs. For he longs for all of you and is distressed because he heard, because you heard he was ill. Indeed, he was ill and he almost died. But God had mercy on him and did and not on him only, but also on me. Spare me sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore, I am all the more eager to send him so that when you see him again, you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. Welcome him in the Lord with great joy and honor men like him because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me. Epaphroditus, we don't know too much about Epaphroditus, but we know that he was well loved by Paul, but also by the Philippians who actually sent him to help and assist Paul. But while he was there in Rome, remember when writing this book, Paul was in prison in Rome, not like the prisons today where you have four three square meals served to you on a platter. You've got all the comforts and luxuries except for, yep, you're isolated and shut away, but in prison in those days, others had to bring you food, others had to care for you. Epaphroditus was one of these people who came into the prison, probably every day sat with Paul, brought him food, ministered to him, cared for him for the swords on his body, for whatever else might be going on. But while he was doing this, Epaphroditus got critically ill. He was at the point of death himself, and it was only through God's mercy and grace that he was healed and restored. We don't know much else about Epaphroditus other than he was willing to suffer the sake, for the sake of another person, even at the point of death. Going to Rome would have been risky in the first place. Going into that prison day in, day out would have been risky. But Epaphroditus was willing to give himself in sacrificial suffering for the benefit of another person who risked his life. And I imagine it like this picture, which is why I put this picture up there. Epaphroditus carrying Paul's burdens, carrying Paul even, because I'm quite sure there were times in that prison that Paul was ready to give up. But Epaphroditus was there carrying him, supporting him, encouraging him, enabling him to continue doing his ministry. And because of that, Paul viewed him as a brother, a fellow worker, a fellow soldier. Do you love those descriptors? Doug, as a pastor of this church, you're going to suffer. I'm sorry to say that. That might surprise you that I say that. But it will, there will be a challenging role. There will be challenging times that will come in your ministry here at Capulcha. There will be unfair criticisms. There will be some people that are disappointed in you because you can't live up to their expectations. You'll be disappointed in some too, who maybe leave or maybe criticize. But in all of this, and through this, you're called to keep serving, to continue to keep helping, to continue to keep supporting, selflessly, sacrificially, even if that means you suffer in some way or it costs you in some way. Again, that's what pastors are called to do. And I know Dave and Dylan and others in this church have experienced some of that also. Doug, as you serve as a pastor, challenges that you be a role model that others can follow. That you be like Paul, selflessly offering yourself. That you be like Timothy, selflessly serving. And that you be like a pathoditus, selflessly suffering. And I pray that this would be a hallmark of your ministry that you'd be able to say, just like Paul, I am glad and I rejoice in you all. But as much as I've been talking to Doug, I want to talk to every single one of you seated here, because as members of Caboolture, you have inducted Doug today, but what about you? It would be nice to have Doug, wouldn't it, as a selfless offering, as a suffering servant? That would be a wonderful thing to have as a pastor, wouldn't it? But what about you? We need you to be role models also. Are you willing to be like Paul, like Timothy, like a pathoditus? See, Paul was able to be a selfless offering because Timothy and a pathoditus were willing to selflessly serve and suffer for him. Are you willing to be that role model also, to live out that life that Christ asked you to do, to serve, to suffer, to offer yourself for and to others, including Pastor Doug and Shari? See, this is the challenge that we have in Philippians. We're called to have the same attitude of Jesus Christ, who himself served, who himself suffered, who himself offered himself as a living sacrifice, and then ultimately a sacrifice on the cross. Will we be willing to commit our lives to follow Jesus to do this every single day that we draw breath for God's glory for others' benefit? David Mitchell, that little boy in that internship camp who saw and got to know Eric Little, saw these qualities in his hero. He wrote a little bit more about Eric. He wrote this. What was his secret? He unreservedly committed his life to Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord. That friendship meant everything to him. By the flickering light of a peanut oil lamp, early each morning he and a roommate in the men's cramped dormitory studied the Bible and talked with God for an hour. As a Christian, Eric Little's desire was to know God more deeply and as a missionary to make him known more fully. How many of you are Christians here? Do you have a desire to know God more deeply? You might not want to recognize that, but every single one of you are also missionaries commissioned by God. Remember that great commission? Go into all the world. You are a missionary. How many of you are seeking to make him known more fully? May we strive to live lives that reflect this? Thus that we become role models like Paul, like Timothy, like Epaphroditus, and like Eric. Amen. Let's pray and I'll invite that worship team to come up and lead us as we close. Lord, thank you so much again for this wonderful passage in Philippians. Lord, it's a passage of challenge because it's a passage that actually calls us to do something. That calls us to a life of commitment, a life of service, a life of offering ourselves up, a life of even suffering. These are not terms that we like. We would far prefer someone served up, that us, that someone offered something to us, that we be protected from all suffering. But Lord, this is not the calling that you have for us because we know that Lord, you use all of those things to bring yourself glory, but also to bring your name into the spotlight. Lord, I pray for Doug as he takes on this role. I pray for Dave, I pray for Dylan, the whole team, the leadership here at Cabocha Baptist that you would, Lord, help them to be those role models first and foremost, to be going ahead, to be living out that Christ-like example, but Lord, like Paul, like Timothy, like Epaphroditus. I want to pray for each and every member of this congregation also, that Lord, your spirit would come in here and transform lives, but not just people becoming Christians, but us as Christians, that you would sanctify us, that you would transform us, that you would grow us into that likeness of Christ, that we ourselves would become willing servants, willingly offering, willingly suffering for the sake and the cause of Christ. Lord, this world would turn, you turned on its head if we did that. And so we pray for this congregation that, Lord, you would start to do a move by your spirit in this place. And Lord, we will glorify you, we'll praise your name as we see the results of that. Thank you, Lord, for who you are, that you are a God who is worthy of following. We give our lives to you. Amen.