Some of the things the book says are:

• Real men don't buy flight insurance
• Real men don't floss their teeth
• Real men don't play Frisbee

 I guess if we thought about the Aussie male image there might be some unspoken rules like:

• Real men don't cry
• Real men drink beer not soft drink
• Real men don't need help
• Real men keep their emotions to themselves
• Real men don't need religion
• Real men can get on in life without spiritual stuff

 But I want to ask, is this really the case?

 Why is it then that 'real' men drown their sorrows in their beer?

Why is it that 'real' men find it so hard to express their hurts and disappointments, which eventually leads to stress, anger, violence, hate, revenge, and eventual emotional breakdown?

What is it in 'real' men that is being denied in their lives leading to absolute despair that is locked deep inside their hearts?

 'Real' men need to be more honest. They need to open the closet doors to their hearts that others may enter in, such as the important people who are their wife and kids. More importantly, 'real' men need to open their hearts up to Jesus.

 Generally speaking, in our Australian culture, women tend to be more "spiritual" then men. Has this always been the case? It seems that men are happy to send their women folk along to church because they are so called 'weaker' emotionally, so need 'that religious stuff' to help them get on with life. Sometimes, when a man comes to church he may be there for the ride, but when it comes to that heavy spiritual stuff, then he'll just keep a distance because he must put on this 'real' man image. Unfortunately, this type of man misses out - so do women who take this approach to a relationship with Christ.

 The fact is spirituality can be manly. As a matter of fact, without Jesus you cannot be a real man or real woman.

 Fella's, let me ask you a question: If being macho requires spirituality, how macho are you?

 The passage we are looking at today gives us insights into the qualities of a real Christian man and woman.

Timothy was a young man from what is now Turkey. His mother was Jewish but his father was not. He was probably educated as a Greek, and at some point became a Christian, along with his mother and grandmother. It would seem that it was the maternal side of the family where his spiritual influence came from. This is probably the case because we find in 2 Timothy 1:5 & 3:14-15 that both Eunice (Timothy's mother) and Lois (his grandmother) were sensitive towards the things of the Lord, having a sincere faith.

 After meeting Paul during Paul's second missionary journey (Acts 16:1-3), he served Paul and the Lord faithfully his whole life - from the first mention of him in Acts right through to the period, after Paul's death, he faded into history in Hebrews 13:23. The kind of relationship they had was like a father/son relationship. In 1 Cor. 4:17 Paul refers to Timothy as "my beloved and faithful son".

 So the relationship between these two men was special. They were like minded.

 The other thing that impressed Paul so much about Timothy is that Timothy was genuine in his concern about others. So Timothy modeled something that Paul wrote earlier in this letter to the Philippians - an unselfish attitude. He didn't allow his own wants and needs get in the way of his care for others, simply because he was too busy thinking about others to have time to concentrate about how these others might interfere with the things he wanted for himself.

 The bottom line is this - over the long haul, relationships are more valuable than things

The Bible says in 1 Cor 13, "These three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

 You can be a success in everything else in life, but if you don't have love in your life, you will fail. The problem in today's society, and something that has infiltrated the Christian Church is that people are naturally selfish - we want things for me, and if those things for me are not met, then I will tell others about, but usually not the appropriate people. Instead, I will go and complain to others about those most closely concerned to the issue I have.

 As true Disciples of Christ we should reroute this negative attitude into compassion. The best of Christianity is to love others as you love yourself.

 The President of Uganda, Y. K. Museveni, , has been described by the Reuters news agency as "one of the most outspoken proponents of change in Africa." Early this year he made a dramatic speech.

The principles Museveni takes from Jesus are:

 Humility -

Love -

 God is looking for men who are caring and compassionate. Compassion is protecting the needs and rights of people. Too often we are in the game of life just for ourselves, not caring what other people need or want. Make time for people.

" ... Timothy has proved himself ... he has served with me in the work of the gospel."

 Last week we looked at what Paul was speaking about when he said to the Philippians:

• Prove yourselves to be blameless
• Prove yourselves to be innocent
• Prove yourselves to be children of God
• Prove yourselves to be above blame

By:

• Appearing as lights in the world, and
• By Holding fast to the word of light

Now Paul is pointing to Timothy, only a few lines further on in this letter to the Philippians saying, "Look at Timothy, he is a young man and has already proved himself through his work in the gospel. Timothy ensured his integrity and character in the Lord held firm.

 God is looking for men and women who put character before conformity - men and women of character who are not afraid to be different and to stand-alone.

 Someone once said, "If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything." This is so true.

 What are you willing to stand for in life?

Is standing firm in Christ, or is it giving way to the pressures around in our society that would draw us away from the kind of relationship Christ wants with us.

 Jesus needs men and women of conviction, who cannot be bought at any price. The word "prove" that Paul uses here means the character has been tested - integrity. I don't think it is any fluke then that Timothy's name means, "he honors God." He did not cave in to pressure. If Timothy was around today I guess he would have been upheld as one of societies future shining lights - most likely to make a million by age 30. But he didn't cave into temptations, but kept on the straight and narrow path where God led him.

 Timothy was a man of integrity committed to his values, and consistent in his beliefs and convictions.

 How solid are your values?

 On the front of your bulletins this morning you would have noticed Proverbs 20:7 which says "The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him." And

Proverbs 10:9 says "The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out."

 Many people today strive for success. But success over the long haul is built on character, not on image. The man and woman of integrity will not be afraid of what is going to be found out about them, he or she will be open and honest because they have nothing to hide. Folks, is your private life consistent with your public image?

"I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, who is your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. ... He was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him..."

 As we know, Paul was in prison in Rome. Because of the love the people in Philippi had for Paul they took up an offering to help with his expenses. It was 800 miles and 6 weeks travel over rough terrain. Epaphroditus volunteered to take it. But shortly after he arrived he became terribly ill - almost dying. In spite of this, he still fulfilled his task of encouragement to Paul, and by doing so, undertook some incredible risks.

 His risk was that in those days, when people visited prisoners held under Roman authority, they were often prejudged as criminal types as well. Therefore Epaphroditus exposed himself to danger just by being near Paul. The word Paul uses here for 'risk' means "to hazard with one's life…to take a gamble." That's what Epaphroditus did in order to minister to Paul's point of need. He wasn't interested in his own needs, despite his serious illness.

 What does Epaphroditus' example teach us?

How committed and cooperative are you to the cause of Christ?

 God is looking for people who put cooperation before competition. Paul recognized that even he would get more accomplished if he worked together with other people. He describes the cooperation in three terms, covering three relationships -- brother, worker, and soldier. This is what Epaphroditus was to Paul.

 There are three things about the Christian life we need to know:

1. The Christian church is a family: we are all related. 133 times in the New Testament Paul uses the word "brother" to describe the relationship between Christians.

 

Sadly, some experts observe that only 10% of men have real friends They are afraid to let anybody get close to them. Fella's, if you don't feel that close to other believers, then I encourage you to work at it.

 

2. The Christian church is a fellowship: we have the same task, assignment.

You know, God uses people of action who take the initiative. Are you committed to Christ, the Body of Christ, and the Work of Christ?

"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."

I want to look a little bit further into the risk Epaphroditus took.

 The word used for "risk" is a gambler's word, and means to stake everything on the roll of the dice. Paul is saying that for the sake of Jesus Christ, Epaphroditus gambled his life. In the days of the early church there was an association of men and women called "the gamblers." It was their aim to visit the prisoners and the sick, especially those who were ill with dangerous diseases. In AD 252 a plague broke out in Carthage. The non-Christians threw out the bodies of their dead and fled in terror. Cyprian, the Christian bishop, gathered his congregation together and set them to burying the dead and nursing the sick in the plague-ravaged city. In doing this, they saved those who were left.

 In our western culture we live in a protected environment when it comes to freedom of speech and freedom of worship. But we do undergo other pressures as Christians in the school ground, the office kitchen, our neighbor etc. Paul infers here and says elsewhere that Christians should have the courage to gamble with their lives to serve Christ and people.

Our whole goal in life is to become secure and financially independent. But the problem with this is that security becomes the goal of life rather than service. God is looking for people who are willing to risk serving. Referring to those who desire to be his disciples, Jesus says in Luke 9:23:

Christians follow their Lord by imitating his life and obeying his commands. To take up the cross meant to carry your own cross to the place where you would be killed. The Romans had killed many Galileans that way. Applied to the disciples, it meant to identify completely with Christ’s message, even if it meant death. We must deny our selfish desires to use our time and money our own way and to choose our own direction in life without regard to Christ. Following Christ is costly now, but in the long run, it is well worth the pain and effort.

7. GOD DOESN'T NEED SUPERSTARS

Timothy and Epaphroditus were just ordinary blokes, but they made a difference because 2000 years later we're still talking about them.

When you look at your life and work how much is going to count 50 years from now? Or 100 or 1000? Will you have made any difference?

 God is calling ordinary people, like Timothy, like Epaphroditus, like Andrew Ballin, like Bronwyn London, like Nigel and Mandy Austin, like Joe Scuderi, like Scott Douglas to make a difference in a world aching to know Christ, but just not looking the right direction.

 Folks I urge you to be committed to Christ, be committed to the Body of Christ and be committed to the work of Christ.

By Scott Douglas, Burdekin Baptist Church, 1^st November 1998