Times Paul sent someone with a purpose

What I've got in my mind this morning, I'll just tell you in case I don't get to my point. I'd like to look at the different times that Paul sent a servant to an assembly for a specific purpose. And I'd like to look at that purpose, not so much the character of the men, they were good men, but for the reason that he sent them to those places.

And I'll just be very general and very brief this morning, and I hope it is a help to all of us. 1 Corinthians chapter 4, verse number 17. For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church.

And we'll just take these, I guess, one at a time instead of taking the time to read the six passages. We'll just make a comment and we'll move on. Here we've got Paul and he's sending Timothy to Corinthians.

And he's a faithful brother. And Paul says the reason why he's sending him was to remind the Corinthians of his ways which he taught everywhere in every church, but those ways were the ways which be in Christ. And so just simply this morning, I'd like to start off with this.

Something that all of our hearts need, something that is very pertinent to each and every one of us is to be more Christ-like, more Christ-like. Paul was sending Timothy to remind them of the doctrine, yes, but I was particularly struck of this, the ways which be in Christ. And we know that Corinth was a carnal place, it was a place of strife, it was a place of envy, it was a place of bitterness and division.

And here Paul is sending Timothy to remind them of the ways that are in Christ. I think that's special. I think that's most needed in my life today and I think if we're honest, each and every one of us could say the same thing.

If we could be more Christ-like, walk in the ways of Christ, there wouldn't be the strife and there wouldn't be the bitterness and there wouldn't be the envy, but there would be the love and there would be the grace and there would be the compassion and there would be the obedience and there would be those things that are lovely in the sight of God and they're lovely in the sight of men. Corinth was a place that was plagued by sin, it was a place of problems, it was a place of issues. It reminds me of me.

To remind each and every one of us of ourself. None of us are perfect, none of us are mature yet in Christ, but if we could just be more like Christ, if we could be reminded by a Timothy to walk in the ways that are the ways of Christ. And so Paul sends Timothy to Corinth to bring them into remembrance, to walk in the ways of Christ.

2 Corinthians chapter 9, verse number 3, Paul is sending Titus and another brother and he's I'd like to take the application this morning of assembly that wasn't prepared, assembly that wasn't ready. And so Paul is sending these two men so that they would be ready and I would take the exhortation to my heart and hopefully to yours that we need to be prepared as a people of God. We need to be ready in all things.

It seems to me, and you'll probably say this about my message, but there's a lot of unpreparedness among us. We come to the worship meeting on the Lord's day morning. Are we prepared? Prepared, really have given thought to it beforehand, giving it some, some intense thinking of the person of Christ and all that he has done, or when we come, is it just something that is spontaneous that we haven't thought about until five seconds before we got up as I speak to the brethren.

The attitude of being prepared, an attitude of being ready, having an exercise, having a desire and putting some effort into the assembly to be prepared. Paul sends these men so that when those that come for their, for their gift or for their, for their purpose, that he wouldn't be embarrassed because they weren't prepared. Have you ever felt that way? Embarrassed because we weren't prepared.

Some assemblies still have an open gospel meeting on Lord's day. We do in Ontario and I appreciate that. And sometimes there's an awkward silence and there's a long pause maybe before someone gets up to preach and there's an embarrassment because we're not prepared.

And maybe there's a visitor there for the first time and they look and there's no one getting up and a couple of minutes goes by, it seems like two hours and there's an embarrassment because of lack of preparation. Could it be that in our life that is so busy, that is so stressful, that is so, so hectic that we need to be reminded just simply to prepare, just simply to be ready in the assembly, to be available, to be exercised, to be engaged, to be involved in the local assembly. And so here he's sending them that they might be prepared.

Ephesians please, chapter six, Ephesians chapter six, verse number 21. But the also may know my affairs how I do, Tychicus a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord shall make known to you all things whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose that you might know our affairs and that you might be comforted. Comfort.

There isn't a soul here this morning that doesn't need comfort. Paul sends Tychicus so that he can give a report really what's going on as Paul's there and he's in prison and things are happening and their absentee as it were and they're wondering how he is and they're wondering how things are going. And so Paul sends Tychicus that they might know his affairs, what he's got going on, what's happening in the Lord's work where he's at in the prison.

And so he sends this man and he sends him with a message of comfort to the to the saints of God. Comfort. When was the last time you were comforted in a real way by God? A real comfort.

A real peace and soul from God himself. These people they were no doubt in anxiety. They were no doubt in fear and they were curious and they were wondering how their beloved Paul was doing.

And he's sending them word and Tychicus is coming to comfort their hearts, to comfort their hearts. And I think of the Lord Jesus as a great comforter. The one that comforts our hearts, the one that draws near and is a comfort to our soul.

It's something that we all need as we think of the flock of God and the sheep of his pasture. When the flock is stirred up and when the flock is antsy as it were, they need to be comforted. They needed to be calm.

They needed to be helped. And as you look around in this fast developing world, there's something that the people of God need and that's that we need to be comforted in our Lord. Comforted in the power of our God.

That he is in control and he is still on the throne. You see Paul understood that when Paul was in prison. He understood that God was on the throne, that God was in control and he wasn't worried by it and he wasn't bothered by it.

But you and I, we get looking around at the spin of all the news and all the propaganda as you will. And it discomforts us. It makes us nervous.

And Paul sent Tychicus that their hearts might be comforted. That they might be reminded afresh that God is on the throne and God is in control. And those that draw near unto God, he will draw near unto them.

And he was sent for the purpose to give a report how Paul was doing and to comfort the Christians. I hope at this conference we're reminded of the ways of Christ like Paul sent to the Corinthians through Timothy. And I hope we're reminded and we're exhorted to prepare as he exhorted the Corinthians.

And I hope there's a comfort brought to each and every soul here today. A comfort from God himself. We need it, brethren.

The people of God need to be at rest and peace in their soul. We need to be calm. We need to be fed.

And so Paul sends Tychicus to Ephesus for this reason. Philippians please. Philippians in chapter 2. Verse number 19.

Paul says, But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort when I know your state. Drop down to verse 28. Says actually verse 25.

Yet I suppose it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and companion in labor and fellow soldiers, but your messenger and he that ministered to my wants. For he longed after you all and was full of heaviness because that he had heard that he had been sick. For indeed he was sick, nigh unto death, but God had mercy on him and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.

I sent him therefore the more carefully that when you see him again, you may rejoice and that I may be less sorrowful. Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness and hold such in reputation. Because for the work of Christ, he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life to supply your lack of service toward me.

Verse 28. He sends Epaphroditus that they may rejoice, rejoice. You know, it's one thing to be comforted and to have that peace of soul, but to take it to the next level, to be, to be a Christian that's rejoicing.

Paul wanted the Philippians not only to be comforted as he would be sending Timothy to comfort them, but he wanted them to rejoice. To rejoice and to be glad, to be encouraged, to be thrilled. Why were they, why were they thrilled in the context? It's because this man was very sick, one whom they loved.

And the good report he was bringing with them was that he was well and they would rejoice. Rejoice. It's awful easy to be long faced and they say it takes more muscles to frown than to smile.

But to truly rejoice today, brother, to be able to leave this conference and to get a word from the Lord and to be encouraged and to rejoice in our soul. A real word from God of comfort, yes, but a real word that from God that would cause us to rejoice, rejoice without, rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing. To be encouraged, to be rejoicing, to be joyful.

Colossians chapter four, Colossians chapter four, verse number eight, verse seven, Colossians four, verse seven, all my state shall Tichicus declare unto you who is a beloved brother and a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose that he might know your estate. Now you'll remember back in Ephesians, he sent them so that they would know his estate and now the word has changed and now he's knowing your estate. I was thinking of that as accountability, accountability.

He wanted a report brought back. I don't know about you, but whenever someone wanted to report, it was always brought maybe a little, little element of anxiety, maybe a little element of fear because it brings with it accountability, accountability. Paul wanted to know how they were doing.

And I remember a dear brother, he's not with us anymore, but he would come up to me and he would say, how's your spiritual life doing? And every time he asked me that, I was cold at heart. It's like God brought him right to put his finger on my spot, you know. He was trying to hold me accountable.

He was asking me how I was doing. Brethren, we're accountable today. That's something I think that we lose sight of is our real accountability to the Lord.

Not so much thinking now of our accountability to the brethren or to the preachers, but our accountability to the Lord. How is our state? How is our condition? Our accountability. We go through life and we go through the motions and we put our Sunday suit on and we go to meeting.

But what struck me through this passage was this, Paul wanted to know how they're doing. How are we doing today, brethren and sisters? If the Lord was to ask you that question just now, how is it in your soul, the accountability? What could I answer? What could I answer? Paul was asking this question to get him to think. He sent this man so that these Christians would be comforted and so that they would consider really their standing, their spiritual condition before God.

He wanted to know. He wanted to know. And when there's accountability, there's a need for honesty, a need for honesty.

God wants us to be honest today. We're accountable to Him. What is our measure of joy? What is our measure of comfort? What is our measure of Christlikeness? What is our measure of being prepared? There's a measure of accountability.

So Paul sends this man to know how they're doing. We'll go to Titus first. We want to end in Thessalonians.

Titus in chapter 1. Chapter 1 of Titus, verse number 5. For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, the things that are lacking, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee. So Paul is leaving Titus in Crete to establish order. Order.

God has order in the assembly. And I believe that there were elders there, but they needed to be pointed out. They needed to be appointed.

God needed order there. There were assemblies there that were out of order. And so Paul leaves this man Titus, this good man, and he leaves him there to try to establish order in the assembly.

God's order is a tremendous thing. It's a lovely thing. It's not a bondage.

It's not a curse. God's order is a blessing. And so he leaves Titus there so that there would be a beginning of order, so that there would be overseers in an assembly, and so that things could go on from there, so that it wouldn't be in chaos, and to exhort the people of the order of God.

We could use some more of that in 2016, God's order and the reality of it, that God has a specific way to carry out in God's assembly, a specific way for us to conduct ourselves as we come into His presence in worship, in ministry, in the gospel, in all of the events of the assembly, yea, even in all the events of our life, God has an order. And so he leaves Titus there to set order at Crete. And now we'll finish in 1 Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians in chapter 3, verse 1. Wherefore, when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone.

And he sent Timotheus, our brother and minister of God and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and to comfort you concerning your faith, that no man should be moved by these afflictions, for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto. For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation even as it came to pass, and ye know. For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means a tempter have tempted you in our labor be in vain.

But now when Timotheus came from you unto us, he brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us as we also to see you. Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith or faithfulness. Paul had a heart's burning, a real burden in his soul for these believers.

He had labored much for him, and now there he is, he's at Athens, and he has to send Timothy because he can't take it anymore. He knows the affliction and the suffering that these Christians have gone through. And he's just wondering in his mind, he can't get them out of his mind, he needs to know.

And so he sends Titus that he might establish them and comfort them concerning their faith. And there's Timothy, he goes, and what does he see? He sees a group of believers that has endured suffering. Paul warned him about it.

Paul didn't paint a rosy picture of bed and roses once a person is saved. He warned these believers of suffering and tribulation, and they expected it. They expected it.

And there they are, and they're going on for God. And their faith isn't moved. They're strong in faith.

They're enduring suffering. And they're strong in faith. And we come to the end of chapter 1, and they're waiting for the coming of the Lord.

Brethren, would to God that would be us today, expecting suffering. You know, sometimes when we're suffering, we never see it coming, we're not expecting it. And it really throws us.

And it causes us to question our faith. It causes us to question God. But brethren, if we expect it, if we're looking forward to it, if we take it as we know it's coming, it's not a matter of if, it's just when the tribulation will come, because that's the way it is for the Christian life.

God is going to develop us through suffering. God is going to strengthen our faith through tribulation. And these Thessalonians, they were looking for it.

They were prepared for it. Prepared. And when it came, they were strong in faith.

Nothing wavering. And they endured the affliction. And Timothy finds them waiting for the coming of the Lord.

I wonder, will that be us? Will that be us? Dark days are coming if the Lord be not come. They are. I wonder if this little remembrance of being Christ-like will help us for those days that come.

Or maybe the remembrance of being prepared. Expecting the tribulation, expecting the promise, being prepared for the personality clashes and all those things that go with it. I hope that'll help us for days to come.

And the need for comfort. Comfort one another with these words that surely I come quickly, the Savior said. He's coming.

We can comfort ourselves. We can rejoice in tribulation. To rejoice.

Paul sends a man to help us rejoice in the joy of our salvation. And how about accountability as we're looking forward to the Lord coming? We're looking forward to the judgment seat of Christ and the accountability that comes with it. And then we've got the order in Titus.

But God help us to be like the Thessalonians, enduring suffering, strong in faith, looking forward to the coming of the Lord.