Philippians 1:15-18
"Caution: Mean Men At Work!"

Gospelcom Bible Gateway

Shall not we pity and love those souls whom Christ loves and pities? Those who abound in any grace, need to abound more. Try things which differ; that we may approve the things which are excellent. The truths and laws of Christ are excellent; and they recommend themselves as such to any attentive mind. Sincerity is that in which we should have our conversation in the world, and it is the glory of all our graces. Christians should not be apt to take offence, and should be very careful not to offend God or the brethren. The things which most honor God will most benefit us. Let us not leave it doubtful whether any good fruit is found in us or not. A small measure of Christian love, knowledge, and fruitfulness should not satisfy any.

"¹⁵Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: ¹⁶The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; ¹⁷but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. ¹⁸What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice. "

INTRODUCTION:

A. Are you startled by these verses?

B. What does this tell us about those in ministry?

C. Every organization has the "Tates" in our families

1. Old man dictate

2. Uncle rotate tries to change and his

2. Sister agitate;stirs up trouble

3. And of course her Husband, irritate;

4. Whenever new projects are suggested, Hesitate;

5. his sister, Vegetate;

6. Aunt Imitate; to be like all the others

7. Devastate; voice of doom

8. Potentate; wants to be the big shot

9. The black sheep of the family, Amputate;completely shut himself off from every church

Do you idealize the way church used to be?

Look at Corinthians. Many of the letters were written to correct heresy.

What were Paul's problems? Circumstances? This week, we look at problem Christian people: poor, heal, liberty, fight, poor, broken-hearted, blind, oppression.

"The Fight" by John White

Three-fold strategy on how to handle problem people.

I. Identify The Trouble Makers

A. Some of whom (cf 14) broken in the Lord

-- Who were these people?

-- What were they doing?

-- Isn't it incredible these were believers?

-- Do you need each other or needle others?

B. Notice they are not attacking the message but Paul.

-- What are the characteristics of these people?

a. They were jealous (envy)

b. They were argumentative (strife)

1. What does someone who thrives on strife look like? What do they love to do?

2. How does mistletoe describe these people?

3. How might strife have been expressed in Paul's ministry?

c. (16) They were selfish -- ambition

1. How was this word used by the Greeks?

2. PRINCIPLE: When gossip is shared, ego is involved.

a. Peter: filthy lucre

b. John - leaders as Diotrophes preeminent among these

d. (16) They were vindicate (affliction)

1. Their motivation was not to evangelize, but to attack Paul on a personal ground regarding his motivation not his theology (1 Cor. 10:10)

2. They were like scorpions who feed on insects and each other and even on their newborn young.

II. Ratify the Truth maker

A. Refreshed by those that are the truth makers and do not fixate on the trouble

1. There are others in the Tate family

a. Advocate

b. Celebrate

c. Tolerate

2. Don't focus on the problems but on the solutions

3. Starve the problem, feed the solution

4. Build up those that are encouragers, release them and then build with them

5. How did Paul encourage these?

a. Good will

b. Phil 5:1

6. When you get a smudge on a white shirt realize that the rest of the shirt is beautiful.

B. They were loving (1 Cor 13)

1. What is the big difference between the troublemakers and the truth makers?

C. They were understanding

III. Magnify The True Message

A. What then?

B. Paul felt hurt but notice Paul wouldn't allow his hurt to rob him of his joy and instead took the high road.

C. What was the bottom line?

D. Paul realized that the power was in the message and not the messenger

E. Paul had both comrades as well as critics

1. With comrades he rejoiced

2. With critics he rejoiced in spite of them

3. Even if the person is a boring, prudish stuffed shirt they are still his brothers and sisters in Christ and Paul loved them

4. If you love me, you will keep my commandments, love one another.

F. Thoroughbred horses when endangered gather together with their legs out and their heads together so that they will kick the enemy. Donkeys, however, do the exact opposite. They gather together with their heads out and their feet in and end up kicking one another.

G. Are you a horse or a donkey?

H. Please note that Paul is not talking about the message but the messengers giving the message in these verses

Application:

1. Identify those in your life that causes issues in your walk

2. Look for those that are in your life that support you in love.

3. Contact them and thank them. Encourage them and build them up.

4. Seek to be an encourager to others.

MEMORY VERSE FOR THIS WEEK:

Philippians 1:15-18

"¹⁵Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: ¹⁶The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; ¹⁷but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. ¹⁸What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice. "