Friendships don’t just happen.

Steve Brown:
Friendships don’t just happen. Let’s talk about it on this edition of Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
Key Life is all about God’s radical grace. Grace that has dirt under its fingernails and laugh lines on its face. If you want the Bible to be a book of rules, you may want to stop listening now. But if you’re hungry for the truth that’ll make you free, welcome to Key Life.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. If you have your Bible, open it to the 2nd chapter of Philippians, as we continue with our study in this book. Hope you had a great week-end and I hope your pastor’s sermon was as good as my pastor’s sermon. Let’s pray and then we’ll get down and we’ll study. Father, we come into your presence and almost always we’re surprised we’re here. They lied to us, they told us that it had to do with our goodness, and we tried to be good. They told us that we had to work at it, and we worked at it. They told us that if we studied the Scriptures, and if we prayed a lot, and if we were nice and kind and good, then we could have a relationship with you. And Father, we tried. And when we were at the end of ourselves and about to give up, we turned to walk away and you said, welcome child. And we realized that you had already done everything that was necessary. And we praise you and we worship you because of that. Father, you know everybody who’s listening to this broadcast, not just in general, you know their names. And you have known every one of us from the foundation of the earth, the good and the bad, the hard places and the soft places. And you are sovereign and our Father over all of that. Father, meet us at the point of our needs as you define our needs. And as always, we pray for the one who teaches on this broadcast, that you would forgive him his sins, because there are many. We would see Jesus and him only, and we pray in Jesus’ Name. Amen. All right, let me read the text that we’ll be studying to you, it’s Philippians 2:19 through 30.

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 his 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 us 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. But I think it is necessary to send back 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 you heard he was ill. Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me the 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 and 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 love that passage. You know, I like it when the apostle Paul teaches theology. It’s profound, it’s incredible, and it’s become the basis of the verities of the Christian faith that all of us believe. The apostle Paul is a keen mind. And as you read through the books and the letters that he writes, you begin to see this guy is amazing. He is faithful. He perseveres through very hardship, many hardships he’s been stoned and whipped. He’s been in a shipwreck, and that’s amazing too, but you know, it’s good that we’re able to see the personal, the kind, the soft side of the apostle Paul. And I know of no passage in the New Testament that reflects that more than this. As you know, I have long respected and loved Billy Graham. His passing adds a great attraction to heaven. And I have stood and admired the amazing ways that God has honored him and used him over the years in millions of lives. I have exactly the same feeling about Franklin, and I spend considerable time every year at the Cove in North Carolina, the Billy Graham Training Center. But you know what I remember about Mr. Graham? I remember his friend telling me that he had lost his hat in the middle of the New York Crusade. And when they prayed for all those hundreds of thousands of people who would hear the gospel in that crusade, Mr. Graham asked God to find his hat for him. I thought that was endearing, it really was. And I remember one time, I was on a committee for a crusade that Mr. Graham had done in Florida. And it had not been exactly everything that Mr. Graham expected in this particular crusade. And I told him, it was a small committee meeting, Mr. Graham, you’re crazy. God is using you in an incredible way in South Florida. Don’t get upset that it’s not exactly what you wanted. And he laughed, but he was almost childish in the way he reacted to what I said. And I remember the Crusades. I remember the ways that God used Mr. Graham in amazing, incredible ways. But I remember that child likeness, too. And that’s a good memory. I’m telling you this because that’s what Paul has done in this letter. He writes amazing theology, and Philippians is not an exception of that, and we’re going to see that in the next text. But there’s a side of the apostle Paul that is gentle and kind and almost childlike, and you find it in this particular text. He’s talking about friendship. People with whom he has served in a lot of different places. And in that teaching, you begin to see some important things about friendship. And we saw some of them last week. First, if you were listening, we noted from the text the philanthropy of friendship, Philippians 2:19a.

I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered.

Philippians 2:20b

Who takes a genuine interest in your welfare.

In other words, friendship isn’t just something about somebody you know. Friendship is a place where friends help friends and reach out to friends. That is the stuff of real friendship. My late mentor, Fred Smith, told me often, Steve, you have a bunch of blank checks on me. One time I had offended him and he said, Steve, you’re running out of blank checks, but I never did. When my brother died and I was absolutely devastated, I remember Fred’s call. And Fred said, Steve, I’m on my way from Texas to North Carolina and I want you to pick me up at the airport. I want to be there as you go through this dark time in your life. It’s the reaching out that makes a difference in friendship. And then last week, we saw not only the philanthropy of friendship, we noted also the particularity of friendship, Philippians 2:20.

I have no one like him.

I love that phrase.

I have no one else like him.

I have some friends, and they’re all different, and nobody’s like everybody else, and they’re particular. And they are people on whom I lean a lot, because they are. Now, I’m running out of time, but tomorrow we’re going to talk about how friendships don’t just happen, you have to check them out to make sure. A friend is somebody who survives that checking out. Hey, you think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
Thank you Steve. That was Steve Brown resuming our tour through Philippians today, getting back into chapter 2: verses 19 through 30. We will continue from here tomorrow. So, do join us, won’t you? Well, you just heard the Basso Profundo voice of Steve Brown, but we have some other voices of Key Life too. Pete Alwinson, Matt Heard, Justin Holcomb, and Jerry Parries to list them alphabetically. All great guys and all wonderful Bible teachers. Well, recently they all joined Steve in the studio for the first time ever on Steve Brown Etc. There were stories, there was laughs, and a wonderful discussion about why they are each hopeful for the future of the church. We’d love to send you that entire episode on CD for free. If that sounds good to you, then call us right now at 1-800-KEY-LIFE that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail [email protected] to ask for that CD. Or to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses for the U.S. and Canada. Again, just ask for your free copy of the CD featuring the Voices of Key Life. And finally, if you’re blessed by the work of Key Life, would you help share that blessing with others through your financial support? Giving as easy, just charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope. Or simply text Key Life to 28950. And of course, if you can’t give right now, listen, we get it. But if you think about it, pray for us. Okay? Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And Key Life is a listener supported production of Key Life Network.