Unseen Vital Workers

Take your Bibles if you would please and turn to Ephesians chapter six.

We have a few more times where we'll be in Ephesians chapter six — or maybe twice — and then we'll be headed towards Hebrews. Hebrews has captured my heart and so if you care to prepare a little bit in advance you can start studying Hebrews, and perhaps we'll have some one-off sermons in between here and there. I do not know, but I am enjoying studying Hebrews. But for today I want to preach to you Ephesians 6:21 and 22 on the subject of unseen vital workers. Unseen vital workers. The work behind the scenes is vital for a church and it bears much fruit.

Today we'll take a look at Tychicus's life and what he meant to the Apostle Paul. And you know that in the text Paul said that he was in chains — so he was not only an ambassador to Christ but he was also in chains — and I would like for you to know that Tychicus was there from the beginning of Paul's ministry all the way until the end. So let's read together in Ephesians chapter six, verses 21 to 22, and then we'll get started.

Verse 21 says, "But that you also may know about all my affairs." Now if you could just put your finger there and hold with me. "But" is a conjunction. It starts with this conjunction in verse 21. Some scholars would think that the conjunction in verse 10 — "finally" — is the conjunction for which the letter starts to taper off a little bit, and I'd agree with those scholars that would say that the conjunction in verse 10 "finally" is reaching the climax of the letter. In fact, spiritual warfare — which is seen in verses 10 to 20 — encapsulates all of what Paul has said in Ephesians. To know what Paul has said by way of doctrine in Ephesians chapters one, two, and three is essential, and it's also essential not only to know the doctrine but to be able to put it into practice, which is explained in chapters three, four, five, and six, and that climaxes into how you live your life — which is basically spiritual warfare, because the devil exists. You are oftentimes your own worst enemy, so that is spiritual warfare. And then as well there is a devil, there are his minions. We live every day in this realm of spiritual warfare. It has heightened here as of recently — right beside us we have West Orange High School, which tried to implement Witchy Wednesdays even over the announcements, and I thank God for good Christian law firms and our own Nancy who has warred against that. So that's been put aside — more details about that later if you would like — but nevertheless, spiritual warfare is how we live, and we are to do that with integrity, with honesty, with Christlike character. Tychicus demonstrates that, and he has demonstrated that so much so that Paul would trust him with this essential letter of Ephesians.

And so "finally" in verse 10 reaches a climax in the letter. We spent a good number of Sundays on spiritual warfare, and now we get to the next conjunction in verse 21 that helps us understand — okay, now the letter is tapering off — "but that you may also know." Now Paul transitions from speaking about himself to talking on behalf of how the Ephesians feel. They are concerned about how Paul is doing and they want to know the ministry endeavors that he's engaged in even while he's in prison. And so he transitions here from talking about how he needs prayer for preaching and his continued proclamation of the mystery of the gospel, and now he addresses how they are doing. Because what they are thinking about — they're thinking about Paul — and Paul, being concerned about what they're concerned about, addresses it. He can't put this in a letter because there's just too much that needs to be said.

The Ephesian church loves Paul dearly. Paul spent time with them — he planted that church — and now they are heartfully engaged, and the only way really to communicate all of what needs to be communicated is in person. And so Paul may be an ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ, but now we see Tychicus as an ambassador of Paul — one who would not only go and share the gospel as an ambassador of Christ, but one who would share on behalf of Paul how Paul is doing to those who love him.

And I say to you, put this in first person. You have loved ones. What if one of your loved ones was doing really, really poorly? Perhaps you thought they were not only imprisoned but not well fed, not able to care for their needs very well. You need to know how they're doing. You would want not just a letter but a full explanation of how things are going. And so Paul was doing that. He says, "But that you also may know about my affairs and how I am doing" — that is his ministry affairs and then how he is personally doing. He's going to send Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord. "He will make everything known to you."

Well, that's great. Now at this point you should think to yourself, "Wow, Tychicus is going to tell them everything." Like everything. He's got this letter in his hand — this apostolic letter, this authoritative scroll rolled up — and he's headed from Rome to Ephesus. What a trip. Now this man, Tychicus, is performing some vital unseen work behind the scenes, and he is most certainly elder-qualified because he not only has been trained by Paul from the beginning all the way to the end, but now he's headed to Ephesus to tell them everything for which this letter stands. And so you think to yourself, "Man, Tychicus has got to be overwhelmed with excitement to get back to the Ephesians to be able to preach to them this Ephesian letter, these concepts." He would get there and he would say, "I've got some rich information for you. This letter to you, you Ephesians — it is an overwhelming amount of wealth and I want to impart this to you. I want to be the first to read this publicly. Can I? Can I? Can I?" He would have been like a kid in a candy store with just amazing information. And so when he got there he would tell them everything — not only Paul's affairs, not only how Paul is doing, but also he would deliver this letter. And I'll substantiate those claims a little bit more as this message unfolds.

I want to give you just a little bit more meaningfulness as well in regards to the fact that Tychicus being with Paul from the beginning of his ministry there in Ephesus and all the way to the end is heartfully engaged. Paul's farewell letter — in 2 Timothy chapter four and verse six it says, "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come." This farewell letter is to Timothy. Tychicus and Timothy could have been like brothers in the ministry. They sat at the feet of Paul and listened to him impart the truth of Jesus Christ. And what I'm saying to you is that not only did Timothy have a father-and-son relationship with Paul, but so did Tychicus. And he would have known the very heartbeat of Paul and would have been very engaged with this meaningfully.

And so now Tychicus is doing some vital ministry behind the scenes. He's delivering this letter. In verse 22 back in Ephesians 6 it says, "I have sent him to you for this very purpose" — "so that," you know that's my two favorite words in the Bible, "so that," right? You know the why behind the what — "so that you may know our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts."

Tychicus was elder-qualified in my mind because he was able to be an encourager — not just one who was able to come alongside and encourage saints when they were in need, but he was able to impart the truth. Not only just to tell them what the truth is, but he had been personally discipled by Paul all of these years and he had caught what it means to truly impart the truth. And I'm telling you, anyone who has the truth of Jesus Christ permeating inside of their hearts and minds cannot but overflow and preach and proclaim. It's not just having a conversation. It is telling them everything. It is not just being excited about Christ. It is telling them what saith the word of God. And Tychicus had this inspired word from the Lord for the Ephesians and he was to take and give this to them — not just toss it like a gift, not just a baton to pass over. He was to give this to them. How can you give this letter except by preaching it, except by giving the truths of this Ephesian letter to them? You can't just give the letter to them. You have to convey the heart behind it.

You completely miss a whole lot of what's really there if it's not in person. That's the reason why years ago when we were going through this whole wokeness and virality and all that kind of stuff and we started trying to do in-person church — it just doesn't work on a screen. There are some vital things that have to happen in person. And so for this vital communication of Ephesians, not only the words had to be communicated but also the heart behind Ephesians had to be distributed to the Ephesians so they caught in person what Paul feels, what he knows, and what he is doing — even in chains he's ministering. And they needed to catch that so that they would also endure, no matter what, to be committed no matter what.

Tychicus had to wear the bottoms of his soles out from Rome all the way through modern-day Turkey all the way to Ephesus, and put in the pain, put in the time, put in the sweat, and work hard behind the scenes and get there. By the time he got there, he would just be burning with passion like Jeremiah was in Jeremiah chapter 20 — "His word burns in my heart like a fire." And so this would come alive for Tychicus to be able to communicate to the Ephesians. And this is like one of the only times that you see the spotlight on Tychicus. He is literally a behind-the-scenes vital worker. He's a servant all these years. He has been humbly and faithfully serving.

And so I say to you that preaching and ministering is not a one-man show. In fact, Vance Havner said it this way — he said the gospel is for lifeboats, not showboats. Let that sink in. We're not glory hounds. We're not doing things for fame. We're not doing things for fortune. We do things so that we can save lives. Ministry is literally like a lifeboat. Church is worshipping God and helping to save lost souls. We're not showboats, and the man must make up his mind which boat he's going to operate. Don't we see a lot of showboats these days who are after fame and fortune? We can spot them right away.

Paul was definitely a main guy in ministry. But he was never the only guy. Read Romans chapter 16 and see all the credit that he gives to those 27 servants mentioned by name, plus churches. Tychicus was an unseen vital worker who was trustworthy. We see that because Paul entrusted to him delivery to the Ephesians — whom he loved and cared about — his circumstances and his affairs. And Tychicus was mentioned as a beloved brother — not just a brother. He was a hard-working, faithful minister of the gospel.

To keep up with Paul you had to have some grit. To stick along with Paul you had to endure lawsuits, being chased out of towns. You had to have some inner strength. You had to be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord — like Paul told the Corinthians to be in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 58.

The unseen vital church workers here are just as vital to ministry as Tychicus was to Paul. So Tychicus is trustworthy, he's hard-working, and he's encouraging. He's unseen for the most part. We have a whole lot of irreplaceable vital servants here at this dear church. I'm so overwhelmed when I think about the hours and the funds and the talent that are invested behind the scenes so that ministry continues to happen here. I'm overwhelmed, I'm blessed, I'm impressed. And so when I think about the members here and their unseen, vital, faithful service, I'm overwhelmed with gratitude. There's a large part of my personal prayer life that is simply just being grateful to God for what He's doing through you here at Beulah Baptist Church. And it is utterly amazing.

I think of church as kind of like not only a lifeboat but the fact that we're all rowing together. We all have gifts that have been given by God and we all have a place to put our oar in the water and pull weight and move this ship along. We all have a place, we all have a purpose, we all have a part. And when you're not here, you're missed. You actually have a part in other people's hearts. And when you're not here, there is a part in other people's hearts that aches. You need to know that you matter. You need to know that your presence matters. And not only you as a person, but your vital unseen service behind the scenes really matters.

The phone calls in the middle of the night, the emails, the encouragement, the visitation, all the service around here — I have one thing in mind that I would just love to mention, but the one I am thinking of told me, "You better not tell everybody that I do this. I want to be anonymous." And I'm just boiling over wanting to brag on this one individual. If I give too many details, he'll be exposed. Okay, it's already a man in your own mind. All right, I'll stop. I'm just so impressed.

I love you guys. Thank you for what you do. And just as vital as Tychicus was behind the scenes for Paul, so are you for this dear church. And the fruit that God is bearing through this dear church is unspeakable. I could speak for the next few hours just labeling those things. But for example, the mere fact that hundreds of Bibles in India are now in the hands of new believers who are being persecuted because of your generosity — I can't even put it into words. To put that into words actually cheapens what I feel in my heart.

To have seen where Hindu mobs rob Bibles from Christians in India and burn them in their faces in the streets — and for us to have been able not only to replace those Bibles, but also to get Bibles to new converts — I can't even tell you. And that is just the tip of the iceberg.

I had better not get on that subject. You know what you do. You know. And if I mentioned too many things in detail, I would leave out vital unseen service and I fear that you would feel left out. And so you know what you do. And God knows and He rewards what's done in secret. In fact, Matthew chapter 20 and verse 16 says the last will be first and the first will be last in the kingdom of God.

And so Justin Peters says of pastors that you guys are going to be at the front of the line when we get to heaven. And I appreciate his heart behind that. He builds up pastors because he recognizes that ministers who are in the limelight or have a ministry presence online are oftentimes the ones who are seen more. And he says the diligence of the local pastors — they're going to be at the front of the line. I say to you, let me just reconvey his heart for pastors to you. I say as a pastor to you: you're going to be at the front of the line. Your unseen work is vital and God knows it — He's going to richly reward you. And so God will richly reward your heart in your service. A hundredfold — unspeakable. Not literally a hundredfold. I'm telling you, a hundredfold as an idiom to where you can't even put it into words. The concept does not register in your mind as to how blessed you will be for eternity.

Now in the Greek, Tychicus is pronounced Tychikos, and he was raised in Asia and most likely a Gentile convert. So Paul took him to Jerusalem as a Gentile representative — boy, that's an awkward position to be in. You would have to have some inner strength just to be in that position. He learned a lot on the third missionary journey with Paul, ministering in Galatia and then three years in Ephesus, and he even saw a riot in Ephesus. He saw idols being addressed. He saw Paul tearing down the whole culture there. The silversmiths that were building idols rose up, in a riotous way, against Paul. And Tychicus saw that riot. And then he also traveled to Macedonia and Greece, and all of that included preaching and persecution — every single bit of it. So Tychicus got a first-hand education that included sweat and service and sacrifice.

And so, having seen the good, the bad, and the ugly in ministry, he's still faithful and he's not afraid of the danger. Paul had murder plots against him, yet Tychicus was still faithful. Paul had court appointments and was imprisoned, yet Tychicus is still faithful. He's still faithful. He's still faithful. And when I think of Tychicus, I think of this adage: when the going gets tough, the tough get going.

And you've proven that in the life of this church. When things get tough, the tough speak up. The tough get going. It's like this — true Christians are emboldened by the Holy Spirit of God when there is opposition. We don't flee like a bunch of chickens. We stand firm. We don't run like a rat. We don't evade like a rabbit. We actually hold our ground like a bold lion. And we are emboldened to be able to do this in gentleness, in reverence of God. We are able to stand our ground unflinchingly.

And if you do a word search on fear, you'd be surprised at how many times it is mentioned in the word of God. One professor said that there's a mentioning of "do not fear" — in the context of "do not fear" — so many times in the Bible that there's one for every day, over 365 times. If you do your due diligence with a concordance, look it up. I just took his word for it, I didn't do it myself. But I say that to you — I see "do not fear" all over the Bible. And the tough not only get going in difficult times, but it brings out the best in you when times get tough. And not the worst.

Tychicus was faithful in ministry and he saw the good, the bad, and the ugly, and he worked hard. And at the point for which it counts, it's time to rise up and work hard. It brought the best out of him — the best effort, the best motivation, the best attitude of being a servant. Tychicus was awesome in this area. And so yes, we are people of determination and people of resilience. We have a hardcore commitment.

I think of Tychicus as one who is tough. He's not feeble in ministry. When I walk around on campus sometimes, I look at the weeds that are growing in the flower beds, and I think — Christians need to be like weeds. They keep on growing and even thrive in the toughest of circumstances. We don't want to be like St. Augustine grass. If you neglect the water just a little bit — dead. Just a few little chinch bugs in the St. Augustine grass — got a big brown spot, gone. If it's too hot, the grass lays down. St. Augustine grass is so wimpy. But weeds — oh yes. Christians, we need to be like weeds. They can grow anywhere at any time. You don't have to feed us. I'm going to be bright green no matter what. Welcome to Central Florida, right?

Christians, we need to rise up in tough times. And when it gets hotter in our circumstances, it needs to bring out the best in us and not the worst. And so the harder it gets, the harder we work. Paul gives us an example of these types of things, and Tychicus most certainly did as well, because there's no way that Paul would have sent this man on this journey if he was weak or if he was affected by Paul being in prison or if he was disheartened because of the turmoil. "Oh, I can't take the turmoil. I'm on a heart — I just can't take it." Listen, the Holy Spirit of God will strengthen you inwardly. And Paul prayed for that in Ephesians chapter three for the Ephesian church — for them to be strong inwardly, that the Holy Spirit of God would stabilize them and that they would continue in the faith.

So Paul here was most certainly like a father to Tychicus. And I want you to think with me, just really clearly and succinctly, about some bad dads in the Bible — and Paul being a good dad in the Bible, a good father figure. King David's lack of family discipline — did it not cause Absalom some really internal struggles? Think of Eli and his passive parenting — did that not ruin his sons? Think of Lot and how he compromised with the world — did that not affect his family? And think of even righteous Noah, a preacher of the gospel, who had a weak moment and got intoxicated — did that not affect his family? And think of Jacob and how he played favorites — did that not embitter his sons?

But Paul — an amazing father figure. Paul, one who was committed. Paul, one who was stable in ministry. Paul, even despite the chains, despite the hardships, despite the rejection, despite being accused and beaten and battered and bruised — despite people leaving him in ministry, all the discrepancies, despite all of that — Paul remained faithful to disciple Timothy and Barnabas and Tychicus and Titus. All these wonderful disciples are a product of the faithfulness of Paul. And so we must aspire to be like Paul. We must rise above these areas of weakness that we see in the bad dads in the Bible. I wish there were more good dads in the Bible for our enjoyment and display, but we see more of the other.

So Tychicus was strengthened inwardly by Paul's love and teachings and direction and commitment to Christ. Tychicus was with Paul from the beginning all the way to the end. In 2 Timothy 4:12 we see that Tychicus is there, and no doubt Paul was entrusting to Timothy and Tychicus the same benefits of the relationship as described in Philippians chapter two, verse 22 — "as a son with a father he served me in the gospel." This is how personal and how meaningful ministry is.

And so I say to us as we continue to row in this boat together — there's going to be days where there are rapids. There's going to be days where it's calm and peaceful. There's going to be days where there are storms and lightning and rain. And there's going to be days when it's just glorious. There's going to be days where you can see the sunrise and the sunset, days where you can see beautiful mountains. There are going to be wonderful, glorious days, but there are also rapids — that's life. Together we do ministry, and so let's keep on keeping on together like Tychicus was for Paul.

Leaders in ministry deal with all kinds of opposition, devilish opposition. Moses was opposed by these two named Jannes and Jambres in 2 Timothy chapter three, verse eight — these were, according to Paul, men of a depraved mind. The devil sends opposers to oppose the gospel, to oppose preachers, to oppose elders, to oppose deacons, to oppose fathers and mothers and children. The devil sends these opposers. Paul was opposed and harmed even by Alexander as mentioned in 2 Timothy 4:14 — "This man did me much harm," Paul said. Paul called him out. Titus was opposed by rebellious deceivers of the circumcision, Titus chapter one, verse 10. All kinds of opposition. Ezra and Nehemiah were severely and strategically opposed by Sanballat and Tobiah — in Nehemiah chapter two, verse 10, and chapter four, verse one.

I say these things so that your leaders here — your eldership and your deacons — they will have opposition. And every single one of these men in leadership needs Tychicuses — if I use his name as a means to illustrate what it is to stick it out through thick and through thin. Ministry leaders like Moses and Ezra, Nehemiah and Paul and Titus and all the others that we see in the Bible need men around them that they can count on. They need men around them that they know without a shadow of a doubt are going to be there. Foxhole buddies. When those shots start coming, they're not going to run for their life. They're actually going to rise up and be stronger in the faith and demonstrate Christlike character that is dependable, gentle and kind, of the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

Leaders in ministry need men around them that they don't have to worry about getting in the flesh because they got smacked in the face or assaulted or hit with some type of accusation. We're going to take blows in ministry. We just got through with the spiritual warfare series, and there's a reason why a shield is mentioned — for us to raise our shield and to protect ourselves. And obviously you're not going to block every arrow. There are going to be wounds and there are going to be hurts. It's ministry, it's life. So we stick together in all of these things. And I say to us: be a Christian that is tough and dependable. Be a Christian that's committed — committed as Christ. There's going to be emotional pain, mental pain, physical pain, but toughness is required in ministry. That's the reason why Paul said in Ephesians chapter six and verse 10 to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might — not in your own power, in the might of Christ. Christ in you is the hope of glory, and so we need to be tough for ministry tasks.

The task that was assigned to Tychicus was a tall order. Timothy was tasked with pastoring at Ephesus — what a tall order that was — and that included rebuking the theological errors that were there in Ephesus. Timothy, a young man, was tasked with pastoring at Ephesus, and Diana, the false god of the day — there in that huge world-wonder temple — was a craze, the hype of the day. So all of the mystical worship going on around Ephesus was hard for young Timothy to deal with. But as a young man he had a huge task. He had to depend upon the Lord.

Some of us think that it's a huge task simply to fulfill our everyday duties of marriage and parenting, faithfulness to Christ. I agree with you, and the grace of God is there for you to be able to accomplish all that God has called you to. He is dependable to provide the grace and the strength that you need to accomplish what you've been called to do.

Titus was tasked with revitalizing churches in Crete, and that included identifying and training up elders in all the churches on the island of Crete — no small task. Oh by the way, there were liars there who had to be excommunicated. No easy task to conduct church discipline when liars are penetrating the church and trying to fool people, and leadership had to be removed. A tall task for Titus.

And now we also see others tasked with amazing roles — such as Tertius in Romans chapter 16, verse 22, who was tasked with writing Romans as Paul dictated that long book. He had to write the whole thing. We have all these comfortable pens, smooth writing ink — we have lead pencils, just click, click, click, and you've got more lead. Oh so easy. But how many of you would complain about hand aches and cramps if you had to write the entire book of Romans? What a task.

Sosthenes was tasked with Paul's writing of the Corinthian letters — those are no small letters. And so these amanuenses were tasked with these things. What is the task that God has clearly made available for you to engage in? I would say it is not going to be easy — by way of example of all the servants in the Bible — and it's going to come with opposition and it's going to come with some pain and some suffering. It's going to come with heartaches and pains. But are we not as Christians to take up our own cross and deny ourselves and to follow Him and to endure these types of sufferings together?

It doesn't matter how small you think the task is that God has given you, or how big the task is that somebody else has in the church — it doesn't matter about this. What matters is God's gifting and His grace. And everything is vital. So the ground is level at the foot of the cross — not only by way of those who come to Christ, but also for us who are serving Jesus. The things that you do matter. And so we do it as unto Christ, with excellence, and we don't complain about these things. We actually know that it's part of the process.

We have one dear saint who got stung by bees just by trying to spray the bees around the buildings — did you know that happened? Probably not. I could name a whole lot of different things that happen by way of suffering and pain and consequences for serving Christ. Did they give up? No. They kept their hands to the plow. They kept working hard for Christ. And they considered it pure joy to look back on the trial — just like James makes us to be able to see, that we consider it pure joy when we go through these trials. Just like Paul was rejoicing in prison in Philippians chapter four — one of the prison epistles — and in Ephesians chapter six, verse 20, he's still ministering as an ambassador in chains.

And so if you get chained, if you get locked away, if you get separated from loved ones, if you endure some persecution, some accusations, some pushback — if you get pushed away from the things that you love — are you still going to be on the care team? Are you still going to come and worship at church? Are you still going to be dedicated to worshipping your God because you know He's sovereign, you know He's good? Are you still going to be kind even though others may not have been kind to you?

This is important. In Ephesians chapter four and verse one it says, "I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk worthy of your calling with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love." How's that for a tall task — for us to be able to demonstrate humility and gentleness and patience, bearing with one another in love even while being in prison. Paul makes this clear for us to do. And you know that he was demonstrating that, perhaps with the guards who were mocking him, perhaps with those around him who were not being kind to Paul.

I want to give you some tips for training — some training goals for your trainees. And you know that this is the Great Commission. The Great Commission is not just sharing the gospel. Jesus said in Matthew chapter four, verse 19, "Follow Me, and I will make you" — so you're being remade, this is not a drop-and-go type of situation — "I will make you fishers of men." I'll make you not only evangelists but I will make you disciple makers. I'll make you able to proclaim the death and the burial and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ for those who would repent and believe. I'll make you to be able to proclaim the gospel, and then when salvation sets in you can help see that soul on the road to sanctification and teach them the word of God, to move beyond practice to actually teaching them. And Paul really has some tips here that we can see in training — and that is the Great Commission: to train trainers.

You see, I'm saying you have to train people up so that they are able to train — not just be, but to train. Not just be a Christian, not just evangelize, but to make other Christians. John MacArthur said it like this: "To be a Christian and not to make disciples is a contradiction." So I'm just going to presume that it is already in your hearts and minds to be faithful to make disciples — that's my presumption. And I'm saying to you: this is how Paul discipled Tychicus.

First of all, he ascribes to Tychicus that he is faithful — this is a wonderful thing. And Tychicus's name actually means "faithful." He is not only faithful but he's faithful as a brother. Read with me in Ephesians chapter six and verse 21: "But that you also may know about my affairs and how I am doing — Tychicus, the beloved brother." And so Tychicus is more than a believer. As you make disciples, yes, you lead people to faith in Christ. You lead people to confess their sin, to repent of their sin, and to turn from their wickedness — from their sin, to God. You show them a two-point turn: they turn away from their sin and they turn toward God. So it's two things happening in one turn there. And when they do that, they're saved — it's by the grace of God that that happens — and faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

And so now there's a soul that's saved. But Tychicus is a brother — and not only is he a brother, he's a faithful brother. So he has not just been saved and set aside. Now he's engaged in sanctification and in service. I like to mention it like this: one, two, three — salvation is first, sanctification is second, and then service. And as you are leading someone in their walk with Christ, keep that biblical order in mind. The first thing you need to be talking about is the gospel. And do not presume that anybody is saved — there are lots of false converts. First the gospel, and then sanctification, and then service.

This horrid church growth movement that we are all living in removes sanctification and replaces it with service. They skip sanctification and they want you giving and doing and doing and doing and doing. But listen — if you put a person into service who doesn't love Jesus, who isn't being sanctified by His word, you will burn that person out. They will think that it's their good works that earned their salvation. They will think that it's their good works, their service, that earns merit with God, blessings from God. They have to be engaged in sanctification.

And that's the reason why around here, in order to serve, not only do you have to be a member of the church — a faithful member of the church — but you have to be engaged in Bible study as well. And so we do Bible study on Wednesday nights and on Sunday mornings, and you have to be in a Bible study group in order to be qualified to serve in the church.

I've seen it get mixed up so many times, to where a new soul gets saved and they're zealous and they want to do a lot for God because God saved their soul — praise the Lord — and then the church, just being too desperate for servants, puts them in service over here and puts them in service over here, and this team scoops them up over here, and before they know it every waking hour is being demanded by somebody in the church. And they get burned out in just six months. All of a sudden they feel like they can't do enough for God in the church, all they want is to do more, and that's what's happening. This is a reason why the shallow church growth movement — besides perpetuating a false gospel — is so evil: it burns people. It sets them against the church. At the end of the day they don't like the church.

This is not the case for Tychicus. Tychicus not only was saved but he was a faithful, beloved brother — faithful in all of these wonderful areas. And so Paul had nurtured his faith along, just like he nurtured Timothy's faith.

And so not only was he faithful, but he was also a faithful servant. In the text you see that he was "a faithful servant" — verse 21, "Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful servant." This is diakonos. He started off first as a deacon, first a servant — one who was serving — and then after time he became a preaching deacon, just like Stephen in the book of Acts. So he's maturing in his faith and he's growing and showing progress, and Paul is giving him tasks along the way that helped to promote the next growth stage, the next point of maturity. This great, wonderful oversight from Paul nurtured and developed men for ministry. And so faithful was Tychicus. And fittingly, according to the original word work on this word, it also means that he is one who is a runner, one who executes the commands of another. And so Tychicus ran with this letter to the Ephesians and executed this task with excellence.

In verse 22 we pick up some more information about Tychicus — that he was also an encourager. In verse 22: "I have sent him to you for this, so that you may know our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts." As an encourager, this means that he is good at coming alongside someone and helping them to overcome obstacles. The encourager is able to produce comfort in another person where there is discomfort. An encourager can intuitively identify that and creatively be a means of solution. And so the encourager gravitates to these opportunistic situations to be able to help people where they are suffering — to overcome the obstacles. That is what it is to be an encourager: to be a helper, to aid, to inwardly strengthen.

This is not just helping externally, lest you be just a humanitarian. This is to be a Christian encourager. There is the gift of encouraging, but there's also the demand for all Christians to encourage. And so you may have the gift of encouragement and be very effective in being able to do these things. But that does not negate those who perhaps would say, "I don't have the gift of encouragement." We are all called to encourage. At whatever point you find yourself, you are to help others to overcome the obstacles in their life — in their life of sin, whatever the hesitancies are in their life — and help them to continue to grow and walk with Christ. But there are those with the gifts who thrive in this and are energized by it. And so the one with the gift of encouragement cannot say to the one without the gift, "You don't have to encourage." It'd be the same foolishness as to say, "I don't have the gift of mercy and so I don't have to show any mercy" — when Jesus said otherwise.

We really need to take a look at all of the fruit of the Holy Spirit and be given to Christ in such a way that Christ overflows in our life in all of these areas — and not perhaps hold back one area and excuse ourselves. Tychicus wasn't a man of excuses. He disciplined himself to execute these things wonderfully. And so as an encourager — boy, he was headed to Ephesus with a mission from the inner part of his soul. He couldn't get there fast enough.

Faithful was he also as a teammate. In Acts chapter 20 and verse four there's a whole list of men whom he worked alongside in the service of Paul, and so Tychicus would have pulled his weight as a teammate. He would also not have been a cause of strife. He was a man of peace in the midst of a team. And so as he worked faithfully in the gospel, the gospel was able to move forward in a peaceful way because he was a teammate. And you see that because of all of the vital ministry that was happening — from God through Paul through all of these wonderful people — unless Paul recognized the attribute of being a team player in Tychicus, he would never have sent him to take care of sensitive situations such as Onesimus and Philemon. Yes, Tychicus was also an aid and help in that delicate situation. And so faithful as a teammate was Tychicus. He pulled his weight without complaining. He was around Aristarchus and Gaius and Timothy and Trophimus. He was around these guys and he did well.

But also we can tell by the Scriptures that he was a faithful minister. In Titus chapter three and verse 12, Tychicus was in the lineup to replace Titus if Titus needed some time off. And so Titus had a huge task there of appointing elders and correcting evil Cretans — and this is attested to in chapter one and verse 11 of Titus, in that they must be silenced. And so dealing with loudmouths that were evil and lying and opposing the truth — this was a job description potentially for Tychicus. I bet he didn't raise his hand when Paul put out the request: "Who wants to go to the island of Crete? It's going to require you to deal with these types of guys." I bet he didn't raise his hand, but I bet he was willing. And in Titus chapter three, verse 12, Tychicus was able to go because he was in the lineup to go if need be. And this presumes that he was elder-qualified. Paul would never have sent a man who was not elder-qualified into a situation like that. He had to be able to teach the word and to show those who were in error where the error is — with Christlike character — and he had to be able to identify other elders that were qualified and to be able to put them into service. So Paul made Tychicus into a faithful minister of Christ who served like Christ, who loved people like Christ.

And my observation is this: we should train faithful Christians likewise. You have a high goal for training disciples, not low goals. One of the errors of the SBC in regards to education is aiming at the fifth-grade level. What a shame it is to dumb down all of the materials in Sunday school to the fifth-grade level. What an error. We want to raise the education level up. We want to teach the rich doctrines of our faith. And we want to set forth high goals for our disciples because we have a high view of God, not a low view of God. And we're not saying that a wimpy, sidelined effort will do. No. If it's by way of grades, a D will not do. You may get a pass, but you're not going to get a great grade. We want to train up disciples that would get an A on their spiritual test. They will get an A on their character test. They'll get an A in their Bible knowledge. They'll get an A in their holiness. They'll get an A in being able to refute errors of the day. They'll get an A in their commitment. They'll get an A in their regard to how others view their life. We want to have high goals for our disciples.

I presume that you have disciples in mind and that you are working towards raising others up in the faith. If you don't take on the heart of the Apostle Paul and engage in some of the richest, most meaningful, heart-thriving, heart-warming things that there are this side of heaven, you're missing out. The Apostle John said in 3 John chapter one and verse four that he had no greater joy than to see those children in the faith walking in the truth. As he poured into those Christians there in that church, he had no greater joy. There was no circus going on in Ephesus or Philippi that he would find greater joy in. There was nothing greater than to see the children walking in the truth. I know that's true, because as you see your children growing in Christ and maturing, getting saved, baptized, and following in the faith, and reading the word for themselves, there's no greater joy.

And so these are tall tasks. And Paul nurtured Timothy and Titus and Tychicus to the point to where their faith was at a point where they could take on these larger tasks. And so should you have this gradual growth formula in your mind — to make fully devoted disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

A few take-home truths and I'll wrap up with you.

Number one: ministry includes unseen service. Ministry includes unseen service. And so if you would be faithful in little things, God will trust you with much. We pick up trash on campus and nobody sees you doing that. We mow the grass. We do all the things that count. We wipe up in the bathrooms when we come in and we didn't make that mess. There's vital unseen service that matters. There's all kinds of vital unseen service that matters. So we recognize when one of our own is down and we do something about it behind the scenes and we don't ask for credit and we don't put it on a mass email — "I did this." We help and we do this behind the scenes, and God knows. There's a lot of stuff that goes on behind the scenes that people don't know about at this church that makes it what it is. We have a beautiful, wonderful church, and the things that go on behind the scenes are immense, and I commend you for it. And I thank God for you.

Number two: ministry is teamwork. There is no "I" in team. I know you know how to spell, but there really is a rich concept here, and that's how God has made it. The fellowship of believers strengthens you inwardly and it strengthens others inwardly. Corporate prayer is indispensable. Corporate preaching is indispensable. Small group teaching and disciple-making are indispensable. Having communion together corporately is indispensable. Yes, church is indispensable. Your commitment to what the church is doing is indispensable. You cannot please God any other way when it comes to the church.

But beyond that as well, you have teamwork in meeting needs and sharing Christ. Your life in Christ is not pigeonholed to Sunday from seven to twelve o'clock or Wednesday from five to nine. That is not your life in Christ. You are a Christian, a worshipper of God every day, all day. And this is a team effort in how we work together. And so when it comes to meeting needs and sharing Christ and teaching the word of God, this is all teamwork.

And this is the first church, by the way, where I have seen such a great job in raising up men to teach the word of God and seeing so many different men having opportunity to teach. Yesterday morning Mike Sampaio taught a wonderful message in regards to marriage and it was challenging. It was theological — it even included things like total depravity. It was incredible. And to see him stand up and rightly handle the word of God is a victory. And you men who showed up and supported that — I commend you for that — because your presence matters. As we push forward, we have enabled and actually equipped men to rise up and stand. We're not squashing people and saying, "Oh, there's only one preacher here." We're not setting up only a few leaders. We're not saying that. In fact, we're trying to work ourselves out of a job if anything — helping to equip people to rise up. This is a selflessness: thinking of others as better than yourself and raising them up and helping them. And we have no fear at all if someone is going to do what we're doing better than what we do. That's actually exciting — to see that perhaps there's somebody here that can do what you normally do in the church a whole lot better than you do it. Fantastic. This is a team effort and there's room for everybody to continue on. So it's teamwork.

Number three: ministry includes training others up. I kind of got ahead of myself there, that's okay. Training others up. If you've been around here for any time at all, you will see that we want our children not only to grow up in Christ, but to stay in Christ. And the way that we intentionally do that is we give them tasks to do. And so you see others playing the piano around here, you see children reading scripture, memorizing scripture, and doing things. You see your children taking up the offerings, turning knobs up in the tech booth. You see all kinds of wonderful things happening.

And by the way — I've had it in my mind and in my heart to say to our children, after church: why don't you take on the task of running up and down the aisles and straightening all the chairs? That's easy. And I know you love to run around the church anyway. So take on the task of straightening the chairs before we leave. That's a great task. So anyway — we raise up children to participate in church.

And by the way, not that I give too much weight to statistics, but there's something to this. George Barna has recognized that in children that grow up in church and stay in church, there are three things that are common denominators: they can share the gospel, and they serve in church. I wondered why that was. I think it has to do with their identity — their identity is in Christ and in the local church. It's not more in football, more in soccer. It's not more in their fun and friends and their neighborhoods. It's not more elsewhere. It's actually in church. And so we need to give tasks to our little ones so that they are doing vital unseen service behind the scenes.

Let me just give you an example. For a child who has a task that is important — and perhaps the parent or parents are sick and can't come to church — that child is going to say, "I've got to go to church because I have to do this." They're a part. They actually feel the need to be there. I know that by firsthand experience, and hearing that really triggered something in me. And for all of you who are wondering what the third one is — I can't remember. Share the gospel. I'll remember it later. See me later.

Number four: ministry includes sacrifice and suffering. It's important to realize that we're going to suffer through this. Don't think that this is all glory and gravy. It's not cake every Sunday. This is to be something that you're committed to. This is to be something that you are going to be there for through thick and through thin, no matter how you feel. Put your feelings behind you and let them trail. In fact, put your feelings behind the faith that you have in the facts of the Bible. Think of it kind of like a train. In the front is the facts of our faith — your facts: God is real, the word is true. That's the facts. And think of the next car on this train as your faith — you put your faith in God, you put your faith in the facts. And then put your feelings behind your faith and the facts and let them be pulled along. And so you're not subject to, "Oh, I don't feel like it today."

Get the whimsicalness out of you. Put that back where it belongs and grab on to your faith and put your faith in the facts. We are forward-aspiring, dedicated people for God. Tychicus knew this. It's the only way he would have been one who said, "Sure, Paul, I'll go to Ephesus, even though there are dangers along the way, even though it's a hard task — I'll do it." And so ministry includes a lot of different types of agonies.

And I would just love to continue with the next four pages of notes, but I'm out of time and I love you and I don't want to exhaust or exasperate you.

But if you're here today and you do not heartfully, truly believe the things that I've said — if you don't feel drawn to these things — I would say perhaps that you have an unregenerate heart. Because the Bible says in Ezekiel chapter 36, verses 26 and 27, that God will give you a new heart, and that means that you'll have new desires. The desires of a saved soul are in alignment with the things that I've taught today. So I know that you as a born-again believer are drawn to these things because it's what the word of God says. But if you're not drawn to these things, perhaps realign yourself with what the truth is. The truth is that God exists. We are born totally depraved, sinners, and we need God to step in and save us. And once we're saved, He changes our desires, He changes our ambitions, and we live willingly as sacrificial servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, according to the giftedness that He has given us. And we're willing to even be put on display and dunked backwards underneath water in front of people. Lost people would look at that as humiliation. "Nobody's going to dump me backwards in a tank." That's pride — that's an unsaved, unregenerate soul. But for the one who's been saved, they have new desires. They have a new heart. And so if that's you, confess Jesus as Lord. Believe in your heart that He died and rose again for the punishment of your sins. Repent, turn from your wickedness, and cling to Christ.

Let's pray together. Lord, I do love You and I thank You so much for Tychicus and his example of how we can live and be. And I pray, Lord, that You would bless us immensely. Thank You, Father, for the Apostle Paul and this wonderful letter which You channeled through him. And I pray, Lord, that it would continue to minister to us, enrich our lives, make us to be better servants for Your glory — save souls, draw them closer to You, make them to be sanctified, baptized, belonging to a church, making disciples. Make them, dear God, I pray. You say that if they'll follow You, You will make them fishers of men. Remake their lives. Take them from where they are and move them gradually forward, little by little. Lord, we love You. We ask Your blessings upon every soul here. May You bless them richly, inwardly. May You lift their spirits if they're downtrodden. And may You see them through their circumstances if they're just barely hanging on. May You enrich their ability to serve You, to love their spouses, to love their children. God, I pray that You would help us in the ways that we need to be helped. You know each one of us individually, and I pray that we would seek You passionately and turn from this worldliness, turn from anything that is good as opposed to the great, reduce the responsibilities in our lives so that we could be more faithful and committed to You. God, thank You for Your word. We do love You and we ask all these things in Jesus' name, amen.