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0:20 All right, welcome to this week of the Daily Blade. 0:22 As you know, I've been walking through the book of Philippians. 0:23 We've made it all to flip all the way to Philippians chapter 2, verse 22. 0:26 I'm going to read it. 0:27 So for the context, every single day, let's dive in. 0:30 Philippians 2, 22 and following. 0:33 But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel. 0:39 I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me. 0:44 And I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also. 0:48 I have thought it necessary to send you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker, and fellow soldier, and your messenger, and minister to my need. 0:58 For he has been longing for you all, and has been distressed, because you heard that he was ill. 1:03 Indeed he was ill, near to death. 1:06 But God had mercy on him, and not only on him, but also on me, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow, I am all the more eager to send him. 1:15 Therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. 1:20 So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me. 1:32 We're going to dive into verse 22. 1:34 Paul has been talking to the church of Philippi, and he says, I hope to send to you Timothy. 1:39 And then he says, But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with the Father he has served with me in the gospel. 1:46 You see, what Paul is telling to the church of Philippi is, listen, you can trust my boy Timothy, and you know, you know that he has proven his worth. 1:54 How do they know that Timothy has proven his worth? 1:57 Well, he had history to prove it. 1:59 Timothy had a track record of following under Paul and being faithful. 2:04 Years and years ago, I read the book, Seven Habits of Highly Affected People by Stephen Covey. 2:10 Honestly, I can't remember any of the habits but one. 2:13 I'm sure they're all great. 2:14 But the first habit was begin with the end in mind. 2:18 And it was such a great habit. 2:21 Stephen Covey says, Do this, play this little game of yourself. 2:24 Imagine you go to your own funeral. 2:26 You know, one day you're gonna die. 2:28 And at your funeral, all of your loved ones, all of your coworkers, all of your friends, all the people that you love, all the people that know you are going to show up to your funeral. 2:37 Now, what do you want the people to say about you at your funeral? 2:43 And then Stephen Covey encouraged you to write those things down. 2:48 Do you want them to say that you worked too much or you were obsessed with your hobby, or do you want them to say that you love Jesus, that you were a faithful father, that you were a faithful husband, that you serve the Lord with all the days of your life? 3:01 And then Stephen Covey says, Whatever you want people to say at your funeral, that is the actual goal of your life. 3:10 I think it's a really wise exercise. 3:12 If you've never done that, don't just think it for the next three minutes while you're riding around in your truck. 3:16 You should actually do this. 3:18 Write down the things that you wish people would say about you at your funeral. 3:23 Now, here's the reality. 3:25 What people are gonna actually say at your funeral will be a result of the decisions that you make in your life. 3:33 What Paul is saying about Timothy is he has lived his life in such a way that he has proven his worth. 3:41 Like a son with a father, he has served Paul in the gospel. 3:46 You see, every single one of us are on a pathway, and that pathway leads somewhere. 3:50 And the pathway that you were on is just simply a result of the many millions of decisions that you will make in your life. 3:58 The way you use your words, the way you use your time, the way you use your money, what you value, what you put your energies towards, what you neglect, and at the end of the path, that will be your life. 4:10 And so ask yourself, what do you want people to say about you at your funeral? 4:16 Will you be able to say that I have proven my worth? 4:20 I have run my race, I have finished a fight. 4:23 I'll tell you what I hope people say about me one day, and people say all kind of things about me now. 4:28 I hope and pray that they can say about me what they said about Coach Bull Lee, the man that led me to Christ. 4:34 That when they dress me up and put me in that box and people are there at the funeral service, I hope they can say Acts 11 24, that he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. 4:48 And a great number in the kingdom is not tens of thousands, a great number in the kingdom is just one more. 4:53 That verse is tattooed on my arm, and part of the reason I do this is because when I did this exercise that Stephen Covey said to do, when I read these verses, but you know Timothy's proven worth, is that I want to live my life in such a way that people can rightly say he was a good man. 5:11 He was a follower of Jesus, he was a good husband, he was a good dad. 5:14 He was full of faith, he was not led by fear, that he was filled with the Holy Spirit, that the Spirit of God did not have a hard time directing me in the direction he wanted to go, and that a great number, maybe just one more, was led to Christ. 5:27 May it be said of you.