back to index2015-05-17 Introduction to Philemon
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chapter 1 and I'm going to be reading verse from 1 through 7 this morning. 00:00:09.000 |
Philemon chapter 1, actually it's only one chapter, Philemon 1 through 7. 00:00:16.760 |
Philemon 1 through 7, "Paul prisoner for Christ Jesus and Timothy our brother to 00:00:23.840 |
Philemon our beloved fellow worker and Aphia our sister and Archippus our 00:00:28.400 |
fellow soldier in the church in your house. Grace to you and peace from God 00:00:32.360 |
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always when I remember you 00:00:36.500 |
in my prayers because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have 00:00:39.720 |
toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints. And I pray that the sharing of 00:00:43.920 |
your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that 00:00:47.600 |
is in us for the sake of Christ. For I have derived much joy and comfort from 00:00:51.840 |
your love my brother because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed 00:00:59.080 |
Gracious and loving Father we thank you so much for this morning. We thank you 00:01:05.760 |
for your provisions. We thank you for health. We thank you Lord God the freedom 00:01:11.480 |
that we have to worship you in this country. And we ask Lord that you would 00:01:16.080 |
help us never to take any of these things for granted and we know that 00:01:19.160 |
there are brothers and sisters all around the world who are being 00:01:22.800 |
persecuted and it's such a privilege Lord God for them to even gather 00:01:27.320 |
together. So we pray Father that as we wrestle not against flesh and blood that 00:01:34.400 |
you would equip us, challenge us, renew us, and fill us with your spirit Lord God 00:01:39.360 |
that your power may be evident in your church. So we pray for your grace for the 00:01:44.760 |
rest of this time in Jesus name we pray amen. All right so we're gonna be in the 00:01:50.560 |
book of or the letter of Philemon for the next maybe about a month or so and 00:01:54.640 |
I am I've been kind of wrestling with where to jump to after second Timothy 00:01:59.240 |
and I am for the most part committed to the book of Romans for the most part and 00:02:06.480 |
we've studied the book of Romans several times in different avenues and that was 00:02:11.120 |
kind of like the book that we spent I think the first two three years of Bible 00:02:14.080 |
study on Friday night. So there's a few of you who was with us during that 00:02:17.400 |
period and I really was wrestling should I jump to the Old Testament should I go 00:02:22.600 |
through another book and and I before I jump to the Romans I wanted to spend 00:02:27.240 |
some time in Philemon because it is a short letter and I the subject matter 00:02:31.800 |
that we're gonna be talking about I think is will be beneficial for us and 00:02:35.520 |
then once we get to Romans we're gonna be in there for a while but I really 00:02:38.200 |
want to wrestle through the text and and see what we have how it's gonna affect 00:02:42.960 |
our church as we go through it but Philemon on the surface may look like 00:02:48.160 |
you know if you if you've ever read Philemon you may end at the end of it 00:02:51.720 |
ask yourself why is this even in the Bible you know because there's no major 00:02:56.000 |
doctrines exposited in this text there's not it's not an instruction for pastoral 00:03:00.560 |
ministry it's there's no advice about how to run the church or you know any 00:03:06.880 |
any of this stuff so we may just kind of read it and then say well okay it's a 00:03:11.400 |
very personal letter it's almost like right reading a letter that was written 00:03:14.600 |
from one person to another person just kind of a third person reading it but I 00:03:18.840 |
really believe that Philemon is is a powerful letter because it gives us a 00:03:24.480 |
glimpse of the early church we know a lot of issues and problems that the 00:03:30.720 |
early church had and obviously Paul and the other Apostles were writing to 00:03:34.320 |
address these issues but really this letter gives us the life of what at 00:03:40.160 |
least one aspect of the life of the early church and you know I know that 00:03:43.760 |
in the last maybe about five six years there's been a movement that kind of you 00:03:47.720 |
know went across on it and I think we're still in the midst of it this gospel 00:03:51.040 |
centered movement some of you guys may be aware of it some of you may not be 00:03:53.880 |
but this gospel centered movement if you go to the bookstore almost every book 00:03:58.040 |
new books is coming out is gospel centered parenting gospel centered 00:04:01.760 |
church gospel centered prayer gospel centered marriage I mean everything is 00:04:05.800 |
just gospel centered and I think core of it is fantastic because gospel ought to 00:04:11.440 |
be the foundation gospel should be the reason why we worship and gospel should 00:04:16.320 |
be the cornerstone in which we build any church but if we're not careful the 00:04:22.960 |
gospel center movement can easily become just vocabulary now instead of saying 00:04:27.440 |
Christ centered we say gospel centered instead of saying loving God we say we 00:04:31.800 |
love the gospel right instead of saying we've been impacted by the cross we say 00:04:36.160 |
impacted by the gospel so if we're not careful all it will become is just the 00:04:41.800 |
way we express our faith is different well you know he says it the right way 00:04:45.640 |
or he uses the right vocabulary if it is truly gospel centered it must be 00:04:52.320 |
evident in the life of the people not just vocabulary not just how you feel in 00:04:57.240 |
a room but the power not when Paul says I am NOT ashamed of gospel for it is the 00:05:02.280 |
power of God unto salvation how has the gospel shaped your life does it brought 00:05:08.600 |
you to your knees how has the gospel shaped your evangelism have you been 00:05:14.280 |
more convicted or is it just a security blanket see the power of the gospel 00:05:21.240 |
power of the cross I think the greatest evidence of that is in a changed life 00:05:26.160 |
the Apostle Paul here's a man riding to a predominantly Gentile city the Colossae 00:05:32.200 |
which is where our the recipient of this letter is from Philemon and here's a man 00:05:38.000 |
who at one point hated the Gentile he was probably one of those people that 00:05:42.360 |
would travel an extra day just to get around Samaritan Samaria because he 00:05:46.760 |
thought that that land was tainted he was a Pharisee among Pharisees and here 00:05:51.920 |
now he's sitting in prison and he's writing to a group of probably most 00:05:56.480 |
likely a Gentile Church trying to restore this runaway slave to his former 00:06:01.920 |
master see that the early church I think the greatest evidence to me of the 00:06:08.000 |
resurrection of Jesus Christ is the impact that it made not on the 00:06:13.020 |
individual but on the culture of the early church imagine Jews and Gentiles 00:06:19.480 |
hated each other for hundreds maybe thousands of years they hated each other 00:06:23.560 |
and all of a sudden you find them calling each other thousands of them 00:06:28.640 |
brothers and sisters in the same church you see people who are former Pharisees 00:06:35.000 |
sitting with former tax collectors and the tax collectors are instructing them 00:06:39.960 |
about how to be right with God like what happened and it didn't happen in in a 00:06:44.400 |
matter of three four five hundred years instantaneously these people were saying 00:06:48.400 |
because Christ was resurrected that it changed them that powerfully a former 00:06:54.520 |
slave and a runaway slave and former slave owner would be brothers and 00:07:01.440 |
sisters in the church sharing and breaking bread together clearly 00:07:06.160 |
something powerful happened this was not you know no matter how much you try to 00:07:09.960 |
psychoanalyze this and say you know sociologically maybe because the poor 00:07:14.640 |
were attracted to the gospel because of the promises that it made I mean no 00:07:18.080 |
matter how much you try to dissect why the Christianity took off no amount of 00:07:24.080 |
analyzing and dissecting really will explain this powerful change that took 00:07:28.240 |
place all like instantaneously other than the cross itself you know a few 00:07:35.080 |
years ago I was contacted by a friend of mine that I haven't seen since high 00:07:38.720 |
school so it's you know on the first service I was in the calculation it was 00:07:41.880 |
about almost 29 years I haven't I haven't seen him and so I got in contact 00:07:46.520 |
he somehow found me through a mutual friend and he wanted to become a my 00:07:51.000 |
Facebook buddy so I said man I haven't seen this guy in years so we finally got 00:07:54.560 |
together and you have to you have to realize that the last time I saw this 00:07:59.240 |
guy he got kicked out of Kennedy High School I think it's in Artesia for 00:08:03.600 |
selling drugs and so obviously I had friends who were you know running in 00:08:09.520 |
that same kind of crowd and so we met each other and the last time I remember 00:08:13.600 |
him was getting drunk with with beer and whatever alcohol in the back of his 00:08:18.320 |
trunk in some parking lot and I forgot why we drifted apart but that's the last 00:08:22.320 |
memory I have of him and he has of me and so when we met together I was 00:08:26.680 |
thinking like man I'm a pastor now you know and I was kind of curious what our 00:08:32.120 |
conversation was gonna be like you know he's probably gonna say remember when we 00:08:35.840 |
did this and we did that so I'm a pastor now you know I don't do that you know 00:08:41.240 |
but we finally met together and found out that he had a huge conversion 00:08:47.120 |
experience he actually had double cancer and he was beating that he just kind of 00:08:53.320 |
came out of chemotherapy and and even prior to that how God radically changed 00:08:59.680 |
him and he's a deacon at the church down the street here Bethel he's a he's a 00:09:04.000 |
fop so he's in the Korean side right and so he was sharing with me about his 00:09:08.760 |
testimony and about how he came to know the Lord and he goes to morning prayer 00:09:13.080 |
every single day he's involved with the mission program there he's always you 00:09:16.480 |
know flying over to Turkey and to Hong Kong and to China and to Korea and and 00:09:20.320 |
to to help with the missions program and his life goal right now is to is to be 00:09:26.800 |
able to support missionaries after they retire so that they can come home and 00:09:30.440 |
retire and to take care of them because he realized so many missionaries have a 00:09:33.840 |
hard time when they retire and he's a very successful businessman so so you 00:09:39.560 |
know he actually has the means to be able to do that so you know I'm blown 00:09:43.200 |
away because last time I remember him was again just getting drunk and then he 00:09:48.360 |
would tell me a story he's like hey so what's going on with you so I'm a church 00:09:51.520 |
down here in the street you know over here and he actually came visit a couple 00:09:55.320 |
years ago and so every once in a while we still meet up and we have 00:10:00.000 |
time of fellowship and every time I talk with him it's just I'm just blown away 00:10:03.760 |
you know in the last 20 some years that I haven't seen this guy like what this 00:10:08.280 |
guy became so every once in a while I get tempted to bring that bring up our 00:10:12.480 |
old past but it's just kind of awkward now you know what I mean because he's 00:10:16.560 |
we're talking about missions and all of a sudden a minute you got drunk you know 00:10:22.200 |
I mean I think the power of the testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ 00:10:27.400 |
has changed lives no matter how much we say you know this is what the gospel is 00:10:32.000 |
this is what Jesus is and we share all of that if there isn't the testimony of 00:10:36.440 |
how it affected our lives it becomes impotent it's powerless the true core of 00:10:42.880 |
the gospel movement has to change the church it has to change our prayer life 00:10:47.600 |
it has to change our fellowship it has to change the way we live what we pursue 00:10:51.920 |
what we value it can't be just change of vocabulary see in the early church not 00:10:58.760 |
only is do you see the effects of the gospel in an individual's life but you 00:11:02.560 |
see it immediately in the book of Acts you know a positive Paul alpha so Peter 00:11:07.880 |
preaches the gospel in front of the same people who crucified Jesus most likely 00:11:12.680 |
at the end of it 3,000 people come to Christ and then right after that it 00:11:17.960 |
describes what this community looked like in the early church now I want you 00:11:22.760 |
to I want you to follow along with me you don't need to turn there but I want 00:11:25.920 |
you to listen to how it's described they were asked to 42 to 47 they devoted 00:11:32.760 |
themselves to the Apostles teaching and fellowship to the breaking of bread and 00:11:36.840 |
the prayer and all came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were being 00:11:42.720 |
done through the Apostles and all who believe were together and had all things 00:11:46.800 |
in common and they were selling their possessions and belongings and 00:11:50.200 |
distributing the proceeds to all as any had need and day by day attending the 00:11:55.440 |
temple together and breaking bread in their homes they received their food 00:11:58.880 |
with glad and generous hearts praising God and having favor with all the people 00:12:03.600 |
and the Lord added to their number day by day those who are being saved now I 00:12:08.720 |
know you probably read this before and you look at this is like oh I mean you 00:12:12.360 |
know this is nothing new do you know how much discipleship and work and labor 00:12:18.080 |
would go into building a community that looks like this I can imagine like a 00:12:24.000 |
church of maybe a hundred and twenty all of a sudden have three thousand people 00:12:29.040 |
being baptized and part of that church like just just organizing like how are 00:12:34.640 |
we gonna eat on Sunday you know I remember when our church was smaller and 00:12:39.280 |
we had about a hundred people every Sunday you know we had lunch and we'd be 00:12:43.680 |
together and after a while we realized like oh that's too much work let's go 00:12:46.360 |
out and then we would go to you know some fast food joint and we would shut 00:12:50.400 |
that down and then you know the UTC where the college students hang out we 00:12:54.800 |
used to actually go there on Sundays and shut that whole place down you know then 00:12:58.680 |
we grew a little bit after that it's like well we can't do that anymore so 00:13:01.440 |
we'll do lunch at the church again but let's do it every other week and then 00:13:05.240 |
every week every month and then now it's like man even once a month is it's too 00:13:09.280 |
much of a headache right how we're gonna do Bible study we used to fit everybody 00:13:13.040 |
in my house and then when that overflowed we had Wednesday and Friday 00:13:16.920 |
and then we have to offer I mean it just I can't imagine a church going from 120 00:13:21.680 |
to 3,000 overnight in my mind it's like oh my gosh I mean that's just too much 00:13:27.200 |
we're not gonna find enough leaders we're not gonna be able to disciple 00:13:30.160 |
people fast enough but yet we have a community here instantaneously was 00:13:36.720 |
devoted to the teaching breaking of bread fellowship they were actually very 00:13:41.200 |
generous selling their possession giving it to one another they were enjoying the 00:13:45.960 |
favor when I mean this is an ideal perfect church but it happened 00:13:50.560 |
instantaneously it wasn't because of years of discipleship and years of 00:13:56.160 |
modeling and years of systematic teaching it just happened now does a 00:14:03.320 |
Bible teach about discipleship yes does the Bible teach us about modeling yes 00:14:07.080 |
are all those things necessary part of building a healthy church yes but at the 00:14:12.680 |
core of what makes a healthy church is people who have been affected by the 00:14:17.520 |
cross people who have been deeply affected see the power of the cross 00:14:25.000 |
isn't simply that you didn't go to church and then now you attend church it 00:14:29.040 |
changes everything about what we value what we are entertained by how we find 00:14:34.880 |
encouragement what we consider to be a blessing in a secular world if you get a 00:14:41.200 |
good job and you make a lot of money you say well I've been blessed but as a 00:14:45.720 |
Christian we know that that shouldn't be our perspective because there's many 00:14:50.120 |
Christians who lose their jobs because they've been blessed by God many 00:14:53.880 |
Christians can't meet together with their families because they've been 00:14:58.000 |
blessed by God I think the greatest testimony of the power of the cross has 00:15:04.920 |
changed lives not how well the church is organized not how awesome the praise 00:15:10.800 |
that is but change lives the greatest testimony of our of our lives a greater 00:15:17.160 |
witness is your radically changed lives because of the cross see Philemon on the 00:15:26.680 |
surface seems like just a you know an average letter you know of an apostle 00:15:33.800 |
the pastor is concerned about his disciple and he's writing a letter hey 00:15:37.120 |
you know would you receive him but I believe that it is a powerful testimony 00:15:42.720 |
of the effects of the cross in the early church 00:15:47.560 |
Philemon was probably a leader in Church of Colossae it says that those churches 00:15:54.760 |
meeting at his house his wife the FIA is probably his wife archipis is his son 00:15:59.320 |
and his and he's actually mentioned in Colossians 417 as a fellow companion of 00:16:04.480 |
Apostle Paul so here is a prominent member in the Colossian Church most 00:16:08.600 |
likely a wealthy man because they probably had a large enough house and 00:16:12.560 |
said well what we're gonna meet is that well his house is probably the best 00:16:14.920 |
house to meet and he probably had more than one slave several slaves you have 00:16:20.360 |
to understand in order to really appreciate the letter that immediately 00:16:24.080 |
when you hear the term slave we we attach to it all the negative evils of 00:16:28.800 |
slavery that we know of in the last hundred years but understand that the 00:16:34.320 |
system of slavery during this period was not considered an evil institution it 00:16:39.200 |
was actually a part of their economy when somebody would be indentured or 00:16:44.360 |
somebody with old money and they couldn't pay it back they would actually 00:16:47.920 |
become an indentured servant for a period and then once it's paid off they 00:16:52.200 |
would earn their freedom and in some instances finding a godly or a gracious 00:16:58.480 |
master would have been the best way for that family to be protected and provided 00:17:03.000 |
they couldn't do this on their own they didn't have a lot of rights so it's not 00:17:08.080 |
the institution in itself was evil it's you had evil slave masters and sometimes 00:17:13.040 |
you had evil slaves but if the institution in and of itself wasn't evil 00:17:19.360 |
but it's in that context where Philemon decided you know what I'm gonna I'm just 00:17:24.320 |
gonna take off and he we don't know the background story we don't know what 00:17:28.440 |
kind of harm that he did maybe he stole certain things when he left but Philemon 00:17:32.640 |
or Onesimus this runaway slave by the grace of God as Paul's of Paul is 00:17:38.280 |
sitting in prison runs into him and he shares the gospel you know you would 00:17:42.520 |
think that you know if you're laboring hard that if you get captured and you're 00:17:46.360 |
sitting in prison you say okay timeout you know you know I've been running hard 00:17:51.080 |
but why did God put me in here but that never stopped the pause of Paul he wrote 00:17:54.840 |
you know he wrote letters he sent disciples he was still evangelizing in 00:17:59.240 |
fact he was even thanking God that as a result of him being in chains that it 00:18:04.120 |
was affecting other brothers to share the gospel even more and even the people 00:18:08.400 |
who he was chained to can you imagine those Roman guards how many times they 00:18:12.000 |
must have heard the gospel from this guy you know I mean he's writing the gospel 00:18:16.080 |
and he said hey do you know what I'm you know so he never stops so even as he is 00:18:22.480 |
chained to the Roman guard he's concerned about this runaway slave that 00:18:26.720 |
again apparently may in the eyes of the world is completely insignificant and 00:18:33.800 |
you see the power of the effect of the cross on all three of these people on 00:18:38.560 |
Paul again sitting in prison if anybody had any right to say timeout you know 00:18:46.120 |
I'm gonna take a break kind of like what we do we may be working hard but you 00:18:51.240 |
know maybe something happens at your work or maybe you get sick or maybe one 00:18:55.080 |
of your kids that could get sick and say timeout timeout right 00:18:59.040 |
Apostle Paul had any right any anybody had any right to say that was a possible 00:19:04.200 |
and he's labored he was beaten right stone thinking that he's dead and you 00:19:09.800 |
know he's stone he's with a Roman guard chained 24/7 and yet he's writing this 00:19:16.080 |
intimate letter to his fellow worker to receive him not not as a former slave 00:19:22.520 |
but as your brother here's this you know previous slave you have to understand 00:19:28.920 |
for him to even go back to where he came from legally he could have been 00:19:34.000 |
executed for what he did they could have just said you know what you ripped me 00:19:38.080 |
off and you hurt me and they could have just dragged him and by by legally they 00:19:42.600 |
would have been justified to simply get rid of him so for him to even go back 00:19:48.240 |
you could clearly see there was there was a power behind him he was affected 00:19:54.000 |
by the cross and then for Philemon himself after all the things that he may 00:19:58.380 |
have lost I mean just financial loss a slave running away and how he maybe he 00:20:04.600 |
was a good slave owner and say you know he was treated him well and all of a 00:20:07.560 |
sudden he just takes off like that and for him to even receive him none of this 00:20:12.160 |
is he is humanly even imaginable if it wasn't the effects of the cross if the 00:20:18.920 |
power of the gospel was not affecting every single one of these people this 00:20:21.800 |
letter would not be here see the reason why this letter is so important because 00:20:26.160 |
it reveals to us not only the power of the cross but it reveals to us God's 00:20:32.480 |
tender heart for sinners you know you've probably read again in Psalm 8 3 to 4 00:20:41.240 |
where David says who am I you know why are you so mindful of him he said this 00:20:46.480 |
is what he says in Psalm 8 3 to 4 when I look at your heavens the work of your 00:20:51.200 |
fingers the moon and the stars which you have set in place when I imagine who you 00:20:56.800 |
are when I recognize that you are a all-powerful all-sovereign God and then 00:21:02.920 |
he says considering who you are what is man that you are so mindful of him and 00:21:08.920 |
the Son of Man that you care for him I think the reason why Christians 00:21:14.480 |
sometimes get into this rut of why God why don't you do this and why didn't you 00:21:20.280 |
answer my prayer is because we forget we forget who he is and we forget who we 00:21:26.960 |
are considering who he is considering that he created the universe who are you 00:21:35.800 |
and who am I to come before God and say why didn't you why don't you see what 00:21:43.360 |
David says is the attitude that every Christian should have considering who 00:21:49.800 |
you are considering what you have done why would you care why would you care 00:21:57.840 |
why would you care about this runaway slave who's insignificant I mean you got 00:22:03.720 |
the bigger world to worry about why disco why stop and give attention to 00:22:08.240 |
this sinner see in Psalm 144 144 verse 4 it says man is like a breath his days 00:22:18.880 |
are like passing shadow we're just a mist that comes and we disappear 00:22:24.080 |
consider how insignificant we are in the light of the universe in light of 00:22:28.480 |
eternity how much of our relationship is turned sour because we forget how 00:22:35.960 |
insignificant we are how much of this church fellowship becomes tainted 00:22:41.840 |
because we forget how insignificant we are we are a miss it's because we're we 00:22:48.760 |
consider ourselves more important than we really are and we try so hard to 00:22:53.520 |
elevate ourselves even just a little bit and it's that it's that process of 00:22:59.560 |
wanting to be better than the next guy wanted to be elevated than the next 00:23:03.280 |
person that is causing all this conflict he says who are we in light of who you 00:23:11.600 |
are why would you even know my name why would you even know my name see every 00:23:20.480 |
Christian the starting point in our relationship with God begins there and 00:23:26.800 |
again in a culture where everybody's trying to all you know we weren't 00:23:30.280 |
concerned about your self-esteem you know you're so low you're so great 00:23:33.920 |
you're so awesome you know but the beginning point in our worst you know 00:23:37.680 |
walk with God is you are nothing I said I got a jerk you know and come to be 00:23:45.440 |
uplifted life is hard enough as it is but this that's what the scripture so I 00:23:50.440 |
mean forget forgive the scripture just think logically have you seen how big 00:23:58.200 |
this universe is how big this galaxy is we're smaller than a dust and we're 00:24:06.080 |
trying so hard to be something you know he said knowing in light of who you are 00:24:11.600 |
why would you even care why is this letter here why do you even think of us 00:24:17.040 |
why do you even listen to us but the amazing thing about the gospel is he 00:24:23.320 |
does I can't explain to you why because I don't know but he does in fact it's 00:24:30.560 |
not even just a New Testament that is his nature that's who he is 00:24:34.960 |
Deuteronomy 24 19 to 22 again if you just read it in passing like you're 00:24:40.720 |
reading that you know like you're gonna read through the Bible and in in one 00:24:43.840 |
year you just kind of read it it's one of those passages that you're not gonna 00:24:47.360 |
really stop and think but I think one of the most amazing passages in the Old 00:24:52.720 |
Testament is passages like this okay this is what it says Deuteronomy 24 19 00:24:57.760 |
22 it's about harvesting in the law of harvesting when you reap your harvest in 00:25:03.440 |
your field and forget a sheaf in the field you shall not go back to get it 00:25:07.920 |
it shall be for the sojourners the fatherless and the widows that the Lord 00:25:12.720 |
your God may bless you in all the work of your hands I know on the surface it's 00:25:18.800 |
like okay says drop it don't pick it up right but think about what he is saying 00:25:24.800 |
is it as you are harvested you worked hard and you're harvesting if you drop 00:25:29.080 |
something don't turn around to pick it up keep going leave that for the 00:25:34.840 |
sojourners of foreigners who have no way to eat leave that for the fatherless 00:25:39.160 |
leave that for the widows and if you really want to be blessed do that and 00:25:43.800 |
then he continues on when you beat your olive trees you shall not go over them 00:25:47.320 |
again it shall be for the sojourners the fatherless and the widows when you're 00:25:51.800 |
harvesting the olive trees and you don't get all of it leave it it's for the 00:25:57.920 |
people that can't get it on their own 21 when you gather the grapes of the 00:26:02.240 |
vineyard you shall not strip it afterward it shall be for the 00:26:05.680 |
sojourners the fatherless and the widows you shall remember that you were a slave 00:26:09.600 |
in the land of Egypt therefore I command you to do this what is he saying don't 00:26:16.400 |
forget that you were the fatherless don't forget at one point you were the 00:26:21.280 |
widows don't forget at one point you were a foreigner and so as I've been 00:26:28.000 |
gracious to you be gracious to them see God has always been this God and again 00:26:37.400 |
we get caught up and when we when we come into church and worship with that 00:26:41.320 |
mentality is that you're supposed to love me God so if you love me I want you 00:26:46.440 |
to love me this way I want you to answer this prayer and I want you to answer it 00:26:49.040 |
this way this is what I want this is what blessing to me means and then when 00:26:53.760 |
it doesn't happen that way we spend the rest of our time saying why why don't 00:26:58.960 |
you do this for me why didn't you answer my prayer why didn't you give me this 00:27:03.880 |
why didn't you give me health but every Christian who genuinely believes that 00:27:11.440 |
Jesus Christ died for you even if the rest of our lives looks like Job's at 00:27:19.240 |
the end of our life every single person is obligated to say thank you for saving 00:27:23.720 |
my soul every single person must be able to say and and should say and natural 00:27:31.760 |
response should be when I look at the heavens when I look at the stars your 00:27:36.440 |
fingers your power and all that you are who am I that you would even know my 00:27:42.640 |
name why would you care for me see that it's not just the Old Testament that's 00:27:50.000 |
not just a God of the Old Testament you look in the New Testament first 00:27:53.160 |
Corinthians 12 21 26 he said this is the identity of the community in the New 00:27:57.440 |
Testament the eye cannot say to the hand I have no need of you nor again the head 00:28:03.280 |
to the feet I have no need of you on the contrary the parts of the body that 00:28:07.320 |
seem to be weaker are indispensable and on those parts of the body that we think 00:28:12.120 |
less honorable we'd be so greater honor and our armors that aren't presentable 00:28:16.640 |
parts are treated with greater modesty which are more presentable parts do not 00:28:22.000 |
require but God has so composed the body giving greater honor to the part that 00:28:25.800 |
lacked it that there may be no division in the body but that the members may 00:28:29.480 |
have the same care for one another if one member suffers all suffer if one 00:28:33.200 |
member is honored all rejoice together is that the power of the gospel 00:28:39.320 |
community is a community that's been affected by the cross so deeply that we 00:28:44.940 |
don't honor people who are honorable in the world but it's the fatherless it's 00:28:50.520 |
the widows it's the people who are in need to be gracious to them because God's 00:28:54.160 |
been gracious to us that the greatest reflection of the power of the cross in 00:28:59.320 |
us is not our ability to speak is not our ability to organize it's our ability 00:29:04.320 |
to reflect that grace in us to people who don't deserve it that's that's the 00:29:12.000 |
foundation in which God calls us to stand to preach the gospel is not how 00:29:17.600 |
well it's organized and how much theology we have and how much knowledge 00:29:20.440 |
we can disseminate is how deeply have we been affected by the cross that's why 00:29:27.480 |
Jesus asked it's no it's not good enough to say this is what my church believes 00:29:31.600 |
it's not good enough to say that this is what evangelical Christians believe 00:29:35.480 |
this is what Calvin believed this is what Piper believes what do you believe 00:29:41.920 |
sometimes we can get caught up that our relationship with God is always just 00:29:49.000 |
piggybacking off of somebody else it's not enough to say that loving God is 00:29:55.880 |
most important how about you are you convinced that God loves you because the 00:30:03.800 |
scripture tells us and again the reason why I want to spend some time in this 00:30:08.160 |
book in this letter is because it is a it is a testimony of how the cross 00:30:15.760 |
affects even the lowliest person a former Pharisee and a former slave owner 00:30:23.080 |
how they became brothers in Christ and how God brings them together to build a 00:30:29.960 |
church how insignificant people do you know that that God loves you not the 00:30:41.920 |
church not simply the world but you see you know when I when I was a younger 00:30:50.640 |
Christian in college I remember doing Bible study with one of my former Bible 00:30:55.200 |
study leaders and he I remember him saying the greatest commandment of the 00:31:00.360 |
scripture is love the Lord your God with all your heart soul mind and strength 00:31:03.120 |
and love your neighbor as yourself these are the two greatest commandment and I 00:31:07.760 |
was really wrestling with that because I can say I love the image of God like the 00:31:12.640 |
idea of a God who gave his only begotten Son I love that you know I love the idea 00:31:18.200 |
of a church built upon his sacrifice I love that I love the fact that the door 00:31:23.080 |
has been opened that now I have I have access to God I love all of that but do 00:31:29.600 |
you love God do you love God not the idea of God not the image of God not the 00:31:35.880 |
theology of God but do you love God and I couldn't honestly say yes because I 00:31:42.200 |
love everything about God but to love God I'm not sure and so I started asking 00:31:49.440 |
if that's the greatest commandment that should be my greatest pursuit right 00:31:52.280 |
right before like I want to share the gospel I'm gonna do all this like do I 00:31:56.360 |
love God and I couldn't honestly say yes as committed as I was and so I started 00:32:04.200 |
asking how do you do that what do you do to love God so you know I got all kinds 00:32:08.840 |
of answers like say I love you God a hundred times and if you say it enough 00:32:13.600 |
in the closet then you're gonna see your heart change and and even when I heard 00:32:17.840 |
it it's like that doesn't sound right but I'll do it and you know so I tried 00:32:21.080 |
it you know and I tried it a lot I wouldn't can I every time I get 00:32:25.320 |
frustrated in prayer I was I love you I love you I love you I love you I love 00:32:27.920 |
you God he said a hundred times so I gotta make sure it's a hundred times you 00:32:30.600 |
know I love you guys I'm good and at the end of it's like this can't be it right 00:32:35.720 |
this can't be it and I was really wrestling with that like how do I Lord I 00:32:40.120 |
want to love you but I can't honestly say that right I don't know if I love 00:32:44.720 |
you like I love my mom or my family and then you know it's just like to have 00:32:49.640 |
that kind of affection for him that do I get offended when people offend his name 00:32:53.960 |
like I would be offended by if somebody offended somebody I love and I don't 00:32:57.160 |
know if I could say that well early on in college you know I had to I had to 00:33:03.200 |
work and I got this job at Hughes Aircraft and I was working from from I 00:33:08.480 |
think five to about two in the morning and I was completely isolated for about 00:33:13.360 |
eight eight and a half hours a day and I would get a dinner break and I would 00:33:18.640 |
deliberately go to Pioneer Chicken in that area just so that I can be around 00:33:23.440 |
people because I was I was cleaning out bungalows you know it basically is 00:33:28.120 |
everybody went home it's dark and I would pick up trash and all that and it 00:33:31.840 |
was probably the most loneliest period of my life you know I'm a pretty social 00:33:35.280 |
person but there was a long period of time probably about a year year and a 00:33:39.720 |
half where I had very little interaction with people and when I say very little 00:33:43.920 |
I mean I mean I'm almost none I wasn't living at home so my my you know I 00:33:48.960 |
didn't even see my family and so I'll go to work from five to two and then you 00:33:53.880 |
come home and then I'll get up and then go to school and I just had very little 00:33:58.520 |
contact and I remember there was this one time I was thinking that if I died 00:34:04.520 |
here or if I just disappeared if I just walked away I wonder how long it would 00:34:08.640 |
take before somebody realizes that I'm gone it was I mean it was pretty 00:34:15.440 |
depressing you know and right in the middle of that I remember having a 00:34:19.280 |
birthday and I forgot how old I think I was about 18 or 19 and the whole day I 00:34:23.640 |
knew that I wasn't gonna run into anybody you know eventually I would 00:34:27.480 |
probably go home and then my family would celebrate it but you know but that 00:34:30.800 |
particular day I was walking around and and I was like nobody knows I mean and 00:34:34.840 |
I'm not a priest I'm not like a necessarily sentimental like what was me 00:34:38.440 |
type of guy but that day it was pretty depressing you know it's like I wonder 00:34:42.480 |
if anybody would know and I remember it right in the middle of all of that you 00:34:46.120 |
know I was in the closet and I was doing my devotions and I was I was I was 00:34:51.040 |
praying and I was going through scripture and it just kind of hit me 00:34:53.520 |
again if I disappeared here I wonder how long it would take before somebody would 00:34:59.480 |
recognize that I'm gone and so in my mind I'm thinking two months maybe you 00:35:03.360 |
know two months and then my mom's gonna hey where's Peter you know I would think 00:35:07.200 |
my mom would be the first one that would look for me and then the next he would 00:35:11.280 |
probably send my older brother come look for me because that's usually the 00:35:13.960 |
pattern you know and then I said I would talk about that's the pattern then it 00:35:18.440 |
just hit me like a ton of bricks right he who did not spare his own son how 00:35:26.160 |
will he not along with him give you everything if God knew you enough that 00:35:31.480 |
to send his only begotten son do you not think that he knows you're here he 00:35:36.200 |
counts every hair on your head he loves you more than you can possibly imagine 00:35:41.560 |
it just broke me in the closet you know it's like and it was like what was me 00:35:47.080 |
I'm so lonely you know nobody knows where I am and it's just like I know you 00:35:53.920 |
I love you and I can honestly tell you it was probably the hardest period of my 00:36:03.600 |
life because I was so isolated for such a long time during that period but God 00:36:09.800 |
isolated me and he he became so real to me you know it says in first John we 00:36:17.600 |
love because he first loved us and I realize when you're not convinced of his 00:36:24.120 |
love for you we go through the mechanics because we think that's the right thing 00:36:29.560 |
to do but it's not your joy it's not what brings life you do it because 00:36:36.880 |
you're supposed to do it but when you're in love that's where the greatest joy 00:36:43.160 |
comes from that's where you feel the most alive when you're the nearest to 00:36:49.640 |
Christ when somebody who loves you that much and he's that powerful and is that 00:36:57.120 |
that knowledgeable and is that caring and then he's for you what can possibly 00:37:04.080 |
happen in this life that would cause us to say why God you see Paul writes this 00:37:12.680 |
letter and he begins a letter by saying Paul a prisoner for Christ Jesus in 00:37:18.560 |
almost every other letter he says Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ he he brings 00:37:23.120 |
his authority because he needs to speak to them with authority I'm speaking on 00:37:27.840 |
behalf of Christ here's wrong things here's wrong behavior that needs to be 00:37:31.320 |
fixed but in this letter he humbles himself as a lowly prisoner and the 00:37:37.920 |
reason why he does that is because he says he explains in finally even eight 00:37:42.160 |
and nine says according accordingly though I am bold enough in Christ to 00:37:46.360 |
command you to do what he is what is required yet for love's sake I prefer to 00:37:51.960 |
appeal to you I Paul an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus I'm not 00:37:59.880 |
gonna command you even though I have the authority I'm not gonna shake my fist 00:38:04.520 |
and say how can you possibly do this is that I'm a prisoner I lost all things 00:38:10.160 |
for the sake of Christ I'm sitting in prison because of Jesus and now you as 00:38:19.360 |
Christ has called me now you I appeal to you as a humbled brother in prison would 00:38:26.760 |
you forgive your brother would you receive him not as a slave but as your 00:38:31.720 |
brother I appeal to you in the power of the cross that's an appeal to every 00:38:37.840 |
single one of us in light of what he has done for us forgive your brother forgive 00:38:45.280 |
your sister in light of what he has done for us that the greatest fruit of his 00:38:54.800 |
power his cross in us is that we would also be gracious people so I pray that 00:39:02.000 |
the time that we spend in the book of Philemon that we would not simply learn 00:39:05.200 |
about well here's a possible here's what slavery looked like in the early church 00:39:08.520 |
here's what Colossae looked like here's this man of God that behind all of this 00:39:13.320 |
that you would see a tender loving God who cares for insignificant people 00:39:19.640 |
that's you that's me and that we would not simply declare his love in our songs 00:39:25.520 |
but that we can honestly say that we love Jesus that this is a God worth 00:39:33.880 |
following this is a God worth sacrificing this is a God worth loving 00:39:40.000 |
and worshiping so I pray that behind all of this that we would fall love fall in 00:39:47.960 |
I want to encourage you as our worship team comes up and again that we would 00:39:57.960 |
take time that I know there's there's things that on your mind you have you 00:40:03.280 |
know work you have paper you have responsibilities but in the midst of all 00:40:07.880 |
of this that we would take a step back and say Lord I want to love you with all 00:40:13.720 |
my heart I've drifted away and it's been a long 00:40:17.360 |
time so I've been impacted by your grace I want to confess my love to you that it 00:40:22.680 |
would not just be words to take some time to come before the Lord and just 00:40:27.240 |
confess Lord help me help me to recognize your great love for me that I 00:40:33.400 |
would have a reasonable response in loving you let's take some time to pray