back to indexBerean Community Church Wednesday Bible Study 5/24/2023 Philemon 14-16
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We'll get situated and start with praise time. 00:05:46.720 |
and then anybody who's outside, please go ahead and come on in. 00:05:53.120 |
oh, sorry, sorry-- praise time in just a moment. 00:06:00.120 |
And then also for those of you who are here on time, 00:06:14.620 |
Make sure to give the rest of your tables a hard time later. 00:06:21.780 |
and then we're going to do our best to finish strong. 00:06:45.000 |
we want to make sure that we are walking with you, 00:06:53.980 |
and God, that we are close, Lord, to your heart. 00:06:57.820 |
And we pray that everything that we are doing, 00:07:00.900 |
including the sharing and the preparation and more, 00:07:10.260 |
That God, by the joining together of our hearts 00:07:15.180 |
about our applications, that it would bear its fruit in us 00:07:20.420 |
We want to thank you and praise you for all that you give us, 00:07:23.000 |
knowing, God, that you're the one that fills our hearts, 00:07:25.320 |
fills our mind, so that, Lord, we have both energy 00:07:29.400 |
for each day, but what's more, we are bearing fruit 00:07:34.080 |
And we pray, God, for more than in our lives. 00:07:36.640 |
At this time, we do want to lift up our voice to you. 00:07:39.800 |
We want to lift you up on high and praise you. 00:08:39.440 |
My heart's one desire is to be holy, set apart for you, Lord. 00:09:00.840 |
I choose to be holy, set apart for you, my master. 00:10:09.360 |
My heart's one desire is to be holy, set apart for you, Lord. 00:10:35.320 |
I choose to be holy, set apart for you, my master. 00:11:37.040 |
Though the nations rage, kingdoms rise and fall, 00:12:20.680 |
None above him, none before him, all of time in his hand. 00:12:31.680 |
For his throne it shall remain and ever stand. 00:12:42.760 |
All the power, all the glory, I will trust in his name, 00:13:04.680 |
Though the dread of night overwhelms my soul, 00:13:48.320 |
None above him, none before him, all of time in his hands. 00:13:59.240 |
For his throne it shall remain and ever stand. 00:14:10.280 |
All the power, all the glory, I will trust in his name, 00:15:32.960 |
None above him, none before him, all of time in his hands. 00:15:43.960 |
For his throne it shall remain and ever stand. 00:15:55.160 |
All the power, all the glory, I will trust in his name, 00:16:38.560 |
As you guys know, there's just a few weeks left. 00:16:56.040 |
on June 4, which is just a week and a half away, 00:16:59.440 |
we will be observing the communion on both services. 00:17:03.320 |
So whenever a communion happens, we encourage all of you 00:17:09.320 |
and spend extra time in prayer so you can prepare 00:17:16.800 |
Lastly, I want to just make mention of the family ministry, 00:17:28.240 |
So make sure you check out on the app the details for that 00:17:33.480 |
All right, everybody, please go ahead into your discussion. 01:06:39.880 |
- Everyone, those of you guys who are in the room, 01:06:44.680 |
We'll go ahead and get started with covering our passage here. 01:07:03.480 |
I just want to-- let's see, as people get situated here. 01:07:08.200 |
I know that when we go over the smaller portions of scripture 01:07:17.760 |
redundant because we're going to hit the same theme. 01:07:24.800 |
I really want to encourage you to break things down 01:07:28.440 |
into not just even one sentence at a time, but phrase by phrase 01:07:37.560 |
is ask deeper questions so that we can go deeper into the text. 01:07:42.720 |
I'm going to read for us Philemon starting from verse 10 01:07:46.960 |
so that we get the whole gist of the paragraph again. 01:07:51.520 |
And it says, "I appeal to you for my child, Anisimus, 01:07:55.120 |
whom I have begotten in my imprisonment, who formerly was 01:07:58.480 |
useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me. 01:08:03.820 |
That is, sending my very heart, whom I wish to keep with me 01:08:07.640 |
so that on your behalf he might minister to me 01:08:16.000 |
want to do anything so that your goodness would not 01:08:19.180 |
be in effect by compulsion, but of your own free will. 01:08:25.920 |
separated from you for a while, that you would have him back 01:08:29.840 |
forever, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, 01:08:34.160 |
a beloved brother, especially to me, but now-- 01:08:37.280 |
but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord." 01:08:53.860 |
we want to pray for, God, is retention and remembrance 01:08:59.000 |
God, we-- in one day, we read it several times, 01:09:02.560 |
we talk about it, then we hear a sermon about it, 01:09:10.240 |
need multiple layers of being exposed to your scripture, 01:09:14.680 |
but also we need the conviction of your spirit. 01:09:22.920 |
to bring remembrance of what we hear as we walk each day. 01:09:37.760 |
was the introductory remarks, identifying himself, 01:09:40.160 |
identifying certain members of the church, et cetera. 01:09:50.960 |
commending him, affirming him about his character. 01:09:57.800 |
that his character brought joy, comfort, refreshment. 01:10:08.040 |
And what he was shooting for, what his prayer was for, 01:10:11.280 |
was that his faith would become even more effective. 01:10:22.360 |
how he needs to do this out of the volition of his heart. 01:10:28.280 |
had already an encouraged heart by what Philemon was doing. 01:10:33.400 |
And then from there, he wanted even more effectiveness. 01:10:39.560 |
had the centerpiece of this letter, where the big bulk is 01:10:48.040 |
And then he talks about how he's not going to exercise 01:10:54.800 |
that he is the apostle, aged and also imprisoned, 01:11:03.200 |
And then, for last week, we talked about Onesimus. 01:11:10.400 |
Apostle Paul had an incredible love for Philemon. 01:11:14.080 |
And then he had incredible love for Onesimus. 01:11:17.080 |
And the kind of love that Apostle Paul had was so fatherly. 01:11:22.880 |
in my mind, when I was meditating on about it, 01:11:27.640 |
I asked myself, man, do I love another grown man 01:11:32.480 |
to this degree, to essentially say, this is my own very heart. 01:11:45.560 |
and also described Onesimus as one who was useless, 01:12:00.800 |
And how did he treat Apostle Paul that Apostle Paul's like, 01:12:05.400 |
because you're going to help me in the kingdom work. 01:12:08.680 |
But nevertheless, Onesimus, one of the things 01:12:17.600 |
to go present himself before his former master 01:12:20.880 |
and I guess you could say current master too, 01:12:23.960 |
and be at his mercy, showed an incredible level of genuineness 01:12:39.520 |
And then so today, we hit verse 14 through 16. 01:12:46.160 |
He says here from the beginning, but without your consent, 01:12:52.400 |
So I don't want to do anything that's gonna overstep this, 01:13:10.120 |
yeah, I don't want to do anything against your own, 01:13:38.920 |
So here we have to realize that he exhibits his intent 01:13:45.760 |
for why he's not fully going out to exercise authority, 01:13:54.720 |
he wanted to make sure that it wasn't by compulsion, 01:14:00.640 |
That it was something derived from his own heart. 01:14:03.160 |
And then he says for, which then tells me, okay. 01:14:14.120 |
and he starts to highlight, perhaps God was doing something 01:14:18.600 |
that for this reason, he was separated from you 01:14:20.960 |
for a little bit, that you would have him back forever. 01:14:27.560 |
yes, there was separation, but now you have him genuinely. 01:14:34.920 |
And so you have another contrast here between slave 01:14:51.200 |
in the forgiveness, and that's why he won't go 01:14:58.600 |
where he says, especially to me and how much now to you, 01:15:01.800 |
that he is your beloved brother, right, to me and to you. 01:15:05.680 |
Okay, and so by way of overview, when I read this passage, 01:15:16.880 |
And I would want to ask all the questions that I can 01:15:21.320 |
and think deeply about why is it that sometimes 01:15:24.400 |
when we do things, it has to be derived as a source 01:15:31.680 |
And then what's more, Apostle Paul is highlighting 01:15:40.600 |
it pushes even greater the idea you better accept him. 01:15:44.720 |
You should forgive him because look at the work 01:15:54.200 |
about this first portion in verse 14, your free will, okay? 01:15:59.200 |
And I find it interesting because he does talk about, 01:16:07.800 |
And that is kind of funny because the first thing 01:16:10.640 |
that came to mind is like you sent a guy 1,200 miles, 01:16:16.680 |
let's say I had a heart and heart, I was like, 01:16:28.080 |
What's more, Apostle Paul is sending a letter, 01:16:30.920 |
he's clearly mediating, later, he's gonna say, 01:16:36.520 |
So it actually sounds like he's doing everything, 01:16:46.920 |
I mean, this letter has so many stacked on persuasions 01:16:51.240 |
to it, it's almost like a letter you can't refuse, 01:16:55.560 |
but clearly, precisely, there is something more specific 01:17:03.080 |
And that's kind of important, because clearly, 01:17:09.520 |
that Philemon fully understands the breadth of the scenario. 01:17:14.440 |
Who is asking, who the object of his affection should be, 01:17:21.240 |
and who he himself, Philemon, this is who you are, too. 01:17:28.240 |
so that Philemon would have the full picture and worldview. 01:17:36.140 |
And what's more, then, we ask this question of, 01:17:51.460 |
of the consent and not by compulsion and the free will. 01:17:54.760 |
If you do the comparison of the other translations, 01:18:03.920 |
it should not just simply be out of necessity. 01:18:07.440 |
I thought, oh, yeah, that's kind of interesting. 01:18:09.540 |
It should definitely not be by force, that's the NIV, 01:18:12.800 |
but this should be according to one's own willingness, 01:18:20.640 |
So this much of it actually is pretty clear to us, 01:18:29.580 |
that should not be something I just think like, 01:18:32.080 |
well, I guess I have to, Apostle Paul told me, you know? 01:18:35.420 |
Pastor Mark told me to do it, I guess I have to, okay? 01:18:38.940 |
And clearly, it should be something that we do voluntarily, 01:18:48.600 |
that's interesting because Jesus himself was like, 01:18:51.540 |
if you don't forgive, I'm not gonna forgive you. 01:18:55.220 |
I'm paraphrasing there, but if you're not willing 01:18:57.460 |
to forgive an individual, your Father in heaven 01:19:03.160 |
That kind of stubborn heartedness is not forgivable. 01:19:10.980 |
where God looks on that kind of resistant heart, 01:19:13.960 |
reluctant to forgive heart, and says, you wicked servant. 01:19:21.180 |
well, surely, there are occasions and moments 01:19:23.580 |
when compulsion is necessary, the push is necessary. 01:19:32.780 |
for those of you guys who are parents in the room, 01:19:34.660 |
is it wrong for you to mediate between two of your children? 01:19:43.060 |
And then to the other kids, like, you say it's okay, 01:19:50.940 |
You know, is it wrong to help them see as young kids 01:19:53.540 |
that these kind of reconciliation things must happen? 01:20:11.020 |
and I want you guys to discuss that in your groups, 01:20:25.020 |
it's so that your goodness is then real and genuine 01:20:35.460 |
Forgiveness by definition is you giving grace, right? 01:20:46.300 |
and by law, you could hold somebody accountable, 01:20:52.120 |
What's more, forgiveness means I am going to promise you 01:20:57.540 |
that I will not hold this grudge against you, yes? 01:21:08.020 |
I am absorbing the offense by Christ's life in me. 01:21:18.460 |
I promise you, you know, I'll hold no grudge. 01:21:30.100 |
Grace is no longer grace when applied by law, 01:21:34.500 |
by compulsion, by strict requirement of authority, 01:21:47.600 |
where we should not be doing things by compulsion, 01:21:53.300 |
One of the strange examples I wanna give to you 01:21:55.180 |
is Ananias and Sapphira from Acts chapter five. 01:22:00.480 |
It was an amazing time, early in the church life, 01:22:03.380 |
people were freely selling their possessions, 01:22:06.300 |
sharing with their fellow brothers and sisters. 01:22:13.160 |
Ananias and Sapphira, they kind of feel the peer pressure. 01:22:17.180 |
And so it's a story, we typically think of it as pride, 01:22:21.100 |
where they were like, "Hey, we can be holy too." 01:22:25.300 |
They tell everybody that they sold their property 01:22:29.700 |
But by the scrutiny of Apostle Peter and the Holy Spirit, 01:22:51.180 |
In some sense, it was 100% just the arrogance 01:23:01.360 |
But in another sense, it was just a reluctant heart. 01:23:28.700 |
Apostle Paul is talking about actually preparing 01:23:34.900 |
"to urge the brethren that they would go on ahead of you 01:23:41.660 |
"so that the same would be ready as a bountiful gift 01:23:48.000 |
"he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, 01:23:50.740 |
"and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully." 01:23:54.940 |
So what it sounds like so far is he's just saying, 01:23:57.500 |
"I am going to arrange beforehand this bountiful gift." 01:24:11.100 |
"Each one must do as he purposed in his heart, 01:24:21.660 |
"And God is able to make all grace abound to you 01:24:24.100 |
"so that always having all sufficiency in everything, 01:24:26.900 |
"you may have abundance for every good deed." 01:24:31.440 |
And so what we have here is the age-old theme for us 01:24:51.840 |
"You can actually do a ton of external action 01:25:00.320 |
"Oh, I don't want to think about it anymore." 01:25:11.620 |
"that your heart is purposeful, that is for me." 01:25:26.380 |
is because I find nowadays a lot of people want policies 01:25:38.060 |
in the sense that law has been always used by God 01:25:43.400 |
But one of the ways I was thinking about this 01:25:47.940 |
appeals to the Philemon, not just authoritatively says, 01:25:54.340 |
There's no scenario where if you do not forgive Philemon 01:26:02.060 |
I'm gonna write you a really, really short letter. 01:26:06.280 |
But I think what's kind of beautiful about the passage 01:26:14.420 |
Because one of the things I was meditating is 01:26:21.260 |
is for the immature, it's for the unrestrained, 01:26:26.440 |
Scripture literally says in Galatians chapter three, 01:26:32.780 |
it was your guardian to point to Christ, right? 01:26:46.380 |
But law instruction, hey, this is what you need to do, 01:27:01.960 |
To bear the fruit of an adult who is maturing 01:27:11.940 |
but fulfilling the purposes of God and representing him, 01:27:17.380 |
A beautiful passage that comes from Galatians chapter five 01:27:36.220 |
Because Philemon doesn't need an exhaustive instruction on, 01:27:40.340 |
well, this is when you forgive, this is when you don't, 01:27:49.420 |
that he actually stole a million dollars, right? 01:27:53.780 |
Is there a law that says, Philemon, you can't forgive him? 01:28:01.460 |
Philemon can go to his full volitional extent 01:28:08.820 |
Okay, so we meditated a lot on this whole idea of volition 01:28:30.020 |
highlighting to Philemon, do you see what God is doing? 01:28:34.700 |
God is making a change that neither you or I can do 01:28:39.180 |
because God is orchestrating to make this individual 01:28:43.260 |
who was separated from you to now he is yours truly, okay? 01:28:54.960 |
Beloved brother, one of the things that I sat there 01:29:03.040 |
Apostle Paul, is he just saying like, hey, you know what? 01:29:07.180 |
In the end, it just works out a lot better this way, right? 01:29:16.820 |
but just like God would receive glory from Joseph 01:29:21.300 |
when he was betrayed by his brothers, left in the pit, 01:29:24.340 |
and then ultimately in Genesis chapter 50, he says, 01:29:27.180 |
what you meant for evil, God meant for good, to preserve. 01:29:35.700 |
And one of the interesting things that I was meditating on 01:29:38.300 |
was in verse 16 when it says that no longer a slave, 01:29:50.400 |
to release Onesimus so that he is a free man, right? 01:29:55.400 |
And to essentially then absolve or release him 01:30:01.320 |
I think you and I would see that in this passage, 01:30:14.100 |
but it'd be missing the point to just focus on 01:30:16.460 |
his status as a slave or is he not a slave now, 01:30:22.380 |
But rather this idea of God has done a work in Onesimus 01:30:38.300 |
Embedded within the relationship now is brotherhood. 01:30:42.500 |
And this is why I think the gospel is so beautiful 01:30:56.420 |
We have to be fully 100% represented in such an equal way. 01:31:08.700 |
Two individuals on the same plane in equal power 01:31:24.500 |
What will transcend this earthly relationship 01:31:31.340 |
in both of these individuals' lives where they're redeemed. 01:31:44.220 |
And so this is the push that Apostle Paul gives. 01:31:58.040 |
Okay, so one of the things that we saw clearly 01:32:02.680 |
as a theme earlier on was God desires a heart, 01:32:08.240 |
is this idea of more than redemption in God's work. 01:32:15.500 |
clearly Apostle Paul highlights the fact that, 01:32:26.640 |
now, especially to you, he is your beloved brother. 01:32:30.460 |
And one of the beautiful things about the gospel 01:32:41.360 |
you have this ledger where you have tons of red. 01:32:49.720 |
Woe is to me, who is going to pay for my debt? 01:32:54.920 |
Yes, praise be to God, do we go back to here? 01:33:09.800 |
that you have the stature of Christ, the very son of God? 01:33:13.360 |
You have the righteousness of not a holy mark 01:33:16.920 |
who was unstained, you have the righteousness 01:33:31.840 |
it's like, do you understand what God is doing? 01:33:35.240 |
I don't expect from you, and I'm not telling you, 01:33:44.300 |
Forgive him and accept him like it never happened. 01:34:18.460 |
They should trust each other to greater degrees, 01:34:24.160 |
That it's more than going back to neutral land, 01:34:33.980 |
you know, the various elements that we had so far, 01:34:38.980 |
we had, you know, again, Philemon's encouraging character, 01:34:43.180 |
and then convictions for us, we're thinking about, 01:34:54.620 |
wow, how much does Apostle Paul love both parties, 01:35:00.860 |
but rather using his wisdom and humility, right, 01:35:21.940 |
What other motives prevent us from forgiving? 01:35:32.740 |
and work that we must do in order to get to a posture 01:35:38.540 |
but we can fully accept an individual who was once lost. 01:35:43.580 |
Lord, you have for us a grand and majestic vision 01:35:57.740 |
You have commanded us, Lord God, in the scripture, 01:36:07.520 |
God, we're so thankful that you have shown us this love, 01:36:18.700 |
I pray, Father God, that whatever we are accustomed to, 01:36:24.300 |
help us, Lord God, to just push away all of that 01:36:27.380 |
and to trust you, to trust you with your empowerment, 01:36:35.140 |
what you produced, Father, through reconciliation, 01:36:48.640 |
by this kind of grace, this kind of love and care, 01:37:03.140 |
even to the degree that we'll pursue somebody, 01:37:08.800 |
so that, God, love would be given and received. 01:37:11.620 |
We thank you, Lord, for making this all possible. 01:37:31.200 |
And so, make sure you list that and work through it. 01:37:33.880 |
The week after is our final week on June 7th, 01:37:43.580 |
that the next study is going to begin August 30th, 01:37:46.780 |
and we're gonna be working through the book of Galatians. 01:38:03.600 |
to just feel like, I've got a duty to fulfill, 01:38:11.500 |
if Philemon had no motive or heart desire to forgive, 01:38:14.860 |
i.e., if Philemon forgave out of just principle, 01:38:34.380 |
just ended up so much better than your own, okay?