Hello, hello. Let's go ahead and everybody take our seats. We'll get situated and start with praise time. So those of you guys who are by cafe, and then anybody who's outside, please go ahead and come on in. We will begin with-- oh, sorry, sorry-- praise time in just a moment.

And then also for those of you who are here on time, appreciate it. Make sure to give the rest of your tables a hard time later. I know we're at the tail end here, and then we're going to do our best to finish strong. OK. Let's bow our heads and a word of prayer.

Heavenly Father, in each season, God, we want to make sure that we are walking with you, and that we are abiding by the Spirit, that we are nourished by your word, and God, that we are close, Lord, to your heart. And we pray that everything that we are doing, including the sharing and the preparation and more, would all put into investment, God, that we would experience those things.

That God, by the joining together of our hearts through your word, talking to each other about our applications, that it would bear its fruit in us abiding in Christ. We want to thank you and praise you for all that you give us, knowing, God, that you're the one that fills our hearts, fills our mind, so that, Lord, we have both energy for each day, but what's more, we are bearing fruit towards your kingdom.

And we pray, God, for more than in our lives. At this time, we do want to lift up our voice to you. We want to lift you up on high and praise you. We thank you, Lord, in Christ's name. Amen. Purify my heart. Let me be as gold and precious silver.

Purify my heart. Let me be as gold, pure gold. Refiner's file. My heart's one desire is to be holy, set apart for you, Lord. I choose to be holy, set apart for you, my master. Ready to do your will. Purify. Purify my heart. Cleanse me from within and make me holy.

Purify my heart. Cleanse me from my sin. Deep within. Refiner's file. My heart's one desire is to be holy, set apart for you, Lord. I choose to be holy, set apart for you, my master. Ready to do your will. Though the nations rage, kingdoms rise and fall, there is still one king reigning over all.

So I will not fear, for this truth remains, that my God is the ancient of days. None above him, none before him, all of time in his hand. For his throne it shall remain and ever stand. All the power, all the glory, I will trust in his name, for my God is the ancient of days.

Though the dread-- Though the dread of night overwhelms my soul, he is here with me. I am not alone. Oh, his love is sure, and he knows my name, for my God is the ancient of days. None above him, none before him, all of time in his hands. For his throne it shall remain and ever stand.

All the power, all the glory, I will trust in his name, for my God is the ancient of days. Though I may not see what the future brings, I will watch and wait for my Savior King, then my joy complete, standing face to face in the presence of the ancients of days.

None above him, none before him, all of time in his hands. For his throne it shall remain and ever stand. All the power, all the glory, I will trust in his name, for my God is the ancient of days. For my God is the ancient of days. Amen. OK.

Just a couple announcements wise. As you guys know, there's just a few weeks left. At the end of today's Bible study, I'll put up the dates and things like that. But starting next week, we're going to go ahead and just start taking sign-ups for the next session of the Bible study.

And then a couple announcements wise, on June 4, which is just a week and a half away, we will be observing the communion on both services. So whenever a communion happens, we encourage all of you just to carve out some time, look ahead, and spend extra time in prayer so you can prepare your heart for that table.

Lastly, I want to just make mention of the family ministry, FAM245. They're hosting an overnight men's retreat from June 23 to the 24. So make sure you check out on the app the details for that and sign up as soon as possible. All right, everybody, please go ahead into your discussion.

And then we'll see you back at 8 o'clock. - Everyone, those of you guys who are in the room, please go ahead and come on out. We'll go ahead and get started with covering our passage here. Let's take a moment. I just want to-- let's see, as people get situated here.

I know that when we go over the smaller portions of scripture and then even going through this letter, there's going to be a feeling of, oh, it's redundant because we're going to hit the same theme. In these times, since we're slowing down, I really want to encourage you to break things down into not just even one sentence at a time, but phrase by phrase and ask, how does it relate to each other?

And if we can, the best thing to do is ask deeper questions so that we can go deeper into the text. I'm going to read for us Philemon starting from verse 10 so that we get the whole gist of the paragraph again. And it says, "I appeal to you for my child, Anisimus, whom I have begotten in my imprisonment, who formerly was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me.

I have sent him back to you in person. That is, sending my very heart, whom I wish to keep with me so that on your behalf he might minister to me in my imprisonment for the gospel. But without your consent, I did not want to do anything so that your goodness would not be in effect by compulsion, but of your own free will.

For perhaps he was for this reason separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but now-- but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord." Let's take a quick minute to go before God and ask for his blessing.

Lord, as we study this book and any book that we do here at church, one of the things we want to pray for, God, is retention and remembrance of your truth. God, we-- in one day, we read it several times, we talk about it, then we hear a sermon about it, and then we go to try to apply it.

But we know, God, that oftentimes we need multiple layers of being exposed to your scripture, but also we need the conviction of your spirit. And so, God, we ask together that you would, by your spirit, teach us and continue to bring remembrance of what we hear as we walk each day.

We thank you in Christ's name. Amen. OK, so in order to do a quick review, I wanted to highlight and mention that the previous section, in the beginning, was the introductory remarks, identifying himself, identifying certain members of the church, et cetera. But one of the earlier major portions was the encouragement that Apostle Paul was receiving from Philemon and essentially commending him, affirming him about his character.

Paul was thankful for Philemon's character, that his character brought joy, comfort, refreshment. And therefore, he had a level of confidence that his faith was already active. And what he was shooting for, what his prayer was for, was that his faith would become even more effective. That's something to consider when we think about today's passage.

We're talking a lot about Philemon, how he needs to do this out of the volition of his heart. Keep this in mind, that Apostle Paul had already an encouraged heart by what Philemon was doing. And then from there, he wanted even more effectiveness. And then, in verse 8 through 10, we had the centerpiece of this letter, where the big bulk is beginning to start.

Apostle Paul says, I, Paul, appeal to you for the sake of love. And then he talks about how he's not going to exercise some of his authority. But in that, Apostle Paul mentions that he is the apostle, aged and also imprisoned, adding great, great weight to the push. And then, for last week, we talked about Onesimus.

And it was very moving, because man, Apostle Paul had an incredible love for Philemon. And then he had incredible love for Onesimus. And the kind of love that Apostle Paul had was so fatherly. It's actually kind of-- in my mind, when I was meditating on about it, I asked myself, man, do I love another grown man to this degree, to essentially say, this is my own very heart.

This is me sending you all of my affection. That's pretty incredible. And so he described him in that way and also described Onesimus as one who was useless, but now useful. And he focused in on Onesimus' character, even though in some sense, the scripture doesn't say a whole lot.

Like, what did he do? What was he doing there when he got saved? And how did he treat Apostle Paul that Apostle Paul's like, I want you to actually stay with me, because you're going to help me in the kingdom work. But nevertheless, Onesimus, one of the things that we came away with was, by just the fact that he's willing to take this massive risk to go present himself before his former master and I guess you could say current master too, and be at his mercy, showed an incredible level of genuineness in his repentance.

And I asked and posed the question to you, if we are ever the offending party, what are our obligations? What can we learn from this individual? And then so today, we hit verse 14 through 16. And I want to walk through this with you. He says here from the beginning, but without your consent, I did not want to do anything.

So I don't want to do anything that's gonna overstep this, your own kind of freedom, your own volition. And so what I have here is that Apostle Paul exhibits a level of self restraint. And then I'm kind of starting to think like, okay, so Apostle Paul's like, yeah, I don't want to do anything against your own, and then he says, so that the reason, oh no.

That's because of my chubby hands that touched the wrong part. In the beginning. No. This right here, this right here. That works, okay. He's exercising a self restraint, why? So here we have to realize that he exhibits his intent for why he's not fully going out to exercise authority, because the goodness that Philemon has, he wanted to make sure that it wasn't by compulsion, but by his own free will, okay.

That it was something derived from his own heart. And then he says for, which then tells me, okay. Now typically, when you say for, it's the reason why, it's because, and he starts to highlight, perhaps God was doing something that for this reason, he was separated from you for a little bit, that you would have him back forever.

And so what I see is this contrast of, yes, there was separation, but now you have him genuinely. No longer a slave, but a beloved brother. And so you have another contrast here between slave and the genuine beloved brother, which is essentially a work of God. And so because of this work of God, Apostle Paul wants Philemon's genuine heart in the forgiveness, and that's why he won't go to exercise that authority.

And this ultimately changes the relationship where he says, especially to me and how much now to you, that he is your beloved brother, right, to me and to you. Okay, and so by way of overview, when I read this passage, there's two major segments. One, I would meditate and focus on this idea of your free will, okay?

And I would want to ask all the questions that I can and think deeply about why is it that sometimes when we do things, it has to be derived as a source from my own mind and from my own purpose. And then what's more, Apostle Paul is highlighting this idea that God has clearly done a work to change this individual, and therefore, it pushes even greater the idea you better accept him.

You should forgive him because look at the work that God is doing. So let's take a moment to walk down and do some observation and questions about this first portion in verse 14, your free will, okay? And I find it interesting because he does talk about, well, I did not want to do anything, okay?

And that is kind of funny because the first thing that came to mind is like you sent a guy 1,200 miles, and if I was Philemon, I'd be like, let's say I had a heart and heart, I was like, what am I supposed to do with this guy? Send him back, you know?

In some sense, I would almost feel like, do I even really have a choice here? What's more, Apostle Paul is sending a letter, he's clearly mediating, later, he's gonna say, by the way, I'm gonna come visit, you know? So it actually sounds like he's doing everything, so I don't know.

Now, then we have to ask the question, what specifically and precisely, right? I mean, this letter has so many stacked on persuasions to it, it's almost like a letter you can't refuse, but clearly, precisely, there is something more specific he's thinking about, not just anything, but what is he not willing to do, right?

And that's kind of important, because clearly, Apostle Paul, he's willing to make sure that Philemon fully understands the breadth of the scenario. Who is asking, who the object of his affection should be, who his God is, what his God is doing, and who he himself, Philemon, this is who you are, too.

He's showing Philemon this broad breadth so that Philemon would have the full picture and worldview. He would see the wisdom for himself, okay? And what's more, then, we ask this question of, why is it good that he consents, and he's not under compulsion? And so I wanna highlight this a bit here.

If you, you know, you guys see my highlights of the consent and not by compulsion and the free will. If you do the comparison of the other translations, it kinda adds to the effect, doesn't it? The other translation talks about how it should not just simply be out of necessity.

I thought, oh, yeah, that's kind of interesting. It should definitely not be by force, that's the NIV, but this should be according to one's own willingness, his own accord, and voluntary, okay? So this much of it actually is pretty clear to us, and we could take that home and say, okay, lesson learned.

There are clearly things in the Bible, especially forgiving somebody, that should not be something I just think like, well, I guess I have to, Apostle Paul told me, you know? Pastor Mark told me to do it, I guess I have to, okay? And clearly, it should be something that we do voluntarily, but immediately, my mind went to, that's interesting because Jesus himself was like, if you don't forgive, I'm not gonna forgive you.

You know what I mean? I'm paraphrasing there, but if you're not willing to forgive an individual, your Father in heaven is not gonna exercise grace upon you. That kind of stubborn heartedness is not forgivable. Rather, there's an entire parable I read at the very beginning of our overview, where God looks on that kind of resistant heart, reluctant to forgive heart, and says, you wicked servant.

So then there's a part of us that says, well, surely, there are occasions and moments when compulsion is necessary, the push is necessary. So another way to maybe even ask that is, for those of you guys who are parents in the room, is it wrong for you to mediate between two of your children?

You say sorry now, say sorry, you know? And then to the other kids, like, you say it's okay, you know, take it. I don't know, like, is that wrong? You know, is it wrong to help them see as young kids that these kind of reconciliation things must happen? Why is it so important for Apostle Paul, where he's doing not just not anything, but just about everything except forcing him by his authority to do it?

And I think we have lots of lots of reasons, and I want you guys to discuss that in your groups, but this part gives us one. He says here, so that your goodness, right, your goodness is not by compulsion. And I thought about and meditated on this, it's so that your goodness is then real and genuine and actually good.

Take a moment to think about what forgiveness is by definition. Forgiveness by definition is you giving grace, right? You're giving grace to an individual who doesn't necessarily deserve it, and by law, you could hold somebody accountable, culpable, whatever it may be. What's more, forgiveness means I am going to promise you that I will not hold this grudge against you, yes?

I am not going to demand that you pay, but rather I am gonna promise you I am absorbing the offense by Christ's life in me. That's the promise. Okay, do that reluctantly, right? I promise you, you know, I'll hold no grudge. It's just comedic because then forgiveness is no longer forgiveness.

Grace is no longer grace when applied by law, by compulsion, by strict requirement of authority, you must give this grace. You can't do that. And another way to think about it is we know of examples in the Bible, instances, where we should not be doing things by compulsion, but by the purpose of our own heart.

One of the strange examples I wanna give to you is Ananias and Sapphira from Acts chapter five. And you guys know the story well. It was an amazing time, early in the church life, people were freely selling their possessions, sharing with their fellow brothers and sisters. They had things in common, and it was like a big old grand family.

Ananias and Sapphira, they kind of feel the peer pressure. And so it's a story, we typically think of it as pride, where they were like, "Hey, we can be holy too." They tell everybody that they sold their property and that they gave everything. But by the scrutiny of Apostle Peter and the Holy Spirit, they find out Ananias lied.

It was only a portion. And Ananias was like, "It's all of it." And then he dies. His wife comes in and Peter asks her, "How much was it sold for? "Was it so and so?" And she says, "Yes, yes, it was everything." And then she dies. What was that?

In some sense, it was 100% just the arrogance of wanting to be more holy than you are, or at least seem like it, that you have some kind of holy credit. But in another sense, it was just a reluctant heart. They didn't wanna give that much to God. But then someone will say, "But at least they gave a portion.

"That's more than nothing." But how does God see that? God sees that very reluctant heart as, "What is that? "Better you just keep it." Here's another passage that tells us exactly how God thinks. He says, "So I thought," Apostle Paul is talking about actually preparing a love gift and all this stuff.

And he says, "So I thought it necessary "to urge the brethren that they would go on ahead of you "and arrange beforehand "your previously promised bountiful gift, "so that the same would be ready as a bountiful gift "and not affected by covetousness. "Now this I say, "he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, "and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully." So what it sounds like so far is he's just saying, "I am going to arrange beforehand this bountiful gift." And he's encouraged them, "Hey, go above and beyond what's normal, "because if you sow well, "you're going to reap well." But then he says, "Each one must do as he purposed in his heart, "not grudgingly or under compulsion, "for God loves a cheerful giver.

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you "so that always having all sufficiency in everything, "you may have abundance for every good deed." And so what we have here is the age-old theme for us that God 100% absolutely cares about the intention of the heart. And whatever offering we're doing, whatever obedient act we're doing, that obedience must be then first something we wrestle with here, yes?

Where God says, "You can actually do a ton of external action "for other people, for your own sake, "just for your own grievances, "maybe even just out of frustration. "Oh, I don't want to think about it anymore." Fine. That's not for God. And therefore, he says, "What I want you to do is work on here "that your heart is purposeful, that is for me." Another way to think about this is I was thinking about the whole idea of law, God giving us law.

And the reason why I was thinking about that is because I find nowadays a lot of people want policies and thorough instructions, which is good. It's not bad because the law is always good in the sense that law has been always used by God for his good purposes, yes?

But one of the ways I was thinking about this is why it's so important that Apostle Paul appeals to the Philemon, not just authoritatively says, "Just do it," okay? There's no scenario where if you do not forgive Philemon that it's good for you, the church, or Anisimus, or anybody, just do it.

I'm gonna write you a really, really short letter. Do it, okay? But I think what's kind of beautiful about the passage is out of Apostle Paul's love for Philemon, he's treating him like an adult. Because one of the things I was meditating is that kind of policy, law, instructional is for the immature, it's for the unrestrained, it's for children.

Scripture literally says in Galatians chapter three, you know that the law was your tutor, it was your guardian to point to Christ, right? The law, if you think about it, is for a guest of the house, not somebody who is a child of the house, the owner of the house, or somebody who belongs in the house.

But law instruction, hey, this is what you need to do, here are your boundaries, don't do this, that's for a guest, okay? But what God wants for Philemon to do is bear the fruit of true Christlikeness. To bear the fruit of an adult who is maturing and going above and beyond, not just simply the requirement of the law, but fulfilling the purposes of God and representing him, this is most Christlike.

A beautiful passage that comes from Galatians chapter five says, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things, there is no law. Why? Because Philemon doesn't need an exhaustive instruction on, well, this is when you forgive, this is when you don't, this is when it's too much.

If an isthmus comes and it's found out that he actually stole a million dollars, right? Is there a law that says, Philemon, you can't forgive him? No, by exercising the character of Christ, Philemon can go to his full volitional extent on how much he would forgive an isthmus. Okay, so we meditated a lot on this whole idea of volition because it was such a repeated theme.

We're gonna move now into the second part. It says, for perhaps he was for this reason separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever, okay? And I really saw this as like Apostle Paul highlighting to Philemon, do you see what God is doing? God is making a change that neither you or I can do because God is orchestrating to make this individual who was separated from you to now he is yours truly, okay?

And verse 16 is the highlight where it says, no longer a slave, but more than a slave. Beloved brother, one of the things that I sat there like kind of thinking and meditating on was, huh, this is really interesting. Apostle Paul, is he just saying like, hey, you know what?

In the end, it just works out a lot better this way, right? In the end, God did a work where an isthmus was trying to do an evil thing, but just like God would receive glory from Joseph when he was betrayed by his brothers, left in the pit, and then ultimately in Genesis chapter 50, he says, what you meant for evil, God meant for good, to preserve.

Yes? Is he just saying that? And one of the interesting things that I was meditating on was in verse 16 when it says that no longer a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, was Apostle Paul instructing Philemon to release Onesimus so that he is a free man, right?

And to essentially then absolve or release him from his obligations as a slave. I think you and I would see that in this passage, the focus and highlight is more so not like, I can't answer that question 'cause it would be more speculation, but it'd be missing the point to just focus on his status as a slave or is he not a slave now, that kind of thing.

But rather this idea of God has done a work in Onesimus to such a way where now radically the relationship has changed so that even if Onesimus stayed a slave, that relationship is transformed. Embedded within the relationship now is brotherhood. And this is why I think the gospel is so beautiful because nowadays, nowadays, people are griping against hierarchies.

You have more power than I do. We're equal. No, you have majority and I have minority. We have to be equal. We have to be fully 100% represented in such an equal way. Hierarchy actually can be very godly when you have true brotherhood. Yes? Two individuals on the same plane in equal power can be very wicked if they do not have the kindness of Christ, if they do not have the kind of mutual love and humility to see each other as more important than themselves.

Yes? What will transcend this earthly relationship is the fact that God has done a work now in both of these individuals' lives where they're redeemed. And in that way, Apostle Paul is highlighting here, do you understand that the work God has done now radically changes everything? And so this is the push that Apostle Paul gives.

I do wanna highlight by way of summary, there is a theme in the gospel, right? Let's see here. Okay, so one of the things that we saw clearly as a theme earlier on was God desires a heart, your voluntary love. But one of the themes in the gospel is this idea of more than redemption in God's work.

And I wanna end with this. When you see the passage, clearly Apostle Paul highlights the fact that, yes, you were separated for a little while, but now he is yours forever. Yes? And what's more, though he was a slave, now, especially to you, he is your beloved brother. And one of the beautiful things about the gospel is that there is this theme of like, so much more than back to status quo.

That yes, the gospel starts with, you have this ledger where you have tons of red. You sin, you incur debt, and you incur debt, and you can't pay it off. Woe is to me, who is going to pay for my debt? And who is going to save me? Yes, praise be to God, do we go back to here?

Now our balance is zero, now we're free. No, the gospel says, do you understand that when Christ raises you, he brings you into such a stature that you have the stature of Christ, the very son of God? You have the righteousness of not a holy mark who was unstained, you have the righteousness of Christ Almighty who is the son of God?

When God redeems, it's always so much more than back to zero is my point. And so there is this theme even in this, it's like, do you understand what God is doing? I don't expect from you, and I'm not telling you, just go back to normal, okay? Let's pretend like it never happened.

Forgive him and accept him like it never happened. That is not what Apostle Paul is saying. When there is true reconciliation, there is hope for so much more. That's true for your friendships, it's true even for husband and wives. When they fight, they should never be like, oh, forget it, let's just squash it.

Okay, let's just squash it. No, if reconciliation happens, they should feel even more intimate, they should feel like problems were solved, they should feel like they know each other to a greater extent, they should feel even more in love with each other. They should trust each other to greater degrees, and that's what the gospel does for us.

That it's more than going back to neutral land, but it's more than redemption for us, amen? By a final way of just review, you know, the various elements that we had so far, we had, you know, again, Philemon's encouraging character, and then convictions for us, we're thinking about, man, like what kind of person and character must I be in order to be a forgiver?

When Apostle Paul is talking, I think about, wow, how much does Apostle Paul love both parties, that he's not actually being partial to one, but rather using his wisdom and humility, right, in order to appeal rather than just direct. And then what are some obligations for us as the offending party, and then today, we're coming to heart issues.

In the issue of giving forgiveness to people that have offended us, where are our motives? What other motives prevent us from forgiving? What are God's motives? What ought to be our motives? These are the kind of heart questions and work that we must do in order to get to a posture where we can say, not just here or there, but we can fully accept an individual who was once lost.

Let's take a moment to pray. Lord, you have for us a grand and majestic vision that we would be like you. You have commanded us, Lord God, in the scripture, that we are to mimic you in every way. And Lord, one of the first thing you say is that we should love the same way you do.

God, we're so thankful that you have shown us this love, that you empower us to exercise this love, but we also confess that it's difficult. I pray, Father God, that whatever we are accustomed to, whatever we think is our own limitation, help us, Lord God, to just push away all of that and to trust you, to trust you with your empowerment, to trust you with your word, that what you produced in the gospel, what you produced, Father, through reconciliation, is always going to be beautiful and God is gonna be wrought by the Spirit.

Lord, we do ask that in the church here, God, our relationships would be marked by this kind of grace, this kind of love and care, where, Lord, for whatever offenses we have, we're long-suffering with one another, but what's more, we're eager to give people our love and forgiveness, even to the degree that we'll pursue somebody, that we'll go and take the risk to talk, so that, God, love would be given and received.

We thank you, Lord, for making this all possible. It's in Christ's name, amen. Okay, so just as a heads up to you, next week is May 31st, Wednesday. Please study verse 17 through 20. It's more of the motivations and reasons why Philemon should forgive. And so, make sure you list that and work through it.

The week after is our final week on June 7th, and so we'll have our verse 21 and 25 study and ending review. Heads up to all of you guys that the next study is going to begin August 30th, and we're gonna be working through the book of Galatians. And then, here is your discussion questions.

So, what other instances can you think of where we should not be moved by compulsion, but by free will? And when are those instances where it's okay to just feel like, I've got a duty to fulfill, I'm just gonna do it, okay? List what would be the effect if Philemon had no motive or heart desire to forgive, i.e., if Philemon forgave out of just principle, it's like, I just know I need to do it.

How would that affect himself, Onesimus, Jesus the Savior, or the community? What are some false motives or thoughts that prevent us from giving forgiveness? And then, sharing some stories. What are some experiences where God's plan just ended up so much better than your own, okay? And also, just kind of talk about if something works out better, are we allowed to just attribute that, to be like, God did this, you know?

And then finally, to forgive is a promise, as God does, that we will not hold a grudge against someone who has repented. How does God's sovereignty help us give this kind of promise, okay? Have a great time of discussion. (audience chattering) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) .