WEBVTT 00:00:00.040 --> 00:00:12.666 So this week we are on part two of a two-part short series in the book of Philemon and oh look, I didn't have a bookmarker. 00:00:12.666 --> 00:00:17.045 So if you haven't turned to Philemon yet, that's how fast you can do it. 00:00:17.045 --> 00:00:28.166 But it's a very small book one page probably In your Pew Bible it is page 1032, if you wanna turn there and follow along, I encourage you to do so. 00:00:28.166 --> 00:00:40.648 And a number of you were not here last week because last week we had our preview service down in San Jose, and so I hear things went well down there and I'm glad to welcome you back here. 00:00:40.648 --> 00:00:53.908 And so both for the benefit of those who were not here last week, as well as a reminder to those of us who were this week, I do want to do a little bit of a review, but I'll do my best to keep this brief and to the point. 00:00:54.579 --> 00:01:04.825 So last week we had this sermon in the book of Philemon that I called partnership and mission, and so this is part two of that. 00:01:04.825 --> 00:01:18.748 We last week talked about this partnership in relation to Coyonia, so last week we talked about partnership and mission, coyonia in relation to what Pastor Ian had talked about. 00:01:18.748 --> 00:01:32.835 I'm in Philemon, not by accident or not just at random choice, but because the book of Philemon has within it a understanding of fellowship, of gospel partnership. 00:01:32.835 --> 00:01:42.965 That is just very plain, it's very graspable, it's understandable, we can see it, we can hear it, we can feel it and we can relate to it. 00:01:42.965 --> 00:01:58.207 And so Pastor Ian finished up his series that we had asked him to preach to us about kind of the church on mission with this concept of Coyonia, the Greek word that we translate fellowship. 00:01:58.207 --> 00:02:06.367 We can also translate it partnership or gospel partnership or, in this case, partnership in mission. 00:02:06.367 --> 00:02:15.412 In particular, we as a church and this is something that we drew out last week are called to a mission or a commission. 00:02:15.412 --> 00:02:28.305 Jesus gave us a commission, a command, perhaps the highest command to go forth and take the gospel to the ends of the earth and to baptize people, to bring them into the church, to teach them all things. 00:02:28.305 --> 00:02:31.949 That is our mission, that we've been given very broadly. 00:02:31.949 --> 00:02:37.706 But we are not called to that as individuals, although we have individual parts to play. 00:02:37.706 --> 00:02:46.889 We have individual contributions to make, but we are actually called to do that in community, in partnership with other believers. 00:02:46.889 --> 00:02:52.707 And so as a church, we organize in fellowship, in partnership, in Coyonia. 00:02:53.259 --> 00:03:08.572 And so last week we were explaining that the book of Philemon is a letter that the apostle Paul wrote to an individual named Philemon who was a key, important member in the church in Colossae. 00:03:08.572 --> 00:03:23.328 In fact, the letters of Philemon and the letter that we call the book of Colossians were delivered together at the same time, and so this is kind of a you know the context of Philemon by reading the book of Colossians. 00:03:23.328 --> 00:03:30.007 Also written at this time, when Paul was in prison, was the book of Philippians, which we recently did a series on. 00:03:30.007 --> 00:03:34.747 So that kind of can hopefully set some of the historic context in your mind. 00:03:34.747 --> 00:03:40.192 And so I just wanna briefly recap the story of Philemon. 00:03:40.192 --> 00:03:41.264 What is going on? 00:03:41.264 --> 00:03:52.412 So Philemon is a story or a letter that is written by Paul to a man named Philemon who is a merchant. 00:03:52.412 --> 00:04:00.705 He is a wealthy man, he is a at least a lay leader in the church, he hosts the church in his house. 00:04:00.705 --> 00:04:09.307 The text says and according to what would be normal within their society, he had a slave. 00:04:09.307 --> 00:04:11.447 Now I said, explain this last week. 00:04:11.560 --> 00:04:17.930 The book of Philemon is not written as a support or a attack against the evil institution of slavery. 00:04:17.930 --> 00:04:26.088 Certainly, christian principles would tell us that slavery is not a good thing and it would be a sinful institution. 00:04:26.088 --> 00:04:27.867 It would be something that would dishonor God. 00:04:27.867 --> 00:04:30.668 But the book of Philemon isn't written to address that. 00:04:30.668 --> 00:04:41.829 Instead, it is written within a context in which slavery is a part of the society, and Philemon had a slave, and that slave's name was Onissimus. 00:04:41.829 --> 00:04:47.072 And Onissimus wronged Philemon in some way. 00:04:47.072 --> 00:04:52.608 We don't know exactly what he did, but what we do know is that ultimately he ran away. 00:04:52.608 --> 00:05:04.451 So Onissimus wronged or sinned against his master, philemon, by running away and damaging his livelihood. 00:05:04.451 --> 00:05:16.949 I want you to grasp that this was not a minor inconvenience, but this was an assault on his business, on his ability to provide for his livelihood, for his children and his wife and those around him. 00:05:16.949 --> 00:05:28.471 This was a significant wrong in this society against Philemon, and so Philemon had legal recourse to go after Onissimus. 00:05:28.471 --> 00:05:41.839 He had every right to call in the police and have them arrest him and throw him in jail, or perhaps even put him on trial and ultimately lead to execution was a possibility. 00:05:41.839 --> 00:05:53.800 This was a serious offense, and Onissimus though we don't know the circumstances, for some reason comes into contact with Paul, very far away from where Philemon was. 00:05:55.024 --> 00:06:01.177 So Onissimus, the slave, is out somewhere in Rome and runs into Paul. 00:06:01.177 --> 00:06:07.319 Whether he saw him out or it was just divine providence, we're not told, but Paul proclaims to him the gospel. 00:06:07.319 --> 00:06:23.709 And we reminded ourselves of the gospel last week because it was really important, because the gospel is the foundation upon which Paul is writing the letter to Philemon, because he is going to ask a significant ask, and that's what we're gonna look at today. 00:06:23.709 --> 00:06:51.630 He reminds them of the gospel that, through Christ, though we have nothing good in and of ourselves, though we have no hope of eternal life, of being able to be in heaven, to be in heaven, of being able to be with God, though we have no hope in and of ourselves that through Jesus, he made a way, through everything we sang about this morning, to have relationship with God, to be able to call him father, to be reconciled. 00:06:52.939 --> 00:07:02.586 And so Paul is ultimately saying, hey, philemon, or Onissimus, came to me, I told him the gospel, he believed and he is radically transformed. 00:07:02.586 --> 00:07:05.644 And so this is the request that he's gonna make, and this is what we're gonna talk about today. 00:07:05.644 --> 00:07:15.110 He's about to ask him, not yet he's about to ask him will you forgive? 00:07:15.110 --> 00:07:19.428 Will you forgive Onissimus? 00:07:19.428 --> 00:07:21.365 Will you welcome him into your home? 00:07:21.365 --> 00:07:23.305 Will you treat him as an equal? 00:07:23.305 --> 00:07:24.528 Will you love him? 00:07:24.528 --> 00:07:25.584 Will you release him? 00:07:25.584 --> 00:07:27.526 Will you do all of this? 00:07:27.526 --> 00:07:32.271 Will you even receive him, as you would receive me? 00:07:33.817 --> 00:07:50.384 He's about to make this radical request and he can make this culturally shocking request because of the gospel, because he knows that Philemon understands how much he has been forgiven and so that he should extend that same grace towards others. 00:07:50.384 --> 00:08:20.586 He also knows that Philemon is an example among his people, among his congregation, among his church, in this fellowship, this coinonia, this partnership in mission, by hosting the church in his house, probably even on a daily basis, by sharing of his resources and his wealth, by sharing of so much, by practicing a hospitality that is far above and beyond what would be the normal expectation of a human being. 00:08:20.586 --> 00:08:35.083 But in the gospel, philemon is a model, and so Paul writes to Philemon on this basis, and so we're gonna go and we're gonna look today at verses eight through 25. 00:08:35.083 --> 00:08:40.283 That's the end of the book and there's gonna be two main points. 00:08:40.283 --> 00:08:45.642 So we're gonna start here in verse eight and we'll get there in a second. 00:08:45.695 --> 00:08:52.143 But the first thing I want you to see is this the first thing I want you to see is that partnership in mission. 00:08:52.143 --> 00:08:54.423 That was our key theme, that's our title. 00:08:54.423 --> 00:08:59.667 Partnership in mission expects radical reconciliation. 00:08:59.667 --> 00:09:04.745 Partnership in mission expects radical reconciliation. 00:09:04.745 --> 00:09:11.399 You see, I told you that this book is extremely relatable, that it's understandable to us. 00:09:11.399 --> 00:09:31.285 And see, we're looking here at a real world situation between two individuals who have been saved by grace, who know the gospel and who, humanly speaking, should never be able to reconcile. 00:09:31.285 --> 00:09:38.426 But Paul expects of them that they will. 00:09:38.426 --> 00:09:45.442 And here's the thing is that within our own body I'm a sinner, you're a sinner, we all mess up. 00:09:45.442 --> 00:09:48.142 Still, and you know what we're gonna sin against each other. 00:09:48.142 --> 00:09:51.960 I'm gonna wrong some of you and some of you are gonna wrong me. 00:09:51.960 --> 00:09:55.120 Just cause I'm a pastor doesn't mean I have it all figured out. 00:09:55.120 --> 00:09:56.017 I don't. 00:09:56.017 --> 00:09:58.023 And I'm gonna do wrong to you. 00:09:58.023 --> 00:10:02.219 Maybe, hopefully not all of you, but some of you and you'll do wrong to me. 00:10:04.754 --> 00:10:08.865 We have to be able to, in the gospel, reconcile. 00:10:08.865 --> 00:10:21.501 To state this another way, I'm gonna say it this way In Christ there is no such thing as irreconcilable differences. 00:10:21.501 --> 00:10:26.320 In Christ, there's no such thing as irreconcilable differences. 00:10:26.320 --> 00:10:28.621 That's a phrase we know in our world. 00:10:28.621 --> 00:10:31.744 You often hear it, given in cases of divorce. 00:10:31.744 --> 00:10:49.245 You know, we just you know yeah, sometimes you'll hear it even this way we even still love each other, but we just have irreconcilable differences, differences that, no matter what we do, we can't fix them, we have no hope of reconciling. 00:10:49.245 --> 00:10:59.700 But I'm gonna tell you this that in Jesus all differences are reconcilable Doesn't mean we always reconcile. 00:10:59.700 --> 00:11:07.323 Sometimes we let our flesh get the better of us and we hold grudges, we fall into issues. 00:11:08.495 --> 00:11:24.984 But this is the standard, this is the expectation, and what we see in the book of Philemon is we see a situation where two people, humanly speaking, have absolutely irreconcilable differences. 00:11:24.984 --> 00:11:40.442 Paul's about to ask Philemon to welcome Onesimus into his home, to welcome him around that close fellowship that meets at his table, to come and to be a part of his church, to be around his kids and his family. 00:11:40.442 --> 00:11:53.481 This is someone who had deeply wronged him, who society would, at large, expect Philemon to persecute to the fullest extent of the law, prosecute to the fullest extent of the law. 00:11:53.481 --> 00:12:16.498 Yet that's not what we're gonna see, that is not what Paul is gonna call on Philemon to do, but instead Paul is gonna call on Philemon to be like Christ to Onesimus, because Philemon had been forgiven so much himself and Paul had been forgiven so much himself. 00:12:16.498 --> 00:12:20.815 And so we're gonna look, and we're gonna start by looking at verse eight. 00:12:20.815 --> 00:12:24.235 We're gonna our first section is gonna be verses eight through 16. 00:12:24.235 --> 00:12:27.616 And we're gonna start by looking at that word. 00:12:28.740 --> 00:12:34.042 Therefore, now I saw a you know, I'm not super tech savvy. 00:12:34.042 --> 00:12:37.159 I don't know the difference between a meme and a GIF and all that stuff. 00:12:37.159 --> 00:12:39.116 Or even if I said, is it GIF, I don't know. 00:12:39.116 --> 00:12:40.816 I don't know how to say any of those things. 00:12:40.816 --> 00:12:55.239 But I saw one of those things this week that said or maybe it was two weeks ago that said pastor, we know what therefore means, so stop explaining it every time you see it, okay, so I'm gonna start trusting that you know what therefore means. 00:12:55.239 --> 00:13:02.778 And when it says, hey, therefore, everything we said last week, that's what he's basing, what he's about to say this week, I still explained it. 00:13:02.778 --> 00:13:03.592 I can't help it. 00:13:03.592 --> 00:13:06.376 Okay, I can't help it, okay. 00:13:06.376 --> 00:13:10.674 Therefore, when you see a, therefore, ask what it's therefore. 00:13:10.674 --> 00:13:12.836 Sorry, really corny. 00:13:15.789 --> 00:13:28.182 Therefore, although in Christ, I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. 00:13:28.182 --> 00:13:36.538 It is as none other than Paul, an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus. 00:13:36.538 --> 00:13:38.754 Paul tells him here. 00:13:38.754 --> 00:13:42.495 He starts off in verse eight and he says I could be bold. 00:13:42.495 --> 00:13:57.321 Paul saying he's not so subtly, reminding Philemon hey, I'm an apostle, I could command you, I could tell you to do this thing that you ought to do. 00:13:57.321 --> 00:14:09.495 He's telling him upfront, he's saying I'm gonna make a request of you and, just so you know, the right thing to do is to grant this request and if you didn't do it it would be sin and I could command you to do it. 00:14:09.495 --> 00:14:17.147 But I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. 00:14:17.147 --> 00:14:49.326 You know, paul actually shows how a person who has authority can, at one in one hand, hold that authority yet not exercise it, because authority is not something to be clubbed over people's heads, but it is something instead to be yielded gently. 00:14:49.326 --> 00:15:20.561 And instead, what he does here is he says I could command you, but I am going to place my hope in the fact that you, as one who has modeled this Quinoa, this fellowship, who understands what gospel partnership is, that understands what a radically transformed life looks like, I am gonna place confidence that you are gonna do the right thing and I am gonna place confidence that you will make the choice in love. 00:15:20.561 --> 00:15:26.133 I'm Paul, I'm an old man, I'm now a prisoner of Jesus Christ. 00:15:26.133 --> 00:15:30.980 He's saying hey, I can't go over there and force you to do it. 00:15:30.980 --> 00:15:34.272 I don't have, even though I have the authority as a apostle. 00:15:34.272 --> 00:15:41.595 I mean, ultimately I'm just an outsider, but I'm going to appeal to you to do right and trust that you will do it. 00:15:41.595 --> 00:15:44.455 And that's a big thing to trust. 00:15:44.455 --> 00:15:52.618 Let's keep going that I appeal verse 10, that I appeal to you for my son, onissimus. 00:15:53.509 --> 00:15:58.196 One commentator said that this was kind of like the mic drop moment. 00:15:58.196 --> 00:15:59.318 He hadn't said it yet. 00:15:59.318 --> 00:16:09.173 Okay, so I don't know if Onissimus had already been seen or whatever, but here's the moment where he names him. 00:16:09.173 --> 00:16:14.514 It's like okay, paul, you're really you kind of buttered me up. 00:16:14.514 --> 00:16:17.261 You're really laying it on here. 00:16:17.261 --> 00:16:20.099 You're telling me you expect me to do this in love. 00:16:20.099 --> 00:16:24.096 He's about to ask me something big right, like what is he about to say? 00:16:24.096 --> 00:16:27.919 And then it's like my son, onissimus. 00:16:27.919 --> 00:16:36.803 That name Onissimus, that's not a friendly name in my house. 00:16:36.803 --> 00:16:44.120 What are you going to ask me, paul, and why are you calling him your son? 00:16:45.697 --> 00:16:49.385 He says who became my son while I was in chains? 00:16:49.385 --> 00:16:53.565 Paul's not saying anything, that he adopted him or has any kind of legal father ship. 00:16:53.565 --> 00:17:01.663 He is saying that through the proclamation of the gospel, through Paul sharing the gospel with him, he believed and was regenerated. 00:17:01.663 --> 00:17:04.142 He was brought from death to spiritual life. 00:17:04.142 --> 00:17:09.566 He is a child of God and therefore a brother in Christ. 00:17:09.566 --> 00:17:23.106 And so Paul, who could similarly call himself the father, spiritually speaking, of Philemon, says hey, I shared the gospel with Onissimus and he believed. 00:17:23.106 --> 00:17:30.026 He is now my son, just like you, who became my son while I was in chains. 00:17:30.026 --> 00:17:36.667 Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful to both you and to me. 00:17:36.667 --> 00:17:40.023 Hey, he was your slave and he was kind of useless. 00:17:40.023 --> 00:17:44.184 He had to really, you know, pressure him to do the right thing. 00:17:44.184 --> 00:17:47.943 He wasn't working for you because he wanted to work. 00:17:47.943 --> 00:17:51.624 He instead was working out of compulsion, because he had to. 00:17:51.624 --> 00:18:09.977 He was useless, but now he's useful to me in prison over here, and he's useful to you now because he's a brother in Christ, because in Jesus he will love you and you will love him, and the relationship you have will be so radically different from what was present before. 00:18:11.095 --> 00:18:14.364 Verse 12, I'm sending him, who is my very heart. 00:18:14.364 --> 00:18:17.461 This is, this is deep language. 00:18:17.461 --> 00:18:19.480 This is emotional language. 00:18:19.480 --> 00:18:21.557 Paul loves Onissimus. 00:18:21.557 --> 00:18:23.986 Now, okay, this is not casual. 00:18:23.986 --> 00:18:28.026 He says I am sending him, who is my very heart, back to you. 00:18:28.026 --> 00:18:45.287 I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel, but I did not want to do anything without your consent so that any favor you do would not seem forced but voluntary. 00:18:46.035 --> 00:18:51.807 Here Paul goes with that tactful use of his relationship with Philemon. 00:18:51.807 --> 00:18:56.465 He says, hey, this isn't what he said, but this is kind of what he implied. 00:18:56.465 --> 00:19:09.997 I could have just kept him here with me and just told you, and I would have liked to have him here to help me because, hey, I'm locked up in prison and he's really it's helpful for me to have people that I can have, you know, do things and run errands and so on and so forth. 00:19:09.997 --> 00:19:13.982 But I don't want to do any of that without your consent. 00:19:13.982 --> 00:19:15.359 Instead, I'm taking a risk. 00:19:15.359 --> 00:19:21.166 I'm going to send him to you and I know you have every legal authority. 00:19:21.166 --> 00:19:29.167 You even have a compulsion by society to prosecute him. 00:19:29.167 --> 00:19:39.988 You have every right to call on him to account for what he did and to make him pay. 00:19:39.988 --> 00:19:51.884 But I am going to trust that you are going to take this man who I call my very heart, and that you are going to show him the love of Christ. 00:19:51.884 --> 00:20:01.106 I want you to do this not out of compulsion, not forced, but to do it voluntarily. 00:20:02.515 --> 00:20:17.776 Perhaps the reason he was separated from you here he's going to talk about kind of that God was in control of all of this, even this evil that was done to Philemon, even this wrong that had been done, he says. 00:20:17.776 --> 00:20:29.167 Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave, but better than a slave as a dear brother. 00:20:29.167 --> 00:20:35.182 He is very dear to me but even dearer to you. 00:20:35.182 --> 00:20:40.180 How is that true? 00:20:40.180 --> 00:20:50.340 How is Onissimus more dear to Philemon than even to Paul Because he has wronged Philemon? 00:20:50.340 --> 00:21:14.942 What a beautiful display of the transforming work of Jesus Christ on the life of someone who is in rebellion, who is lost and trapped in sin, who is a prisoner to death that is radically transformed. 00:21:14.942 --> 00:21:37.736 The truth about this radical reconciliation that is being called for by Paul here is that when those situations happen and that radical reconciliation takes place, the bond that is formed is precious because it is a beautiful picture of the reconciliation that God gives to us. 00:21:37.916 --> 00:21:47.545 In Jesus Christ, you might have him back, no longer as a slave but, better than a slave, as a dear brother. 00:21:47.545 --> 00:21:55.596 He is very dear to me, even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord. 00:21:55.596 --> 00:22:00.287 So what does that mean for us? 00:22:00.287 --> 00:22:09.545 Well, it means that, like I said earlier, we're going to sin against each other, we're going to mess up. 00:22:09.545 --> 00:22:12.743 What do we do about that? 00:22:12.743 --> 00:22:18.932 Well, first of all, I tell you, if someone does sin against you, you have a duty. 00:22:18.932 --> 00:22:25.991 You have a God-given duty to seek reconciliation, partnership and mission. 00:22:25.991 --> 00:22:30.189 That's what we endeavor to do as a church. 00:22:30.189 --> 00:22:31.050 Covenant it together. 00:22:31.050 --> 00:22:32.605 We are covenant it together in mission. 00:22:32.605 --> 00:22:37.931 That means we have promised each other that we're going to work towards a common mission. 00:22:39.259 --> 00:22:43.108 Partnership and mission expects radical reconciliation. 00:22:43.108 --> 00:22:47.068 Radical reconciliation is not oh, they wronged me. 00:22:47.068 --> 00:22:48.344 Now I'm just not going to talk to them. 00:22:48.344 --> 00:22:51.863 Radical reconciliation is not. 00:22:51.863 --> 00:22:58.748 You know, I'm just going to pretend they're not there or I'm going to talk bad about them behind their back. 00:22:58.748 --> 00:23:04.151 Now, radical reconciliation is, I feel wronged by what you did and I just can't let it go. 00:23:04.151 --> 00:23:09.903 Let's talk about it and you fix it, and you fix it. 00:23:09.903 --> 00:23:19.010 That's the expectation of radical reconciliation in gospel partnership. 00:23:22.279 --> 00:23:33.172 The next thing I want you to see in the last few verses, in verses 17 through 25, is that partnership and mission acts on presumed progress. 00:23:33.172 --> 00:23:37.607 Partnership and mission acts on presumed progress. 00:23:37.607 --> 00:23:43.182 So in a second I'm going to read those verses, verses 17 through 25, and kind of explain through them as I read. 00:23:43.182 --> 00:24:00.050 And in the beginning part, paul's going to kind of double down, so to speak, on some of what he said about the reconciliation that they have and even take it a step further and he's going to call on Philemon to welcome Onissimus as he would welcome Paul. 00:24:00.050 --> 00:24:04.348 But I want you to realize that Paul took a risk. 00:24:04.759 --> 00:24:05.924 Paul loves Onissimus. 00:24:05.924 --> 00:24:13.898 He wants Onissimus to be able to serve in mission, to be able to be his partner. 00:24:13.898 --> 00:24:21.531 In these ways, and by sending Onissimus to Philemon, he is putting his life in Philemon's hands. 00:24:21.531 --> 00:24:24.386 He is at Philemon's mercy. 00:24:24.386 --> 00:24:37.433 Philemon can do what he wants and Philemon would have every cultural expectation, every business expectation to throw the book at him. 00:24:37.433 --> 00:24:47.300 It might even be bad for his business if he doesn't, because what does that speak to other merchants who have other slaves when they're? 00:24:47.300 --> 00:24:53.846 Oh, maybe if I run away I can go back and it'll all be okay, because look at what Philemon did to Onissimus. 00:24:53.846 --> 00:25:18.670 And so the other merchants in town might not be happy that that happened, but Paul is going to presume that Philemon is going to do right and he's also going to ask Philemon to believe, to presume that Onissimus's conversion is true and that Jesus is radically transforming his life. 00:25:19.920 --> 00:25:21.727 Let's look at these verses for 17. 00:25:21.727 --> 00:25:31.114 So if you consider me a partner, that's a kind of a, it's a compelling statement, right? 00:25:31.114 --> 00:25:48.608 So Paul is Philemon's spiritual father in some way, that Paul we looked at that last week just a little bit about an ax, that that whole region had been reached by Paul and the ministry of Paul's associates. 00:25:48.608 --> 00:26:06.962 So in some way, paul is the spiritual father or the apostle whom Philemon looks up to, whom he respects, whose authority he follows, and so he says so. 00:26:06.962 --> 00:26:20.784 If you consider me a partner, if you believe that we have this kind of koinonia, this kind of fellowship, this kind of gospel partnership or partnership and mission, this is what you ought to do. 00:26:20.784 --> 00:26:23.744 This is what I'm going to ask you to do. 00:26:23.744 --> 00:26:29.068 I'm going to ask you to welcome him as you would welcome me. 00:26:29.068 --> 00:26:33.047 You realize, paul just stepped it up even another notch. 00:26:33.047 --> 00:26:37.307 There was, you know, welcome him as some traveling brother. 00:26:37.307 --> 00:26:40.807 Now it's welcome him as you would me. 00:26:40.807 --> 00:26:44.469 That means you don't just welcome him in as an equal. 00:26:44.469 --> 00:26:47.288 That means you welcome him and give him the seat of honor at your table. 00:26:47.288 --> 00:26:56.732 That means you treat him like the father treats the prodigal son when the prodigal son returns. 00:26:56.732 --> 00:27:00.105 That means you love him. 00:27:00.105 --> 00:27:02.723 That means you partner with him. 00:27:02.723 --> 00:27:11.050 That means you expect and believe that he is radically transformed, like Paul is telling him that he is. 00:27:11.050 --> 00:27:12.830 Thank you. 00:27:14.659 --> 00:27:20.402 Then Paul says hey, if he's done any verse 18, if he's done anything wrong to you or if he owes you anything, charge it to me. 00:27:20.402 --> 00:27:22.762 I, paul, am writing this with my own hand. 00:27:22.762 --> 00:27:24.362 He's basically signing his name to it. 00:27:24.362 --> 00:27:26.903 Paul usually probably didn't write his own letters. 00:27:26.903 --> 00:27:35.660 Some people think Paul was either blind or really had bad eyesight, so he definitely didn't normally write was the anticipation. 00:27:35.660 --> 00:27:43.563 But basically, hey, he's writing this part and he says I write it with my own hand, I will pay it back, not to mention that you owe me your very self. 00:27:43.563 --> 00:27:49.520 I think Paul's not so subtly saying here hey, I know he wronged you. 00:27:49.520 --> 00:27:52.082 If you really need that paid back. 00:27:52.082 --> 00:27:56.503 Don't charge, don't make him pay it back, all pay it back. 00:27:56.503 --> 00:28:04.741 But remember you owe me a really big debt, so let's just call it even, but I'm gonna leave it in your hands to do that. 00:28:04.741 --> 00:28:06.800 I mean, he's not really being subtle. 00:28:08.378 --> 00:28:13.203 He says, verse 20, I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord. 00:28:13.203 --> 00:28:15.261 Refresh my heart in Christ. 00:28:15.261 --> 00:28:53.765 He is excited to hear back from Philemon that Philemon has welcomed Omnismus into his home, that, hey, now Omnismus truly is useful and, honestly, what I think it's not absolutely clear, but what I think is being said, especially with verse 13 in light, about how he wanted him to stay there, I think what Paul is really expecting is that Philemon is gonna welcome Omnismus there, that he's gonna treat him really well, that he's gonna love on him, that he's gonna give him some money and write a letter back to Paul and send Omnismus on his way in freedom to go work alongside Paul and just forgive everything that Omnismus had ever done. 00:28:53.765 --> 00:28:55.882 That's what I think is the expectation. 00:28:55.882 --> 00:28:57.359 Like I said, it's not absolutely clear. 00:28:57.359 --> 00:29:00.041 That's just what I think is the expectation. 00:29:00.041 --> 00:29:08.344 And so then, in verse 21, he says confident in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask. 00:29:08.344 --> 00:29:14.660 And one more thing prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers. 00:29:14.660 --> 00:29:15.538 So remember he's in jail. 00:29:15.538 --> 00:29:20.859 He's also saying hey, when I get out I wanna come see you, so expect me there. 00:29:20.859 --> 00:29:28.483 Epaphorus, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greeting, as do Mark, aristicus, demis and Luke, my fellow workers. 00:29:28.483 --> 00:29:32.266 The grace of the Lord, jesus Christ, be with your spirit. 00:29:34.239 --> 00:29:41.961 You see, paul is writing to Philemon and remember, this book isn't written just for Philemon to read. 00:29:41.961 --> 00:29:44.383 It's also a dress to the church that's in this house. 00:29:44.383 --> 00:29:46.442 This is meant for public consumption. 00:29:46.442 --> 00:29:51.442 So for us reading this letter, yeah, it's a personal letter, but it is written to teach us something. 00:29:51.442 --> 00:30:05.583 And what Paul is writing here is hey, you ought to believe that Jesus can radically change Onesimus and you ought to treat him like a brother. 00:30:05.583 --> 00:30:15.983 And I am gonna put my trust in the Holy Spirit to be at work in your heart, in your life, that you are gonna do the right thing. 00:30:15.983 --> 00:30:20.683 That's why, verse 21, he says I am confident in your obedience. 00:30:21.375 --> 00:30:29.337 Remember he didn't command him and you would usually say well, obedience is to a law we read this morning. 00:30:29.337 --> 00:30:35.026 We read the 10 Commandments, and you're like well, so is it obedience or is it gospel? 00:30:35.026 --> 00:30:50.582 Well, the truth is that the gospel calls us to a different kind of law, not a law out of compulsion, not a law of you have to do this or else, but it's a law of love. 00:30:50.582 --> 00:31:06.305 Paul says I am writing this expecting you to do it out of love, because Jesus has shown you so much love in his mercy, in his grace, that you ought to extend that. 00:31:06.305 --> 00:31:20.281 And so Paul is presuming that Philemon will do right, and he's calling on Philemon to presume that Onissimus is gonna do right as well. 00:31:20.281 --> 00:31:28.766 And so I'm gonna end with just a few applications. 00:31:28.766 --> 00:31:39.259 So, first of all, as we relate to one another I already said we need to seek reconciliation with each other when we wrong each other. 00:31:39.835 --> 00:31:49.522 But here, in the second point, I want you to also assume that the Holy Spirit is at work in the lives of other people in this room. 00:31:49.522 --> 00:32:02.119 As you look around and you see you know Joe over I don't know if there's Joe in here, hopefully there's not you come up with a name. 00:32:02.119 --> 00:32:12.432 You see so and so over here and you say you know he's not a good guy. 00:32:12.432 --> 00:32:16.563 He does a lot of bad stuff. 00:32:16.563 --> 00:32:22.910 He lived a lifestyle that just doesn't look very Christian. 00:32:25.255 --> 00:32:46.784 The beautiful thing about the gospel and the beautiful thing about Onissimus' story is that you can take a guy like this and through the power of the Holy Spirit, through the grace of Jesus Christ, his life can be transformed. 00:32:46.784 --> 00:32:50.654 And the gospel paints beautiful stories. 00:32:50.654 --> 00:33:17.320 Each one of you, if you are in Jesus, if you are here, your life is a beautiful story, not because you're a good person, not because I'm a good person, but because God is good and because his work has been manifested in your life again and again. 00:33:17.320 --> 00:33:21.863 At one point you were useless. 00:33:21.863 --> 00:33:26.605 At one point I was useless, and you know what? 00:33:26.605 --> 00:33:34.803 In our flesh we're still useless, but Onissimus is no longer useless because of the grace of God. 00:33:36.598 --> 00:33:38.144 So I encourage you, strive. 00:33:39.535 --> 00:33:43.665 Strive to relate towards one another in a right way. 00:33:43.835 --> 00:33:46.563 Recognize that the Spirit is at work. 00:33:48.679 --> 00:33:53.661 Trust that God will be faithful to his word when he says he will complete the work. 00:33:54.654 --> 00:34:02.480 Know that, even though some people have struggles, that God is at work, transforming them and making them useful. 00:34:02.480 --> 00:34:21.105 And so when you look at this story, you should see yourself in Onissimus and he's not the hero of the story, but through the hero of the story, jesus, he's been made useful. 00:34:21.105 --> 00:34:40.155 And so, as we partner together in mission, recognize that you are useful and that everyone you see around you is useful, and together we can accomplish much for the kingdom of God, because God has called on his churches to do his work. 00:34:40.155 --> 00:34:56.733 So seek out your part, partner with each other, know one another, love one another, reconcile with one another and be faithful, because Jesus is faithful to us. 00:34:56.733 --> 00:34:59.188 Let's pray, father God, thank you. 00:34:59.188 --> 00:35:08.153 Thank you for this letter to Philemon and the teaching and example that it paints for us. 00:35:08.153 --> 00:35:17.175 Help us, lord, to live out this Quinoa Nea Fellowship. 00:35:17.175 --> 00:35:31.016 Help us to recognize what it is to be faithful and recognize what it is to even gather around a table to break bread together. 00:35:31.016 --> 00:35:33.217 In the name of Jesus, amen.