Turn with me if you would back
to the book of Philemon. As our brother said just before
Hebrews. I'm excited. The last time that I preached
from this book to you was 10 years ago. And I've been waiting for this
moment. We haven't been back because
I prefer to look at the whole account. I can't help it. I have
to look at the whole account, and there's only one chapter.
One chapter is the whole account. Ruth is only four chapters. What
a glorious book Ruth is, but we've been to Ruth quite a few
times. There's some places that I feel
like we're there every single service. But, you know, you could look at this
in smaller segments. You could break it down. I just,
I can't do it. I just have to see the whole
thing. And the big picture here is just such a blessing. I looked
at this with the brethren in South Africa last Wednesday. It was so touching to all of
us. It was obviously a blessing to
all of us. It was clearly, I mean, we could
all clearly see that we were all touched and blessed by this. And I just haven't been able
to get this off of my heart. So I decided that's it. We're looking at Philemon tonight. Most of you were not even here
10 years ago. But for those of you who were,
if you're like me, I believe you'll very much enjoy looking
at this again. I just can't tell you how much
I enjoy this. is, and I mean this, you know,
a lot of times I say things and, you know, I'll say this is my
favorite verse and you all smile and I believe this is one of
or the sweetest book in the Bible. I really do believe that. This is a book about love and
forgiveness. There are some details that I
want to give to you and expound on. I'm going to give you an overview
of the whole story that our brother just read, and then hopefully
the Lord will make this to be a blessing to us. I would encourage
you, even if you already know this and you've already heard
this, I would encourage you to ask the Lord right now, Lord,
feed me with this. Bless me with this. Let me really
enter into this like I never have before. Verse 1, it says, Paul, a prisoner,
literally. Paul was literally a prisoner
in Rome when he wrote this. He was put in prison for preaching
the gospel, not for committing a crime, for preaching the gospel. Verse 1 says, Paul, a prisoner
of Jesus Christ, And Timothy, our brother, brother in Christ,
fellow preacher. It goes on to say unto Philemon,
he was a man from Colossae. He was a Colossian. He was believed
to be a rich man, a very rich man. He was a very generous man. He was a kind, loving believer. And we get this information that
I'm going to give to you from other scriptures and we don't
have time to go look at all of them to prove it. But most of
this comes from the book of Colossians. A lot of this comes from the
book of Colossians because they were from Colossi. But this man, Philemon, who the
book is titled to, he did some preaching, he filled in in the
ministry. He goes on to say in verse one, unto Philemon, our
dearly beloved and fellow laborer, fellow laborer in the ministry
of the gospel. Verse two says, and to our beloved
Athia, that's a woman's name, He's believed to be Philemon's
wife. And Archippus, our fellow soldier,
he was one of the ministers of the church there in Colossae.
Some believe he might have been the pastor. Verse 2 says, and to the church
in thy house. So Paul addresses this letter
to Philemon, his wife, He is believing family and the pastor
of the church. Verse three, he said, grace to
you. That is so sweet. That is so
sweet. That's what I desire for you. I desire grace to you. God's grace to you. God's gift to you. That's what's promised to all
of God's people. And Paul said, that's what I
desire for you. Verse three, he said, grace to you and peace. The source of all grace and peace
is our Lord Jesus Christ. And he said, that's what I pray
for you. I pray Christ to you. I pray the Lord Jesus Christ
to you. Verse three, grace to you and
peace from God, our father. And the Lord Jesus Christ, I
thank my God making mention of thee always in my prayers. The most important thing that
we could do for each other as believers is pray for each other. You know that. I am always so
appreciative every time I hear someone pray for me before I
stand up to preach. I think in my heart, oh, I pray
that my God will listen to my brother's prayer. That's the greatest thing we
could do for each other. Most important thing we could
do, give thanks to God for each other, pray for each other. Verse
four, I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my
prayers, hearing of thy love and faith. which thou hast toward
the Lord Jesus and toward all saints, that the communication
of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every
good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. For we have great
joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels or the heart
of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother. He said, hearing
of your love and faith. That's the evidence of being
a believer. Love and faith toward Christ, toward the Lord Jesus
Christ. Love for Christ. How can you
really spot a believer? Love for Christ. Not love for
doctrine or love for Calvinism or love for Christ. Faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ.
Hold your place right here and turn over to 1 John chapter 4.
1 John 4 verse 7 says, Beloved,
let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone
that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not
knoweth not God, for God is love. In this was manifested the love
of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son
into the world. that we might live through him.
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and
sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God
so loved us, we ought also to love one another. That is so
true, isn't it? If that's how God loved us, We ought to love
one another. We love because he loved. And that's what verse 19 right
here says. We love him because he first
loved us. Love and faith. And Paul said
to Philemon, he said, it's not just in word with you. You show
it. You communicate it. The communication
of your faith. Go back to Philemon with me. Verse five, he said, hearing
of thy love and faith which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus and
toward all the saints, that the communication of thy faith may
become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is
in you in Christ Jesus. For we have great joy and consolation
in thy love because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by
thee, brother. Wherefore, though I might be
much bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient. What he's saying right there
is though I could enforce what I'm about to ask of you, I could
enforce this. We believers are commanded to
love one another. It's not just a good idea. We're
commanded to love each other. We are commanded to be reconciled
to one another. We are commanded to forgive one
another. Verse nine, he said, yet for
love's sake, I could enforce this, yet for love's sake rather,
I rather beseech thee, being such in one as Paul the aged,
and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ. He said, I want to ask
you something for love's sake. Because of God's love to us,
because of our love to him, Paul said, because of my love to you,
Philemon, because of your love to me, and because of the love that
you once had for this man that he's about to mention. Verse
10, he said, I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have
begotten in my bonds. This man Onesimus is the one
that this book is concerning. Philemon is who the book is written
to, who the letter's written to, but it's concerning this
man Onesimus. He was the servant of Philemon. He was his right-hand man. He
stayed with Philemon. He traveled with Philemon. He knew Paul because of Philemon. And Onesimus did something really
bad, really wrong. He either stole
money from Philemon or goods or something. And he ran away
from Philemon. which he was not allowed to do.
He fled and he wasn't allowed to do that. He was a bond servant
to Philemon. He was Philemon's property. He
was a servant. But he fled from this good and
kind brother and Onesimus went to Rome. And when he didn't really
know what to do or where to go, he went to Paul. He found the
apostle Paul. Paul was imprisoned in his own
hired house and he preached the gospel there and people could
come visit him and he would preach to them. And Onesimus started
coming and hearing the gospel, started coming and sitting and
listening to Paul and hearing the gospel preached and clearly
by what said here, the Lord saved him. And the Lord broke him and
the Lord humbled him and gave him a heart for Christ and gave
him a heart for the gospel and gave him a heart for the truth. And he became such a help to
Paul and such a support to Paul that Paul wanted to keep him
right there with Paul, right there in Rome. He loved this
man Onesimus. Verse 10, Paul said, I beseech
thee for my son Onesimus whom I have begotten in my bonds,
begotten in the gospel while I've been here in prison. Paul loved him so much, he called
him his son. In Christ, we love each other
so much, we literally call each other brothers and sisters. That's
not just a term of endearment. We mean it, that's my brother.
That's my sister. True love. Verse 10, I beseech
thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds.
Paul tells Philemon, the Lord saved him under my ministry here
in prison. Verse 11, which in time past
was to thee unprofitable, literally. He said, you literally lost profit
from this man. He stole from you. He turned
out to be a useless servant. He was a bad example to the other
servants. He was a rebel against authority.
Who does that sound like? Me. Especially to some of you
who knew me when I was growing up. But Paul said Philemon, now this
man is broken. This man is sorry. He's repentant. He's regenerated by the Spirit
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now he's profitable as a servant
to the ministry. Now he's a testimony to the grace
of God to a sinner. Now he's profitable. He's a profitable
brother to you, to me, verse 11, which in time past was to
thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me. whom I have
sent again, thou therefore receive him that is mine own bowels. I'm sending him back to you.
This one who wronged you, this one who sinned against you, I'm
sending him back to you and you receive him like you were receiving
me. Verse 13, whom I would have retained
with me that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me
in the bonds of the gospel. But without thy mind would I
do nothing, that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity,
but willingly. He's saying, I want to keep him
here with me, but I would do nothing without your permission.
Philemon heard the truth through Paul. Paul was Philemon's elder. Paul was an actual apostle of
God. But Christ in a person makes
that person humble, very humble. And he said in verse 14, without
thy mind would I do nothing, that thy benefit should not be
as it were of necessity, but willingly. For perhaps he therefore
departed for a season that thou shouldest receive him forever. Paul said, remember Philemon,
there's a reason and a purpose for everything. We don't understand
these things, but there's a reason and a purpose for everything.
Just remember Philemon, all things work together for good to them
that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
You remember he meant it for evil. God meant it for good. He always does. Verse 15, for
perhaps he therefore departed for a season that thou shouldest
receive him forever. Not now as a servant, but above
a servant, a brother, beloved. especially to me, but how much
more unto thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord. Paul said, Philemon,
you're not only getting your servant back, you're also getting
a brother in Christ to have for all eternity. Verse 17, he said,
if thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself. If you count me to be a brother,
For Christ's sake, you receive him as you would receive me,
as you receive myself. I vouch for him. Receive him
like you're receiving me. Verse 18, if he hath wronged
thee, or oweth thee aught, put that on mine account. True love
always says, let me pay. Let me pay, I'll carry the burden.
Verse 19, I, Paul, have written it with mine own hand. I will
repay it. Don't go to him for any of his
debts. Albeit, I do not say to thee
how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides. Paul said, let me remind you
of how much you've been forgiven, Philemon. To whom much is given,
to whom much is forgiven, much is required. If we've been forgiven
much, we need to forgive much. Verse 20, Yea, brother, let me
have joy of thee in the Lord. Refresh my bowels in the Lord. He said, Philemon, by seeing
you have mercy on Onesimus, it's going to bring me so much joy.
Refresh me in this. There's nothing more enjoyable
and happy and pleasant than seeing believers walk together in love,
walk together in unity, walk together in fellowship of spirit,
fellowship of heart, unity as brethren in the Lord Jesus Christ.
There's nothing more enjoyable. Verse 21, having confidence in
thy obedience, I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou will also do
more than I say. The love of Christ to his own
is extravagant. It's more. It's exceeding abundantly
above. He gives and he gives and he
gives to the point that believers say, I don't think I can hold
anymore. I don't think I can take anymore. David said, my
cup is just running over. And all of us can say that. Christ
in a person causes that person's love to be extravagant because
of Christ. Verse 21, having confidence in
thy obedience, I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou will also do
more than I say. But with all, prepare me also
a lodging. For I trust that through your
prayers, I shall be given unto you. Paul said, I long to be
with you. Sheep long to be together, don't
they? Verse 23, there salute thee, Epaphras, my fellow prisoner
in Christ Jesus. He was a preacher there in Colossae. Verse 24 says, Marcus, that was
John Mark, Barnabas' nephew. Aristarchus, he was a man from
Macedonia. He traveled with Paul through
Rome. Then he mentions Demas. He was
a man who traveled with Paul. He ultimately left Paul. God
forbid. God forbid this man traveled
with Paul, preached the gospel with Paul, and then left. Oh,
may the Lord keep us. Lucas, that's the beloved physician,
Luke. He penned two books in the scripture,
Luke and the book of Acts. My fellow laborers, verse 25,
he said, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. All right. So that's the story. You got
it. Those are the details of the
account. We understand what the letter
is about, right? I want to show you something
wonderful. If the Lord would just bless
this to us, you're going to be so glad you were in the house
of the Lord tonight. Ask the Lord to bless you. If
you've seen it, ask him to bless you. If you've never seen it,
ask him to bless you. Call out to him. Here's the glory
of this passage, all right? This is the gospel. Here's the
gospel in this passage. After verse 25, I know that not
all Bibles have this, but I believe most will. After verse 25, there
is a footnote and it says, written from Rome to Philemon by Onesimus, a servant. Onesimus was the one writing
all of this down while Paul was speaking it. Paul used to dictate. And sometimes he would write
the end of his letter in his own scribble so he could say,
I've written the salutation in my own hand. But he would dictate
and different ones would write while he was talking. And in
this particular case, for this particular letter, the man writing
was Onesimus. Can you imagine the hurt that
this man was feeling while Paul was saying everything
he said to Philemon? Can you imagine? Can you just
imagine? Listening to Paul point out all
of his wrongs, all of his sin, Paul said, Philemon, I know he
wronged you. I know he was so unprofitable
to you. Can you imagine all the guilt
he was feeling? Thinking, I am such a sinner.
I am such a sinner, exposed. I'm a sinner and everybody knows
it. Can you imagine as he was writing
all this down, he was condemning himself. Paul was condemning
him. The law was condemning him. He
was condemning him. And the amazing thing is, and
this is the honesty that God puts in the heart of his people.
You and I both know he did not change one word. He didn't get
an eraser. We're not going to write that.
He didn't change one word. Everything that Paul had to say
about him, everything that the law had against him, he said,
Amen. Amen. Truth, Lord. That's the truth. Oh, he's wretched. He's miserable. He's a thief. That's so true. And here's the thing about it.
Onesimus was the one going back to Philemon. He knew in his heart,
I have got to go back and face this man holding this letter. I have to go stand before this
man. Here you go. I have to wait on
him to read it. I have to listen to his response
concerning me. Oh, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. The shame the man felt for his
sin. Then, can you imagine the joy
he felt as he started listening to Paul
speak the good news? Everything Paul had to say concerning
Philemon receiving him. You welcome him. I'm speaking for him. Don't you know that he was saying,
I literally cannot believe these words are coming out of his mouth.
All this on my behalf, all this on my account. It was such good news to Onesimus
for one reason. We said it last Wednesday. It
was all about Onesimus. All about Onesimus. The gospel
becomes good news when it becomes my gospel, when it becomes all
concerning me, in my relationship, in my acceptance. So let's read our gospel concerning
us, okay? Right here in Philemon. As sinners
against God, our name is Onesimus. That's my name and that's your
name, Onesimus. We're going to read verses 10
to 19 again and this is what we're going to listen to. We're
going to listen to the Lord Jesus Christ speaking to God His Father. This is a conversation between
Jesus Christ and God the Father concerning each one of us. Not
just concerning His elect people as a whole, but concerning me. This is Jesus Christ talking
to God the Father concerning me. Now listen to verse 10. The Lord Jesus Christ said, Father,
I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds. Because of my bonds, He's now
mine. Because of my captivity, because
I stood in the place of sin, I stood in the place where sin
stands, the prison of captivity, bondage. Because of my bonds,
He's now mine. Verse 11, which in time past
was to thee unprofitable. Romans 3 verse 12 says, they
are all gone out of the way. They are together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good. No, not one. Verse 11 goes on to say, but
that's one of the greatest words in the scripture. but now profitable
to thee and to me. It's amazing, isn't it? Made
to be that way in me. That's what I've made Onesimus
to be. Profitable to you and to me.
Verse 12, whom I have sent again. I'm sending him to you. I'm sending him to your throne.
Thou therefore receive him that is my own heart. I'm sending
my own heart to you. In me, I'm sending him to the
throne of mercy and grace with boldness. Verse 13, whom I would have retained
with me that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me
in the bonds of the gospel. I would that where I am, there
he may be also. I want him right here with me.
Verse 14, but without thy mind would I do nothing. That thy benefit should not be
as it were of necessity, but willingly. Not my will, but thine
be done. I'd like to do thy will, only
your will. Verse 15, for perhaps he therefore
departed for a season that thou shouldest receive him forever. Because he departed, I departed
for a season that thou shouldest receive him forever. Verse 16,
not now as a servant. but above a servant, a brother,
beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both
in the flesh and in the Lord. I'm the firstborn among many
brethren. I've made him to be a joint heir brother, one of
the members of the family of God. Verse 17, if thou count
me therefore a partner, if you count me, Father, to be your
partner, your equal member partner, if you count me to be worthy,
if you count my work, if you count what I have done worthy. Verse 17, he said, receive him
as myself. I trade places with him. I stand
in his condition that he might stand in mine. You receive him
as me. I became him, he became me. Verse 18, if he hath wronged
thee or oweth thee aught, put that on my account. Whatever he owes you, I'll pay
his debt. All the debt he owes, whatever
it is, you put it on my account. Verse 19, I have written it with mine own
hand, I will repay it. I have said it, I will do it. I will not fail. I will not fail. That right there is intercession
for a sinner. That's what it is. Intercession
for a sinner. And I'm going to close with this
verse. You go to Hebrews 7, verse 25. He is able also to save them
to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth
to make intercession for them. He lives forever to say that
to His Father. That's good news, isn't it? Lord,
make intercession for us. Speak on our behalf. For Christ's
sake, amen.