Good morning. I did not know what Dad was going
to preach on. I called him because I didn't
want to preach the same text. But we told each other our text
and that was about it. By God's grace, I want to pick
up right where he left off. But first, I want to have a word
of prayer. Our most gracious Heavenly Father, we beg for You this morning. Lord, our minds are weak and
fickle. Mine is racing right now. We have a lot on our minds in
this world, in this service, the order of service. Who's going
next? What do we do? What do we say?
Lord, would You let us forget about all that for just a minute? And we beg that You would come
into this building and meet with us. Lord, if You will send Your
Spirit, we will be blessed. And that's what we beg for, Lord.
We need Your message. We do not need my sermon. Please
help us and bless us, Lord. Forgive us for Christ's sake.
Amen. Turn with me to the book of Philemon,
just before Hebrews. Philemon, this is a dear, sweet
book. I don't know that I had ever
read, really, Philemon before a while back. And after I read
it, I realized this could be one of the sweetest books in
the Word. It's a book about love and forgiveness. Reconciliation is what it's about. There's a lot of detail in this
book. But this morning, all I want
to do is tell us the story. If you'll give me just a minute
to just tell us the story that the Lord wrote through the Apostle
Paul, and let me just tell us what He said, the real story
with real people, and then maybe after that, the Lord will bless
it to us. So let's read through this story.
Verse 1 says, A prisoner. Literally. He was in Rome. In
prison. He was put in prison for preaching
the gospel. Not for committing a crime. For
preaching the gospel. Put in prison. Oh, the wickedness
of man. Just for telling men the glory
of God's goodness. He was put in prison for that.
Verse 1 says, Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy,
our brother. Brother in Christ. Fellow preacher. Verse 1 says, unto Philemon. He was a man from Colossae. He
was a Colossian. And he was believed to be a rich
man. He was a very generous man. A kind and loving Believer. And I love him already. I love
him already. He also did some preaching. He
filled in in the ministry. Verse 1 says, Unto Philemon,
our dearly beloved and fellow laborer. Verse 2 says, Unto our
beloved Athia. That's a woman's name. And she's
believed to be Philemon's wife. Verse 2 says, and Archippus,
our fellow soldier." He was one of the ministers of the church
in Colossae, and some of the old writers believe he was the
pastor there. Verse 2 says, "...and to the church in thy house."
So Paul addresses this letter to Philemon, and to his wife,
and to his believing family, and possibly the pastor of the
church there. Verse 3, he says, grace to you. That is what I desire for you.
That's my heart's desire for you and you and you and you. Grace to you. Come the end of
this life and the end of this world, Grace to you. God's grace. I pray God's gift
to you. That's what's promised to you.
Grace. Verse 3 says, Grace to you and
peace. The source of all grace and peace
is the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what I pray for you. I
pray Christ to you. Verse 3 says, 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 we could do for each other as believers is pray
for each other. This has been a big week. It's
been a busy week leading up to this. And I ask the people in
Kingsport, pray for us. Brethren, pray for us. Pray for
us. Brother John Chapman is going
to be preaching for me in the morning. Pray for him. Pray for
Brother Paul. Pray for us. Pray for yourselves. Pray for us as we preach. Pray
for yourselves as you hear. That is the most important thing
we could do for each other. Give thanks to God for each other.
Pray for each other. Verse 4 says, 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 of the saints are refreshed by
thee, brother." Love and faith. Paul loves this man, Philemon. Love and faith. That's the evidence
and the duty of believers, isn't it? Love and faith. Turn with me over to 1 John chapter
4. 1 John 4, look at verse 7. 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. Will we ever enter
into that love? Really? Love. We love because He loved us. I would love to think that I
love you just because I love you, but the truth is this wicked
sinner loves you with all of his heart because God loved me
and God loved you. Love and faith. And Paul says
to Philemon, it's not just in word with you, you show it. That's
what he said back in verse six, Philemon, verse six, the communication
of that of that faith. I want to be like that. I would
love to show you that I love you. I pray the Lord would make
me that way. In verse 8, he says, Wherefore,
though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which
is convenient. Though I could enforce what I'm
about to ask you. That's what he's saying. I could
enforce what I'm about to ask you, Philemon. I'm writing you
a letter to ask you something. And I could enforce it because
we believers are commanded to love one another. We're commanded
to be reconciled one to another. We're commanded to forgive one
another. Verse 9 says, Yet for love's
sake I rather beseech thee, being such in one as Paul the aged,
and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ. I want to ask you this
for love's sake. Because of God's love to us,
and because of our love to Him, because of my love to you, Philemon,
and your love to me, because of the love you once had for
this particular man I'm about to ask you about, verse 10 says,
I beseech thee for my son Onesimus. whom I have begotten in my bonds."
This man, Onesimus, is the one that this book is about. Philemon is the one that the
book is written to. Onesimus is the one the book
is about. Onesimus 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. He did something really wrong.
He either stole money or he stole goods. Something. He did something. It doesn't say exactly what he
did, but he did something bad. And he ran away from Philemon.
He fled, which he was not allowed to do. following his property,
he was a servant. But he fled from this good and
kind man, and he went to Rome. And when he really didn't know
what to do, he went to Paul. He heard Paul is in prison in
Rome. And he's run away, and he doesn't
know where to go, so he goes to Paul. Paul was imprisoned
in his own hired house and he was preaching the gospel there. And Onesimus started coming,
just sitting, listening to Paul, hearing the gospel. And the Lord
saved Onesimus. And the Lord changed Onesimus. And he became such a help and
a support to Paul And Paul wanted to keep him right
there with him in Rome. He loved this man. He dearly
loved this man, Onesimus. Verse 10 says, I beseech thee
for my son, Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds. Paul loves
him so much now, he calls him his son. In Christ, we love each other
so much, we call each other brothers and sisters. And we mean it. I was in town, and Kelly Pendry
walked up one day, and I was talking to somebody, and I said,
I want to introduce you to my brother. He said, no way! Yep. My brother. I mean it. I mean it. Verse 10 says, 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.
That's what he's telling him. Verse 11 says, which in time
past was to be unprofitable. Literally. You literally lost
profit from the man. He stole from you. He turned
out to be a useless servant. That's what he was. He was a
bad example to all the other servants. And he was a rebel
against authority. That's what he was. Who does
that remind you of? Me. Paul tells Philemon, now he's
broken. The man is broken. He's sorry. He's repentant. He's regenerated. That's what he is. By the Spirit
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now he's profitable as a servant
to the ministry. Now he's a testimony of the grace
of God to a sinner. Now he's profitable, brother,
to you and to me. Verse 11 says, 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. Receive Him as though you were
receiving Me. Verse 13 says, 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
the apostle Paul. Paul was Philemon's elder. Paul was an actual apostle of
God. But Christ in a person makes
that person very humble. Very humble. So he says 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. Remember Philemon, there's a
reason and there's a purpose for everything. All things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to his purpose. He meant it for evil, Philemon,
but God meant it for good. 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
specially 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, a brother, for Christ's sake, he said, receive
him as myself. I vouch for this man. Receive
him just like you'd receive me. Verse 18, if he hath wronged
thee or oweth thee aught, put that on my account. True love
says, Let me pay. Let me carry the burden. Verse 19 says, I, Paul, have
written it with mine own hand. I will repay it. Don't go to
him for any of his debts. Verse 19 says, albeit I do not
say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides.
Paul says, 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. Verse 20 says, Yea, brother,
let me have joy of thee in the Lord. Refresh my bowels in the
Lord. By seeing you have mercy on him,
it's going to bring me much joy. There's nothing more enjoyable
and happy and pleasant than seeing believers walk in love and obedience
to the commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ, obeying His Word,
walking in His Word. That is enjoyable. Verse 21 says,
Having confidence in thy obedience, I wrote unto thee, knowing that
thou wilt also do more than I say. The love of Christ to His own
is extravagant, isn't it? More. He gives and He gives to
the point that believers say, I don't think I can hold anymore.
My cup runneth over. Well, Christ in a person causes
that person's love to be extravagant because of Christ. Verse 21 says,
Having confidence in thy obedience, I wrote unto thee, knowing that
thou wilt also do more than I say, But withal, prepare me also a
lodging, for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given
unto you." Paul says, I long to be with you all. Sheep love
to be with God's sheep, don't they? Verse 23 says, "...there salute
thee Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus." He was a preacher
there in Colossae. Verse 24 says, Marcus Aristarchus,
Demas, Lucas, my fellow laborers. Marcus was a man named John Mark. He was Barnabas's nephew. And I think about, you know,
that's what we say. I'm Marvin Stoniker's son. I'm
Paul Mahan's son-in-law. We love these men, don't we?
Barnabas. Aristarchus was from Macedonia. He traveled with Paul throughout
Rome preaching. Demas. Oh, bless his soul. You know, I've always known he
left the Lord. He left Paul. He went with Paul
and then he left Paul. And now it hits me when I see
that man's name. May it never be said, you know,
Gabe Stonker used to preach the Gospel. There was a time I heard
him and it was the truth. Where is he now? I don't know. That's Luke. He penned two books
in the Bible, Luke and Acts. Verse 25 says, The grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. Now, I want to show you something
wonderful. I mean wonderful. I want to show
you the glory of this passage of Scripture. I want to show you the gospel
in this passage of Scripture. I want to show you something
that absolutely broke my heart in a good way. When I read it,
it broke my heart. I pray that the Lord will right
now let us enter into it. Lord, send Your Spirit right
now. Let us enter into it. After verse 25, there's a footnote. It says, written from Rome to
Philemon by Onesimus, the servant. Onesimus was the one sitting
there writing while Paul was talking. Oh, man. And Paul saying, Philemon, I
know he's wronged you. Yes, I have. And I'm not changing
a word of it, I'm writing exactly what he says. Oh, the guilt he
felt. He stole from you. He would not bow to authority,
that's true. God be merciful to me. The hurt
he felt over his sin, and he knows, I'm bringing this to Philemon. I'm the delivery man. I've got
to hand this to Philemon. Oh, can you imagine the shame? Can you imagine the shame he
felt over his sin? And then all of a sudden, can
you imagine the joy? As he started writing everything
Paul was saying. And he said, what? This is all
on my behalf. It was such good news to Onesimus
because it was all about Onesimus. The gospel becomes good news
when it all of a sudden becomes my gospel. It's not just the
gospel. I don't just have five points.
This is my good news. I'd like to just quickly read
our gospel. Our gospel right here in Philemon.
As sinners against the living God. Our name is Onesimus. My name is Onesimus. And your
name is Onesimus. Are you ready, Onesimus? Oh,
man, this is good. We're going to read verses 10
to 19. Now, listen to this. As we read
this, listen to the Lord Jesus Christ speaking to His own Father. This is from Jesus Christ to
His own Father. Verse 10 says, I beseech thee
for my son, Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds. My bonds. Because of my bonds,
He's now mine. Because of my bonds, He's now
mine. Verse 11 says, which in time
past was to thee unprofitable. Romans 3, they are all gone out
of the way. They are together become unprofitable. All of us, if you put us all
together, You know what we'd all mount up to be? Unprofitable. There is none that doeth good.
No, not one. But look at verse 11. But now,
profitable to thee and to me. Verse 12 says, Whom I have sent
again, thou therefore receive him that is mine own bowels. In me. I send him to the throne
of mercy and grace with boldness. Father, he's in me, and I'm going
to send him right back to you. Verse 13 says, 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, he may
be also. Verse 14 says, But without thy
mind would I do nothing, that thy benefit should not be as
it were of necessity, but willingly. I delight to do thy will. Not
my will, Father, thine be done. Verse 15 says, 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 says, 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. Verse 17 says, If thou count
me therefore a partner. If you count me worthy. If you
count my work, what I have done, worthy. Verse 17 says, Receive
him. as myself." I became Him. He became me. Father, I'm going
to send Him as me. Verse 18 says, "...if He hath
wronged thee, or oweth thee aught." Put that on my account. I will pay His debt. All the
debt He owes. Verse 19 says, I, Paul, have
written it with mine own hand. I will repay it. I've said it. I will do it. I shall not fail. You know what that is? That is
intercession for a sinner. Look at Hebrews chapter 7. Verse 25 says, Wherefore, 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. Oh, man. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.
Okay, Brother Paul.