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Philemon · Scripture Unscripted

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  The book of Philemon. Let us pray.
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  Our Father who is in heaven, holy is your name, Your Kingdom
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  come and your will be done here on this earth, just as it is
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  there in heaven. Give us Our Daily Bread.
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  Forgive us for our many shortcomings.
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  Help us, Lord, to forgive those who sin against us.
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  Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
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  For yours is the Kingdom and the glory and the honor and the
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  power, forever and ever. In Jesus Christ, holy and
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  precious name, I pray, Amen. Let's start in verse one.
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  Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy, our brother
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  unto Philemon, our dearly beloved and fellow laborer.
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  So here is Paul's personal greeting to a man who had a
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  runaway slave and he's wanting to restore him back.
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  And you have to understand that God is a God of reconciliation.
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  He loves for us to put people back together and for us to
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  forgive those who have sinned against us.
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  How can you be forgiven if you refuse to forgive?
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  And that is the premise of this book here in God's Word, to and
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  to our beloved Afia and Arcupus, our fellow soldier, and to the
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  church in your house. Perhaps this Afia is Philemon's
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  wife, who would have had charge over Onissimus.
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  And perhaps this Arcopus is the son of Philemon, and he's
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  writing to them as a little family.
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  And he's saying, listen, I have your runaway slave here and you
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  are now brothers and you are no longer master and servant.
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  And so here Paul is going to eradicate slavery in the most
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  subtle way. And we have to have the context
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  of the bond servants and what all of it was about.
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  It's not in the same disgusting, deplorable manner that we are
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  accustomed to is this is something that was quite common
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  and Christianity actually eradicated it, did not promote
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  it, and it definitely did not command it.
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  And there are so many people who are all turned around.
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  But you need to understand that Paul never condoned it.
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  He actually was very instrumental in the erosion of
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  such a deplorable, disgusting system against humanity. 3 Grace
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  to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
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  Christ. What an amazing greeting unto
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  old Philemon and his wife and son.
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  And he's saying grace in this grace, friends, is the free gift
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  that God has given to us that we can know that we know that all
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  of our sins are forgiven and they were all paid in full at
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  Calvary. What an amazing thought.
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  And this is nothing that we have done and it's everything that he
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  did. Peace can only come from God
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  Almighty. It can only come from knowing
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  that you are in right standing with God because of what Jesus
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  Christ did when He made us at one with Father God.
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  For I thank my God making mention of you always in my
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  prayers. So this is praying without
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  ceasing. This is praying always about
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  everything. This is not just your
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  supplications. This is not just your prayer
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  closet. This is not just your face to
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  the ground. This is not just your head
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  bowed, friends. This is praying without ceasing,
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  without stopping, with earnest and honest openness to God
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  Almighty all the day long. Just making mention to God about
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  Philemon is Paul's practice here, and it should be ours as
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  well. This is a life that is
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  completely sold out to God Almighty is one who does not
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  press the pause button on your prayer life.
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  It is constant, it's in the boardroom, friends, it is in
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  every arena, and every single moment of your day is prayer and
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  it is worship, and it is a pleasing aroma unto God
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  Almighty, 5 hearing of your love and faith, which you have toward
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  the Lord Jesus and toward All Saints.
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  So we can see that old Philemon had a church that had started in
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  his house. And Paul here is hearing about
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  the beautiful Koinonia, this one another in communion that's
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  happening within the walls of Philemon's house and how the
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  Holy Spirit is there. And there's a an immense amount
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  of freedom inside of Philemon's house.
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  And Paul here is wanting to tell Philemon just how incredibly
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  happy he is to hear of all the wonderful things that are
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  happening inside of this little house church.
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  Six, that the communication of your faith may become effectual
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  by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you, in
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  Christ Jesus. That's how we become effectual
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  in the ministry is by living a life completely sold out to the
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  King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
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  It's not by compartmentalizing our life and having a different
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  us on Saturday night, on Friday night, a different us on Sunday
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  morning, friends, and Wednesday night.
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  We need to be congruent. We need to make sure that we
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  practice what we preach. We need to be those who tap into
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  the fullness that God has for us in this little lifetime that we
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  have. Your life is but a vapor, and
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  it's here today and gone tomorrow.
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  Don't waste your life. Don't be ashamed at the end of
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  your life because you were not a soul winner for Christ Jesus. 7
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  For we have great joy and consolation in your love,
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  because the bowels of the Saints are refreshed by you, brother.
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  So you can see that Philemon was a warrior for Christ.
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  He was very much concerned with the edification of the Saints
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  and winning people over to Jesus Christ by living a life that
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  actually mirrored and modeled and added up to Jesus.
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  And people did not see duplicity and hypocrisy in Philemon's
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  life. A Wherefore though I might be
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  much bold in Christ to enjoin you that which is convenient.
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  So Paul wants to come to Philemon. 9 Yet for love sake, I
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  rather beg you, being such at 1:00 as Paul the aged and now
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  also a prisoner of Jesus Christ. So Paul here is going to start
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  tugging on Philemon's heartstrings, and he's saying,
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  Remember Me, not only am I old, but I'm also in prison for the
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  gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ sake. 10 I beg you for my son
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  Onissimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds.
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  So this Onissimus was a runaway slave from Philemon's house, and
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  Philemon's wife would have had charge over the servants.
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  And Philemon has run away to Rome, where Paul is in prison.
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  He's somehow become a disciple of Paul while he's been in Rome.
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  And Paul was the very one who led Philemon to the Lord and
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  started the house church there. And you can see here this
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  beautiful spider web, this beautiful story of how God is
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  the God of reconciliation, and he wants Onissimus to be
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  reconciled back into a wonderful relationship with Philemon, not
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  as a servant, but as a brother in Christ Jesus.
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  What an amazing thought, how God loves us and He wants us to be a
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  family who serve him as the bride of Christ. 11 which in
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  times past was to you unprofitable, but now profitable
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  to you and to me. So this is a play on words.
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  This onissimus means profitable. And Paul saying I know that he
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  was unprofitable to you, but he has lived up to his name with
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  me. And because he's been that to
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  me, he by way is being that to you. 12 whom I have sent again.
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  You therefore receive him. That is my own bowels.
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  So Paul here is saying I'm sending them back to you.
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  Do not treat him as a slave, treat him as a brother. 13 whom
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  I would have retained with me, that in your stead he might have
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  ministered to me in the bonds of the gospel.
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  So this Onissimus, he was very profitable for Paul while Paul
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  was in prison. And he's saying because Paul
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  understands the situation, that Onissimus has run away from
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  Paul's first disciple, Philemon. He's saying it is right for you
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  to be restored back to Him and for you to lay down all of the
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  worldly entanglements and to actually raise up to a higher
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  spiritual plane in Christ Jesus, and not to be debased and not to
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  be so carnal, and not to be so selfish, and not to be so
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  immature to look at others as lesser.
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  That is not the heart of God. God's heart is a Mago day that
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  humankind is His masterpiece, and we do not need to think of
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  others as lesser friends. 14 But without your mind would I do
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  nothing that your benefit should not be as it were of necessity,
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  but willingly, Paul saying, I did not want to demand that
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  Onissimus would stay here with me.
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  If you decide to send him back to me, then I will take him
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  because he has been very profitable unto me. 15-4 Perhaps
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  he therefore departed for a season that you should receive
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  him forever. So Paul saying, it is to your
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  benefit that he escaped from you, because now he has come to
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  me and he has been evangelized and taught about the Lord Jesus
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  Christ. He's received him as his Lord
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  and Savior and now he is no longer unprofitable to you, but
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  he is a brother and he is a coequal inheritor of eternal
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  life with us. What an amazing story of how God
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  can take those who are kicked down and and who are forgotten
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  about, those who have no earthly inheritance and he can give them
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  the adoption where they cry out ABBA and they become sons and
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  daughters of the Most High God and they have a eternal
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  inheritance forevermore. What an amazing God we serve. 16
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  not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother, beloved,
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  especially to me, but how much more to you both in the flesh
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  and in the Lord. So he's saying he's no longer
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  your servant, but he is a brother and you should treat him
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  that way. And this was the abolition of
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  all of the slavery is when we start to see that there is no
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  servant other than the servant of Jesus Christ and that we as
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  Christians are brothers and sisters in Christ and we do not
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  need to try to treat others as lesser.
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  That is not the heart of God. 17 If you count me, therefore a
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  partner receive him as myself. So Paul was the conduit of how
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  Philemon came to Christ Jesus and now he's saying if I have
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  done anything good for you then you will receive Onissimus as a
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  brother and not as a servant and definitely not as a criminal 18.
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  If he has wronged you or owes, you ought put that on my
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  account. So Paul here saying you can just
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  add whatever he owes you to my account.
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  But see the thing about it is Philemon owed Paul his very life
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  because Paul had helped him to come to the faith in the Lord
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  Jesus Christ. And so Paul's laying on that and
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  saying, listen, there is a, an account of the massive amount of
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  due for my evangelism in your life.
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  So if you count me worthy of anything, then just forgive him
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  as you have been forgiven and freely you've received and so
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  freely you shall give. And that is the principle.
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  We don't hold back on anybody, regardless of class, regardless
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  of intellect, regardless of creed, regardless of background,
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  regardless of language, regardless friends of how they
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  look. We spread the seed out to every
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  single man and woman that we meet today, knowing that most of
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  it is going to fall on unprofitable soil, but only a
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  few will find that narrow, straight gate to eternal life.
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  19 I, Paul, have written it with my own hand.
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  I will repay it. I'll be it.
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  I do not say to you how you owe unto me, even your own self
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  besides. So that is what Paul is pulling
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  upon. He's saying, Listen, Philemon,
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  forgive Anissimus. Do not be immature and do not be
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  so debased that you act within the flesh and act carnally and
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  earthy. This transcends all of that.
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  This is transrational. Philemon 20 Yeah, brother, let
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  me have joy of you and the Lord. Refresh my bowels.
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  And the Lord, he's saying, do the right thing.
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  Don't slip back into how the world works, don't slip back
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  into pride, don't slip back into anger and malice, don't slip
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  back into forgetting your first love.
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  But do the right thing and I will rejoice with you. 21 Having
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  confidence in your obedience, I wrote unto you, knowing that you
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  will also do more than I say. So just like the prodigal son's
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  father, when he saw the son returning, he ran to him and put
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  the robe on him and the ring on him, and he slaughtered the
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  fattened calf and threw a party. Here Paul saying, I know that
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  you're going to do more than just receive him as a brother.
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  22 But with all, prepare me also a lodging, for I trust that
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  through your prayers I shall be given unto you.
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  What an amazing thought that the prayers of the Saints actually
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  are effectual within the world. For moving mountains and
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  splitting seas, For healing diseases, friends, and having
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  the blindfolds removed. For setting the prisoners free.
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  Friends, we need to be men and women of prayer.
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  We do not need to let our prayer life wane, friends.
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  Let it wax strong and bold in Christ Jesus. 23 There, salute
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  you, Apaphrus, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus. 24
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  Marcus Aristarchus Dimas Lucas, my fellow laborers will end on.
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  25 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
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  Amen. You know most of Paul's letters
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  were written to the churches to be read aloud and to be
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  distributed. And here you can see this
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  personal note of how Paul just wrote this to restore all
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  Anissimus the profitable back to Philemon.
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  And it is a beautiful story of how God's heart is for his
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  people who are called by his name.
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  And we'll see greater things. Friends, I hope you've been
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  blessed by this amazing chapter in God's Word.
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  I know, I sure have. I'm praying for every single one
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  of you. I love you.
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  We'll see you back here tomorrow.
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  God bless you.