Philemon
by Raymond Sloan
November 26, 2020 · Cornerstone Apostolic Church
Kind: teaching
Scripture: Philemon 1:1-19

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/raymond-sloan--philemon
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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well good evening everyone and welcome once again to our Wednesday night bible study here at Cornerstone Apostolic church I uh want to welcome you each week here at CAC we are gathering together in the word of the Lord to dig deeper uh to get a better understanding for the things of God we are growing we are maturing together learning uh we are processing what we have read and studied we have of course over the last several several weeks we have been looking into the letters the Epistles if you will that Paul wrote to the churches and to some individual uals who were ministers at the time in the church uh I don't know if you've noticed it but I know it's been very clear to me that all that we have looked at and discussed written hundreds and hundreds of years ago are still very still very relevant to where we are today in 2020 so uh I welcome you gather around get your Bibles out get your pad and paper notebook let's let uh dig a Little Deeper here if you will get your kids around and make sure everybody can hear and see and we are one more time going to go into the word of the Lord now every week we begin our session with prayer I believe that prayer is Paramount for our ability to mature and to grow and to learn and to study the scriptures and to grasp them so we will pray we will pray for the needs that you might have your neighbors family and friends loved ones co-workers uh you know what they are so please mention those also we're going to pray for Chattanooga we're going to pray for Cornerstone Apostolic Church uh we're going to pray for our nation the United States of America we are in need of prayer so we will do that pray for our leadership uh pray for our military men and women First Responders uh they are fighting and and doing what they do to protect us and to keep us safe every day so we want to pray for them also uh pray for our missionaries around the globe that God would give them Revival wherever they are and today as we pray I want us to pray for the future of CAC as we transition speak a little bit more about that in just a moment but as we transition from one point to another pray for God's guidance and Direction okay let's go together to prayer in Jesus we love you we thank you Lord for another day another opportunity that you give us to come together Lord to study the word to draw closer to you and to love you and serve you in every way that we can I pray Lord for each one that is studying tonight sitting in front of their screen Lord on their jobs with their families God that you would help us to understand and to acknowledge the wisdom and the word of God I pray Lord for our neighbors our friends and loved ones our church family pray God your protection and healing and your provision Lord will always be with us pray Lord for our church pray for our community God bless Chattanooga pray for the United States of America bless our nation Lord bless our leadership Lord I pray in your name Jesus that your will is accomplished pray Lord for our military men and women I pray Lord for our first responders that are taking care of us day in and out I pray tonight Lord for our missionaries all over the world that you would bless them and provide for them as well Lord we love you and honor you in everything we're praying tonight as well Lord for our transition from one place to another that you would help us Lord guide us give us the the open doors and the opportunities let us always lord always look to you for growth and strength and for your direction in your hand in our lives we love you Lord we'll thank you in advance because that is the will of God help us lead and guide us in the name of Jesus Amen all right uh now uh a couple of things that I would like to mention to you first of all it's Thanksgiving 2020 this week in fact tomorrow is Thanksgiving day so I want to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving with your family and friends and loved ones please enjoy the day enjoy your time together make memories that are good ones okay uh you'll be thankful for them in the future I know you will uh we've spent the last several weeks looking into the letters that Paul wrote okay um he wrote to churches in specific the churches that he had helped established and he also wrote letters to some of the preachers the young men that were left in those some of those cities to Pastor those churches Paul uh wrote letters to them as well what we've discovered though is that in all of the letters that Paul had an incredible love and a passion towards the things of God God had been good to him right if you know anything about the life of Paul we know that he was first uh Saul he was a persecutor of the church and then he had his uh his experience where God came in did a work in his life and then everything turned around and he began to with all of his life all of his heart everything he had he began to live for God it it is it is that Paul that is instructing and helping and admonishing the church is at that day to grow and to move forward okay now I've enjoyed every lesson and I believe that you have as well but the reason that we have gone through through these is because now more than ever before we need to know the word of the Lord okay we need to understand into the word into the word of the lord we need to understand why it's written and how it's written and to whom and what purpose it had so that's what we've been doing over the last several weeks I've enjoyed it tonight we're going to go into the last letter that we'll do in this series okay um the the theme that we've been going through is the letters and tonight this will be the last one beginning next week December the 2nd 2020 we will begin another series and it is going to be uh on the the word of the prophet Isaiah okay we're going to look into a five-week session there during the month of December all right now next week follow this December the 2nd we will be streaming online that Bible study okay uh it'll be online only but on Sunday December the 6th at 12:00 we will meet in person at our new location okay I will give you the address and information you probably already seen on the screen you'll see it at the end of this lesson on the screen uh we will be there so beginning the 9th of December okay follow this the 9th of December it's a Wednesday night we will have have our midweek Bible study in person at our new location 7:00 on Wednesday nights I'm looking forward to that I want to see all of you there okay if you can't join us of course we will stream that Bible study as well from the new church facility and you will be able to join us there if you can't join us in person all right so I'm make sure you understand uh this will be our last uh session tonight in the letters and then next week the 2nd we will begin series for the month of December on uh words from the prophet Isaiah okay we're going to look into his prophecy if you will about the birth of the Christ child because we're going into December all right so join us next week now uh in this lesson tonight we are going to look at a very short letter very short letter it is the letter that Paul wrote to phiman okay it's there is just one one short blurb if you will probably one page in your B okay uh a little bit of history for this though so we'll kind of understand before we get into it Paul is very personal okay with some of these young preachers and when it comes to the the respect that he had for these guys the relationships that he had built with their families and the church families and so forth uh we we know that Paul was uh was very very dedicated to the things of God so what we're going to notice tonight tonight in this very short letter to phiman is that Paul writes to this gentleman who was basically just a little history of him he was a wealthy own land owner and businessman uh he lived in the city of colesy he was from the church of the Colossians okay and we've already looked at their letter but phiman had a service or a church body he had services in his home his house was open and he would have people come in and they would hold service in his home and also um the homeowner phiman had a room said up for Paul so anytime Paul came through and was traveling about and he could he would stay here with philimon so phiman being wealthy he had lands and and possessions and whatnot um he was he was very devout though he believed he he had fallen in love with the things of Christ and so Paul has started a church there and and phiman is basically the pastor and carrying it on so Paul writes a letter to philimon and we'll find some very specific things here and this this is why I wanted to end if you will this particular series with this short letter let's go to phiman verse one okay Paul a prisoner of Jesus Christ and Timothy our brother unto philimon our dearly beloved a fellow laborer and to our beloved apia and archus our fellow Soldier and to the church in thy house Grace to You Verse three says and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ now Paul mentions here in the greeting in this letter he mentions apia that is phan's wife uh he also mentions archus which is philimon and uh apia's son okay this is their home their house where they live Paul knows them spends time with them and so forth Paul with great love he addresses them and calls them fellow laborers fellow soldiers every one of them working on the things uh in the church doing the things of God in that in that City if you will and the context of this letter Paul is simply writing from Rome to philimon to encourage him and also to ask him some very specific things we continue in verse number four I thank my god making mention of the 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 verse 7 for we have great joy and consolation in thy love because the vowels of the Saints are refreshed by thee brother Paul commends this guy telling him I I pray for you and I I've heard from others that have come and visited your home and visited your church setting there that you love them and that you take care of them that you care about them uh the good things that you're doing do not go unnoticed okay and uh he he mentions that the Saints even speak of him how that he has love and how he has Mercy towards them and shows them Grace um philimon has had a great impact on the church members and the people of that Community all right so Paul again in this letter is writing to him to encourage him to thank him and to admonish him to continue to do what he's doing continue in verse number eight here notice this wherefore though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient yet for Love's sake I rather beseech you being such and one as Paul the Aged and now also a prisoner of Jesus Jesus Christ I beseech thee for my son onimus whom I have begotten in my bonds which in time past was to thee unprofitable but now profitable to thee and to me verse 12 whom I have sent again thou therefore receive him that is my own bows 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 I would do nothing would I do nothing excuse me that they that thy benefits should not be as it were of necessity but willingly okay this is the Crux if you will of this short letter all right this is the purpose of this correspondence onesimus he was a slave that phiman had he'd once owned him and he ran away onimus ran away from philimon all right now when that happened in old days it was very Terrible Things uh first of all if you were a slave to someone one of of of a few things had happened a you had a debt that you couldn't pay B you were given into slavery because of a situation and uh you were caught uh in in a crime or something and you had to repay it um your family didn't have anything and so there were taxes and things to be paid and so you were given up to be sold for slavery whatever you owed a debt as a slave and what Paul was saying here to philimon he's written a letter and he says I'm sending this letter by the hand of onimus all right he is a slave to you that's true and he did you wrong but he's been with me and instead of now being a slave he has now become a brother he he's he's been baptized in jesus' name he's he's in the church now his life's been turned over and things are happening in his life and I have spoken to him talked to him taught him instructed him and now I send him back to you so that he can fulfill the what he owes you so that he can make sure that he completes any debt that he has to you okay um this is very powerful that this letter because it's so short we we many times we just pass over and think uh not a lot of meaning to it but the truth is by the hand of Paul to one of the preachers of one of the churches that he had helped establish there's a debt that had to be paid and this slave onimus now is coming back to phiman with the blessing of Paul the Beloved if the one who who started the church now imagine what phiman has to do phiman the Bible already says that he has all this good rapport with the Saints with the neighbors with people around okay there's this great connection camaraderie that he has and now in Imus who used to be a slave in his ownership who ran away is now coming back to him at that moment phiman now has to decide do I forgive do I forget do I take him back in make him pay the Deb whatever what how do I deal with this that once used to be my property but now has run away but he's changed everything about his life and evidently Paul the one that I respect this is phiman thinking the one I respect and honor has given him given him a blessing Paul writes this letter and he gives it to animus and he affirms animus to philimon listen you go back and you take this letter with you and you give it to him notice verse 15 here for perhaps he therefore departed for a season that thou should us 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 listen to this verse 17 if thou count me therefore partner receive him as myself if he hath wronged thee or oweth thee ought put that at mine account I Paul have written it with my own hand I will repay it albe it I do not say to thee how thou oughtest unto me even thine own self beside oh excuse me unto me even thine own self besides of verbiage here but this is basically what he is saying he is saying onimus did wrong but now he's on the right Road and he's making he's making things right he's in the church he's helping me he's helped you okay now he's coming back to you if he owes you anything I will repay it if there's any debt that he has I want you to receive him and you put whatever debt that is unto my account and I will take care of it for him how powerful this is in the life of a Christian now I'm I don't think in 20120 what Paul is saying nor what I am saying is that you need to go and anybody that's ever wronged you whatever you need to forgive them and give them all their money back and restore to them everything now now what I'm telling you is simply this that as church members as members in the body as people in the Kingdom all working towards heaven okay walking towards heaven preaching baptism telling people about the Holy Ghost watching them receive the wonderful gift of the Holy Ghost evident speaking in tongues being baptized in jesus' name having repented their lives changed and clean as Christians as Christlike people today we should receive the same instruction in that people can change people can be forgiven things can happen lives can be restored well everything that Paul has written to the church at Ephesus to the church uh and and Philippi to any of these churches uh to Timothy to Titus what he was writing was he was helping them to understand relationships in the kingdom are very vital and what you have to do is as as a human as a person realize that we as individuals can make mistakes we can fall we can falter we can see we can stumble but there can be a recompense there can be the name of Jesus applied the blood of Jesus applied to our life the power of Jesus Christ working in our lives so that we can become honest and upright workers for the kingdom of God so in in closing out these letters we're going to end here with philimon I I want you to understand that Paul wants to go back and visit with him it's right there at the very last part of the letter and and he knows that time is very precious he loves the Brethren Paul does he loves the churches he loves the things that God's doing in in BR in ladies and gentlemen and babies and kids and young people and old alike he just loves how God is working and things are happening I'm here to tell you that in 2020 at Cornerstone I'm I'm very excited about what God has done and is doing and will do in lives of people at CAC thrilled to know that forgiveness still works that the power of the Cross still can can cleanse and wash and renew somebody what what Paul's mentioning here to philimon in this letter is he's saying the guy who's handing you this letter to read I want you to receive him hug his neck and then you guys talk about it and you guys work it out now here it is we're going to close tonight with a prayer okay um I want I want us to pray that we would have a similar understanding and and that we would have a kindred understanding of what Paul was doing when he was helping the churches at that day listen there there's a world out there that that's so lost and and confused but I still believe in The Old Rugged Cross I I still preach that Jesus loves you you still witness and testify to your neighbors and co-workers and and and people at the store whatever that there is still Power in the Blood of Jesus right you you still affect people in their lives because you give and you you you invest in them and you allow God to work in them so we're going to pray for that okay that we would have that attitude to be able to say we're all doing this we're working together God give us Grace and and help us to show mercy and help us to work one with another and if somebody wrongs us help us Lord to comprehend that's not against us but they're kicking against you and help us Lord just as Paul was doing as they leave or if they walk away Lord help us to to release them and understand that you can still work on them and they can come back but lord it's up to you to do that work and we pray and we want you to do that so we're going to pray that that God would help us be the church that we need to be in our community Lord I pray right now for Cornerstone Apostolic Church we're Binding Together Lord online tonight in faith believing that there is power in the name of Jesus Christ there is power and forgiveness there is a cleansing and a washing and a renewing Lord that can happen in your name I thank you Lord for the letters that Paul wrote to the churches and to the preachers lord it's such a a benefit and a blessing for us today to learn from thank you for our time every week that we've had in that I pray God that you would help us Lord as members of CAC and as as apostolics Lord believing the word of God and and believing the the doctrine Lord that's teach that that was taught and that's teached to us every single day taught to every day help us Lord to to reach out to those around us to understand and comprehend that there is still time for people to fall in love with you and their lives to be changed I Love You Lord help us today we'll serve you we'll believe in you and honor you in all things we'll give you thanks in Jesus name amen amen amen