Now, I want us to begin by thinking about all the different
kinds of relationships that you've had throughout your life.
OK, Maybe when you were younger, the first relationships that
you've had was with your parents and with your siblings.
And then over time, you start to have relationships with your
friends from school, right? And other classmates and your
teachers, and then over time with your coworkers and then
your bosses who are above you and your subordinates who work
under you. And then over time, maybe you
have relationships with your spouse and over time with your
children. And then you can go on and on,
right? You know, all of us here, we may
have different kinds of relationships, but we all have
them. And after all this time, what
have we learned about relationships?
They're easier than we thought, right?
I'm just kidding. I'm just making sure that you
guys are paying attention, OK? Relationships are not easy.
They are hard. And even the best relationships,
we learn over time that they can become complicated.
You know, misunderstandings can still happen.
Expectations can be unmet. People can disappoint us and
then us in return, we disappoint others as well.
And then now when it comes to the church, you know, we kind of
expect things to be a bit different, right?
Because isn't the church where love is preach, where we're
supposed to care for one another as brothers and sisters in
Christ? So you'd expect that
relationships here in the church should be simpler and cleaner
and less painful, right? But the more time that we spend
together as brothers and sisters, the more that you open
up to each other and be vulnerable, the more that you
realize that actually that's not the case.
That even brothers and sisters in Christ who've committed to
live together in the same local church, even they can disappoint
one another and hurt each other deeply.
It's a relationship in the church, including my church and
your church. It can get messy.
But brothers and sisters, praise the Lord that his word for us
today speaks into this messiness of our relationships.
So church, the one thing for us today is this, when brothers and
sisters hurt each other greatly, we have the opportunity to love
each other deeply. So now please turn your Bibles
to Philemon 1 to 25. We'll be taking a look at the
entire letter. It is quite short, but it is
very meaningful. So for context, this letter was
written by Apostle Paul. He wrote this while he was in
prison at the time. And this letter is primarily
going to be about two people. OK, you have Philemon and you
have Onisimus. Now Philemon, you know, you can
think of him as the model church member.
He's a faithful brother in Christ.
He loves Jesus, He loves his fellow Christians as well.
And he even hosts a local church gathering in his house.
And then you have Onisimus. And Onisimus is Philemon's
bondservant or slave. So then legally speaking, he
refer to appeal to you. I'm in law and this is where
things get a little bit messy. OK, we don't know exactly what
happened, but based on the content of the letter, we can
kind of put the pieces together. And it seems like Onissimus, he
ran away from his master of Philemon.
And it's even possible that he stole money or some or some sort
of property from him. But then sometime afterwards,
Onissimus, he, he met Paul while he was in prison and he came to
repent of his sins and put his faith in Christ.
So then praise the Lord for that.
But then, now the question is this, Well then, what's next for
the two of them? How is a Christian master and a
Christian slave who ran away from him and wronged him?
How are they supposed to relate with each other now?
And so then Paul writes this letter in order to give guidance
to Philemon. And I think it's going to be
great guidance for us today as well.
So let me read it for us. This is Paul's letter to
Philemon. Paul So first let's look down at
the introduction in verses one to three, because if you take a
look, there's actually something quite interesting here.
And you see that, you know, Paul is not only addressing Philemon,
but then he's also addressing Aphia an archopus.
And then notice who does he address?
The local church that gathers in his house.
Now this is interesting because this is not what we usually
think about when we think of a personal letter, right?
Usually it's just to one person. But then what this tells us is
that even though this letter is primarily for Philemon, yes, but
then after Philemon reads it, he's not meant to just hide it
or store it in a cupboard or under the bed, but he's to share
it with the entire church. So then when Paul was writing
this letter, he also had the local church in mind.
So now that let's look at the Thanksgiving portion, let's look
at verses 4 to 5. So notice how Paul's
Thanksgiving, it also has the context of the local church in
mind. Take a look.
You know, Paul's not just saying thank you God that Philemon
loves Christ, period. Now he says thank you that
Philemon loves Christ and all the Saints, his brothers and
sisters in Christ. And so really what what Paul is
thanking God for is that Philemon's Christian life was
not live in isolation, but it was live together with fellow
brothers and sisters in a church community that he loves the
whole church. That's why Paul's thanking God.
You know that phrase, all the Saints?
You know, when we read that, it can sound a bit generic, right?
Just all the Saints. But imagine if you know, for
Philemon, you know, these were specific faces.
This is very personal for him. These are the faces that he
would see week in and week out in his home as they, as they
gather, you know, people whom he shared joys and struggles and
worries and concerns with, you know, very much like, you know,
you guys as a church. Let's look at verse 6.
It's not surprising to us then that Paul's prayer for Philemon
is also going to involve the church community as a context.
Paul prays. I pray that the sharing of your
faith may become effective. Now the word sharing there, OK,
sharing in the original Greek language, the word that was used
is Koinonia, which means fellowship or partnership or
relationship. And so verse 6 actually reads
more like this. I pray that the Koinonia, I pray
that the fellowship of your faith may become effective.
So then Paul's prayer here is that Philemon would continue to
be effective or, or continue to be active in the fellowship with
other Christians. And so then now you may be
asking yourself, well, OK, well why is this Paul's prayer?
Let's continue reading verse 6. And it says, well, so that
Philemon would gain a fuller understanding of every good
thing that we have for the sake of Christ.
So what are the good things that we have in Jesus Christ?
You know a lot of things, right? Love, grace, mercy, unity.
Well, the how can we have a fuller understanding of those
things? Well, it's through living life
on life with other believers. Because if we think about it,
you know, you don't just learn love by reading books, right?
You learn love by loving real people.
You know. A Christian who's not part of a
local church may learn truth about God and his people, OK,
spending time reading the Word, reading articles, going online.
They may learn a lot about church and God and how his
people are supposed to be like. But they'd be missing out on
something so vital and important as Christians.
Because love grows when it is tested in a real environment,
when you have to forgive, when you have to serve, when you have
to care, when you have to reconcile with one another.
And so Paul assumes here that Christian growth, that it
happens in church community. So then, friend, if you are here
today and you profess faith in Jesus Christ, but you're not yet
a member of local church, please consider being a member of a
church, either this church or another gospel proclaiming
church, where you'd be able to practice and to grow in your
love for all the Saints. And for brothers and sisters who
are already members of this church, including, you know, the
four new members that just joined this church this morning.
Congratulations. You know, I'd want you, brothers
and sisters, to be prepared for something that may happen in the
future. There may be a time in the
future when you start to question whether it'd just be
easier to not be a part of this church.
You'll be tempted to think, you know what?
Want to be easier for me to just worship God on my own, just to
listen to sermons online. I can listen to the songs that I
want, and I don't have to deal with all the drama with these
people who are kind of bothering me.
And you know, if ever you ask yourself that question, to be
honest with you, the answer is going to be yes.
Yes, it's going to be much easier for you.
But let me warn you, what Scripture teaches us is that
easier doesn't mean that's going to be helpful for you and your
spiritual growth. I think it's going to be quite
the opposite, actually. It's going to be harmful for you
because just think about someone who is isolated from church
fellowship. Think about what they're
thinking about. You know, they're thinking about
my worship, my time with the Lord, my righteousness, my love
for Jesus, my, my, my, you know, ironically, you know, your
worship can easily become self-centered.
And brothers and sisters, you have to ask yourself, is that
what the Bible teaches about love and fellowship?
You know, I, I think we all have this genuine desire to grow in
our love for God and, and, and, and grow in our love for one
another. But just like a fish matures in
water, a Christian matures in church.
That is the context that God has wonderfully designed for his
people. Church is where his people can
express and grow in their love for him and for one another.
So now look at verse 7. You know, Paul is so encouraged
that Philemon, you know, loves his whole church and he did he's
he's doing so tangibly. You know, people can see that
he's opening up his entire home for them.
So Paul's encouraged and he says to Philemon, man, Philemon, the
hearts of the Saints have been refreshed through you.
You know that that this makes me ask myself, you know, what would
other church members say that about me?
You know, that I think that's something that we can ask
ourselves. You know, would my brothers and
sisters, when they think of me, would they consider me as
someone who's refreshing for their hearts?
You know, what I trust is that God has been using the members
of this church to refresh one another in your followership of
Christ. And perhaps that's what you've
observed, and I hope that's encouraging for you.
Hopefully what you've observed is that members have been loving
one another, not just theoretically, but then
practically and visibly. And members are are lovingly
serving your church and serving one another with their time,
with their skills, with their talent, energy and treasures.
And perhaps you're seeing that members are initiating Bible
study with one another. Members are opening up their
homes and having meals together. And perhaps not just, you know,
older members that you already know, but then inviting newer
members as well. You know, these are the kinds of
things that are happening in your church that would be so
refreshing to hear about because these are signs of spiritual
life and growth. So members of Grace Baptist
Church Tangara just want to encourage you to continue to
show love and hospitality tangibly to one another.
So even right now or even today after Sunday celebration,
there's something that you can do right away.
If you see a newer member or a visitor, please don't just
ignore, ignore them. But you can practice love and
hospitality by reaching out to them.
Or perhaps not a new member, but an existing member, but you just
haven't talked to them in a while.
It would be a good opportunity for you to reach out to someone
that you don't normally talk to and really just foster
friendship with one another in this church.
So may you continue to do that GBCT to love your whole church,
tangibly refreshing one other's hearts as you live in
fellowship. OK, so first, loving the whole
church and then second, loving a specific brother.
And you know, Paul is going to get more specific here, OK.
And I think this is going to be so helpful for us, right?
Because I think we would all say, you know what, I love the
church. You know, none of us would say I
am not sure if I love the church.
I think we would say I love the church.
That love is going to be tested when it all comes down to a face
to a name, to a specific member, right?
Because maybe we can say, you know, we love the church in
general, but then that one brother or sister, I'm not so
sure. OK, so now, you know, Paul gets
specific and he now gets into the matter at hand is this
complicated relationship between Philemon and Onissimus.
Now to help us follow along in this part, think of this second
part as being as unfolding in three movements, OK.
And in each movement, in each movement, Paul's going to give
us a clearer picture of what he wants Philemon to do.
All right, So 3 movements, first movement, verses 8 to 14.
Please look down at your at your Bibles in verses 8 to 9, Paul
clarifies that even though he is bold enough to command Philemon
to do what is required, which is to forgive Onissimus, but he
doesn't want to do that. He doesn't want to command him
to do that. Instead, he prefers to appeal to
him to encourage him to do that out of his own accord.
Take a look in verse 14, he repeats the same idea.
He doesn't want finally men to do anything out of obligation,
but out of his own accord. So, you know, you have to ask
yourself, why is this repeated? Why is Paul trying to make this
explicitly clear? He doesn't want to command, and
he says the reason in verse 9, for the sake of love, for the
sake of love. He doesn't want to just merely
command Philemon. He wants Philemon to obey the
Lord out of his own volition. You know, Paul knows that he
could have just forced Philemon to receive Onessimus back.
You know, that's how life was like in the Roman Empire.
You know, obedience is valued. You simply have to obey the
order of a superior officer. They tell you to jump.
You say you know how high, and they just jump.
Doesn't matter whether you want to do it or not.
But imagine how this would have looked like.
OK, Imagine Philemon just obeying Paul's command.
OK, Paul, I obey you. Fine.
I'll, I'll, I'll receive honestness.
You know, I I'll at least pretend like everything's OK.
But then inside there's still this bitterness towards this
fellow brother in Christ. Now, can that really be called
love? Now, would it be really loving
for Paul if all that he cared about was the end result, right.
As long as everything looks OK in this church, then you know
what? That's, that's all that we care
about. No, you know, Paul's not OK with
that. You know, that's not the kind of
culture of love that God's family is supposed to have.
As if we can just hide everything under the rugs, all
the messy bits. But what Paul understands here
is something crucial that you cannot force love, you know,
obedience that comes from pressure.
It may look right on the outside, right?
You it, it looks OK, but it does not produce Christ like hearts
and genuine love for one another.
You know, Paul doesn't want mere compliance.
He wants real spiritual fruit. And so then instead of asserting
his authority, Paul presents himself humbly.
You know, I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for
Christ Jesus. So notice intentionally he's not
playing the power card as an apostle, which he could have,
but he's appealing as a brother. Why?
Because he knows that God looks deeper at the heart, not just
what's on the outside. And ultimately, you know, Paul
wants to please God. He's a prisoner for Christ
Jesus, imprisoned for the sake of the gospel.
And so then for the sake of love, for the sake to please his
Lord Jesus, Paul lays down his authority so that Philemon can
have this wonderful opportunity as a Christian to love a fellow
brother, to please his Lord Jesus, to love his brother
genuinely. You know, brothers and sisters,
this is something that we can keep in mind as well, you know,
in the in the messiness of relationships in church.
You know, sometimes we may not be the one to be in conflict,
but maybe kind of like Paul here, maybe, you know, a couple
of brothers and sisters who are in conflict.
Well, then if that's the case, you know, your role is not to
be, you know, on this person's team or that person's team.
You're not trying to fire up one side or, or to hate on the other
side, but you are team Jesus, OK?
You're not just trying to get to the end results as fast as
possible. Because, man, to be honest, it's
so uncomfortable watching, you know, two people be in conflict.
Can you guys just make up? It's trying to make me
uncomfortable, you know. But yes, we want, we want to see
that. But more than just the mere
appearance of peace, what we want is reconciliation and
spiritual growth for our brothers and sisters.
That's what we want. And yeah, that's that's going to
be harder, is going to take more patience, more energy, more
effort, especially if it's if it's taking a longer time than
we'd like. But what we want is to help them
to see for themselves, you know, what it would look like to
please Jesus out of their own free will.
That is the culture of disciple that I know you're trying to
cultivate here in this church, that lovingly you care enough
for your brother and sister that you want to help them in their
followership of Christ more than you.
You want to feel comfortable. You want to see spiritual growth
for them. And so I think the question on
our minds now may be, well, how can we do that?
How can we help our brother and sister during this time?
Well, let's see what Paul does here.
This is going to be our second movement.
OK, look down at verses 15 to 17.
Like a good brother, Paul points Philemon to the Lord's
sovereignty and to his goods purpose, verses 15 to 16.
For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while,
that you might have him back forever, no longer as a
bondservant, but more than a bondservant as a beloved
brother. So notice that Paul is not
minimizing the pain here. He's not saying, Philemon, this
wasn't that bad, you know, just get over it, you know?
Instead, he tells Philemon, Lift up your gaze, Philemon, Look at
eternity, you know, ask yourself, Philemon, what if God
was at work even in the loss? Philemon, what if this painful
separation led to eternal brotherhood in heaven?
You know, in the eyes of the world, Onissimus may still be a
slave. That's his status.
But in Jesus Christ, he's now family.
You know, the world may still label their relationship as
master and slave, owner and property, victim and offender.
That's not what God sees. What God sees is Philemon and
Onissimus, brothers in Christ, equal in spiritual status and
both children of the living God. And so then Paul, you know, he's
not asking Philemon to forgive Onissimus because he deserves
it, but because Christ has completely redefined who both of
them are. And by the way, you know, this
would have been completely insane and unheard of during
this time because at this time, you know, as much as 1/3 of the
Roman Empire was consisted of slaves.
So you can imagine, you know, they really don't want nearly
1/3 of the population even having the thought of running
away or even worse, rebelling against the empire.
So then what? What do they do when they catch
a slave who was trying to run away?
They would brutally beat them and some would even be crucified
and killed. And for some, they would brand
on their forehead with the hot iron the letter F in Latin,
which stands for fugitive. And it'd be a mark of shame for
their, for this runaway slave for the rest of their life.
So if Onissimus's master was not a Christian, that's what he can
expect if he returns to his master.
So to have a slave master, you know, receive his runaway slave
without beating them, that'd be, that'd be unheard of.
And to have them be then treated as equal in status and part of
the family, that's completely insane.
You know, that that would have completely overturned the entire
Roman Empire upside down. So is that really what Paul is
telling Philemon to do here? Look at verse 17.
Just in case Philemon's questioning it, Paul makes it
very, very clear, verse 17. So if you consider me your
partner, receive him as you would receive me.
Philemon Think of the friendship that we have.
Think of how much we care for for one another deeply.
Philemon Count that towards this other person.
Treat this person who's wrong you as you would treat me.
When he comes back, imagine it's me returning to you.
You know what that means is that they're just they're not meant
to just politely tolerate each other.
Right? As in, OK, you're a brother, but
I'm not going to talk to you and I'm not going to be praying for
you. I'm just going to be OK being in
the same room with you. No, this is more than that.
OK, So what Paul has in mind here is full reception.
Paul is saying treat Onissimus the way that you would treat a
fellow worker, friend and a beloved brother.
So imagine having to do that for someone who's stolen from you.
You know, I'm not saying that that's going to be easy.
What's going to be easier is just to say that you've forgiven
them, at least from a distance. You know, I've, I've forgiven
this person, but then only from a distance.
But brothers and sisters, the the gospel doesn't just remove
guilt from far away, it restores relationships in an intimate
way. So then, you know, what does
that mean for us today? Well, this means that in Jesus
Christ there is hope of reconciliation, even with fellow
brothers and sisters. Brothers and sisters in Christ
who you think, no, that it's too much, that there's no way that
we can get back together. We, we've, we've done each other
too much wrong. Even then, reconciliation is
possible in Jesus. We trust that the God who made
us a family will sustain us as a family, that the Holy Spirit is
working in our hearts, sanctifying us, shaping us to be
more like Christ. And so members of this church,
you know, ask yourselves, who is your onesimus?
You know, is there a brother or sister who God is placing in
your hearts whom you need to forgive and to receive as a
fellow brother or sister in Christ?
Perhaps the Holy Spirit is putting a name or a face in your
heart right now. Or maybe you thought that you
already forgiven this other person, but then now God's Word
is challenging us to reassess what true forgiveness looks
like. Again, not just tolerating A
fellow church member without speaking to them or without
further interacting with them, but receiving them as if you're
receiving a dear friend. You know, that's not what the
world is going to teach you. What the world teaches you is
it'd be easier to just forget about that person, you know,
move on. They're making your life harder
anyways. Just seek the relationships that
are beneficial to you. But God's Word today challenges
us to do some, to do something different.
And so in the same way, we can ask ourselves a, a second
question as well. Who is your Philemon?
You know, is there someone who whom you've actually wronged
that you need to seek forgiveness from?
You know, if there is, then this text today also challenges us to
humble ourselves to ask that person for forgiveness.
And then when you do, brother or sister, don't feel like you are
entitled, as if you deserve their forgiveness because you
technically don't. But in Christ there is
reconciliation. So give that other brother,
sister even time to reflect and to respond to you if that is
needed. Now let's take a look at the
final movement. OK, verses 18 to 28.
So Paul says something bold here to Philemon verse 18.
If he has wronged you at all or owes you anything, charge that
to my account. So verse 19, Paul is personally
guaranteeing this, you know, up to this point in the letter, you
know, maybe Timothy or another brother may be the one who's
writing down this letter as Paul is telling them what to write.
But then at this point, Paul himself is taking the pen with
stylus and he's writing this in his handwriting.
I, Paul, write this with my own hand.
I will repay it. You have that guarantee for me,
you know. Paul then makes a note that
Philemon himself, technically he owes a debt to Paul because the
eternal life that he has in Jesus, that was partly due to
Paul's ministry. So then, you know, what Paul's
doing here is that Paul is reminding Philemon of the
eternal debt that he himself used to owe to God.
And this is a debt that we all owe as sinners.
You know, the truth is that we had, we have a debt that we
could never pay back because how can you pay back countless sins
and wrongdoings against a holy God?
You know, no amount of money or good works would ever be enough
to cover that debt. I think as Philemon's being
reminded of this, I imagine that he's being reminded of the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus was the one who looked at
our sins and said, charge that to my account, I will repay it.
And Christ died on the cross for the sins of his people, paying
that debt that we never could with his blood, so that now
anyone who would believe in Him would not gain eternity in hell,
but would gain eternity in heaven with God our Heavenly
Father, and with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ as well.
So then for Anissimus, this should have reminded him that
Jesus has already. For, for Philemon, sorry, this
should have. This should have reminded him
that Jesus has already paid an infinitely greater debt than the
one that Anissimus could have owed him.
You know, when he thinks about that, how could it not soften
his heart? So, brothers and sisters, does
the gospel still soften your hearts?
Doesn't the gospel remind us that the church member who
wronged you is the one whom Christ already died for?
You know, doesn't that convict us to forgive that person as
Christ has already forgiven them?
And you know what? Perhaps you want to.
Perhaps what you're thinking is I know that I should and I want
to, but it's just really hard and I just can't.
And I think that's why it's difficult.
I think it's because our tendency when we, when we want
to try to forgive someone is we actually try to reason on why
this person should be forgiven. You know, we're really trying to
convince ourselves, right? So then maybe we're trying to
weigh the pros and the cons. Let me just think about this.
Maybe I should actually forgive this person.
But then as you list all the pros and the cons, you know what
your conclusion probably is. No, you know what?
This person does not deserve forgiveness.
So many more cons. But you know what?
That's the thing. Forgiveness is unfair.
The kind of forgiveness that the Bible teaches us is unfair.
Because what's fair is for that person to be punished right for,
for, for hurting you and and causing serious harm to you.
They, they don't deserve your grace and mercy.
What they deserve is some sort of penalty from you.
But then what you're choosing to do is not to punish them, but
then to show them mercy, to extend grace to them, to love
them, to receive them. As a brother, you know that's
not fair. But even as I'm describing that,
how close does that sound to the gospel of God's grace and mercy
that he's poured out on us, not treating us the way that we
deserved, but extending grace and mercy.
You know, that's the beautiful thing.
Each time that we choose to forgive and to show grace and
mercy to a fellow brother or sister, we are replaying, we are
displaying the gospel of Jesus to one another, a picture of a
relationship that was broken, but then healed and reconciled
through the power of the gospel and the Holy Spirit in our
hearts. What's what is going to require
us is for us to take up our cross and to die to self because
what we personally desire is going to be revenge.
But then we're not choosing to satisfy our own flesh, but what
we're choosing to do is, yes, something that is unfair, but
something that is loving to the other person.
We're choosing to glorify God in our decision making.
So then when a brother or sister hurts you greatly, you have an
opportunity to love them deeply and to proclaim the gospel
boldly. Look at verse 21.
You know, Paul is confident that Philemon would do even more than
what Paul is asking him to do here.
So we're not told exactly what that what that means, but if we
look down at verse 22, you know Paul is hoping to visit Philemon
again and to stay at his house. So imagine with me how that
would look like. OK, how amazing would it be for
Paul to arrive at his house and then when the door opens up for
him, he is greeted by Philemon and Onissimus hand to hand,
welcoming him together side by side with smiles on their faces.
How amazing would that be? You know, I'm also imagining all
of us together in heaven, standing side by side with Paul
and Philemon and Onissimus and worshipping God together.
You know, in heaven, we're not going to be relating with one
another as master and slave, victim and offender, but as
brothers and sisters in Christ, as one family of God.
So church, as we conclude, I just want to point us back to
verse 6. Take a look at verse 6, please.
You know, Paul prayed that through Philemon's fellowship
Koinonia in the church that he would have a deeper and fuller
understanding of every good thing that we have for the sake
of Christ. And what I pray for is the same
thing for this church, that yes, the more that you invest in
friendships with one another, the more that you'll probably
hurt one another. OK, to be honest, that's how it
is. But may that provide you with
more opportunities for reconciliation, for forgiveness,
for grace and mercy, and this and the showcasing of the
gospel. So Church, Please remember the
one thing from Philemon, when brothers and sisters hurt each
other greatly, We have the opportunity to love each other
deeply. Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, Lord, you are great, You are gracious, you are
merciful. Lord, we are sinners.
We, we have disobeyed your commands, we have wronged you.
We owe you such a huge debt that we could never pay back.
But Lord, we, we thank you that you did not relate with us as
victim and offender. But Lord you, you decide to show
mercy and grace to your people and Jesus Christ, you came from
heaven to earth to die on the cross for our sins, to take our
debt to to die for our debt, to pay it so that we wouldn't have
to, so that in the future, those who believe in you will not be
in hell, but in heaven for eternity with fellow Saints as
well. Lord, we pray for this church,
Grace Baptist Church, Tangarang, that they'd be able to live out
your word in Philemon, that just as we've wronged you greatly,
You've shown us deep love. Lord, may this church, even in
moments when they hurt each other greatly, help them, Lord,
to love each other deeply. And may the gospel be proclaimed
through the relationships in this church, both through the
older members and the newer members who just joined as well.
Lord, we lift up this this prayer into your hands.
We surrender this church into your sovereignty.
In Jesus name we pray, Amen. As we remain seated, let's take
a moment church to reflect personally on God's word that
was just preached to us by our brother.
Such profound, simple, deep truth that we can gain from
Paul's appeal to Philemon here. And so I want us to think about
what have we learned about ourselves this morning through
this, this preaching about how, yeah, maybe we even in this
church, in the context of this church, maybe we are pleasant
with one another. But maybe there's still
unresolved things in our hearts that we just refuse to let go
because it's so hard. Because maybe as we run down the
pros and the cons as we don't think it's worth it or that
person don't deserve our forgiveness, maybe we are on the
other side. Maybe we have wrong others and
we just think we are oath forgiveness.
Or we assume that it's OK without actually coming to that
person and being reconciled and asking, have we prayed that the
sharing of our faith may become effective for the full knowledge
of every good thing that is in US for the sake of Christ, just
like Paul says here. And then let's think about what
we learn about God again, how just as Paul says here, you
know, let it be charged to my account that Christ had done the
same for us. And that is the basis of which
we can learn to be forgiving and be reconciled to other people
because Christ has forgiven our debts.
And so let let our church be this morning after this
preaching Lord be be more and more conformed to to the picture
that that that the Lord has for us here to how would life and
relationships we play out differently among us here this
morning If you really believe this truth of God's word.
So as we remain seated and you have your Bible open in front of
you. Let's just take a few moments to
reflect on this truth and after a few minutes, we'll continue in
our response together by singing a song together as a as a church
family. Let's do that together now.