Episode 1

The Forgotten Letters: Philemon (North OC)

In this first message of our series 'The Forgotten Letters,' Marcel Hall delivers an insightful sermon focusing on the often-overlooked book of Philemon. Marcel delves into the background, context, and main characters of this short, yet powerful, letter written by the Apostle Paul. He discusses the themes of love, reconciliation, and grace within the Christian community, encouraging listeners to apply these principles to their own lives. With practical action steps and a call for personal application, this sermon aims to deepen your understanding and faith through the teachings found in the book of Philemon.

Click here to donate to the program

Click here for more sermons

OC Church of Christ

Transcript
Marcel:

My name is Marcel Hall and I'm going to have the honor and privilege

2

:

to be able to speak God's word.

3

:

Uh, this morning, uh, my

wife and I, we help lead, uh,

4

:

here in Orange County Church,

specifically our North OC ministry.

5

:

And, uh, we're grateful it, it is coming

up on 10 years since we moved to Orange

6

:

County, which is pretty incredible.

7

:

Uh, many faces.

8

:

Remember when we came in, it does not

feel like 10 years, but it has been.

9

:

That means you are getting old.

10

:

That's what that means.

11

:

I do wanna thank the AV team.

12

:

Uh, they get here really early and,

uh, thank Seth and the guys as well

13

:

who work for the, uh, uh, uh, for,

uh, for the school district here

14

:

for all your guys' support and help.

15

:

Thank you so much for all that you do.

16

:

Uh, I, I, looking in on my desk

the other day, had to find some

17

:

paperwork, and I found a letter

that I had written to someone.

18

:

It was, uh, he used to be a teenager

who I used to, uh, mentor a little bit,

19

:

and, uh, he had went to the military.

20

:

And when I found out and talked

to him in a while, and so I found

21

:

out, I wrote him a letter, but they

didn't know where he was stationed.

22

:

So I filled out the letter, I wrote the

letter, I put the stamp, and I said,

23

:

Hey, let me know where to send it.

24

:

And his mom said, yeah, we'll do that.

25

:

And, uh, she never did send it.

26

:

And I put it somewhere on my desk.

27

:

And if you see my desk, sometimes there's

some other papers that, let's just say

28

:

someone put stuff on top of, I won't

say who that someone is, but the, the,

29

:

the, the envelope stayed under them.

30

:

And then I, I, I called one

day and I talked to the mom.

31

:

I said, Hey, I still

don't have the address.

32

:

You know, it's been a long time.

33

:

I don't even know how long it's been,

like, oh, he's already out of the service.

34

:

I said, man, it's been that long.

35

:

I said, how did that happen?

36

:

And, you know, there's some other stuff.

37

:

I think he got, you know, it was

early, actually, uh, left early.

38

:

It wasn't like a full three years.

39

:

And, uh, and so I, I put it down

and I said, well, I, I don't know.

40

:

I'll send it to him someday.

41

:

And so I'm looking the other day and,

uh, and I look and I find this letter

42

:

and like, man, I never sent this letter.

43

:

It is the lost letter, the forgotten

letter that I had, and, and, and we're

44

:

actually going to do something here with

some, some forgotten letters that we're

45

:

gonna study out for the next four weeks

here, what I call the forgotten letters.

46

:

And these aren't necessarily forgotten

because they're in a Bible or they're

47

:

misplaced or something like that.

48

:

These are letters that don't get a lot of

love on Sundays, and we're gonna study Y

49

:

Em in second, John, third John, and Jude.

50

:

Some of you're like, I

never even heard of those.

51

:

That's why we call 'em

the forgotten letters.

52

:

And so when was the last time you heard

a sermon outta one of these books?

53

:

Been a long time.

54

:

Has it?

55

:

So I was like, I don't know

if I ever have, we had a quote

56

:

earlier, uh, from Philemon.

57

:

Some of you're like, who?

58

:

And so we're gonna study these things out

and that it's gonna be a fantastic time.

59

:

And you know, part of the reason

that these are forgotten, if you

60

:

will, is that these are the shortest.

61

:

Letters are the shortest books

in the New Testament, and they

62

:

all have just one chapter.

63

:

So if someone ever says, Hey, I

was reading chapter three of Third

64

:

John, you know they are lying

because there is no chapter three.

65

:

Okay?

66

:

And so these are short,

these are one chapters.

67

:

And so we're gonna go through

them and today we're gonna look

68

:

at the first one, Philemon.

69

:

And so let's go ahead and

let's go to God in prayer.

70

:

God, thank you so much already

for what we've been able

71

:

to experience this morning.

72

:

Experience you by singing out, being

reminded of the powerful and the

73

:

wonderful name of Jesus, being able to be

stirred and be able to commune with you.

74

:

God, and then also to hear your

testimony through, uh, uh, or Carla's

75

:

testimony about how you have changed not

only her life, but her family's life.

76

:

God, we've been able to be

enriched by Travis and his sharing.

77

:

And now God, we are excited

to hear from your word.

78

:

Please minister to us today.

79

:

We please remove any and every obstacle.

80

:

Father from that will prevent us

from being able to connect with

81

:

you, grow in our faith, and be

transformed as we receive your word.

82

:

We pray in the name of Jesus.

83

:

Amen.

84

:

Now to give some context.

85

:

The Bible is broken up, and I know

most, most of us know this, but

86

:

I wanna help all of us out here

into two pretty much divisions.

87

:

You have the Old Testament, which is

prior to Jesus' life in ministry on earth.

88

:

And then you have the new,

uh, testament, which is Jesus'

89

:

life on earth and afterwards.

90

:

And if you were to be really

simple, there's three types of, uh,

91

:

written writing styles in the Bible.

92

:

And so you have a history

book style, which is kind of

93

:

going, here's what happens.

94

:

And then you have poetry, and

that's where you find the Psalms

95

:

and Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.

96

:

And then you have letters.

97

:

And these are letters written to

either individuals or churches.

98

:

And most of the New Testament.

99

:

It is comprised of letters that were

written to individuals or to the church.

100

:

And so we're gonna go ahead and look at

the, uh, letter of Phil Philemon here.

101

:

And so we wanna give a little

background here as we study this out.

102

:

And so the author is the Apostle Paul.

103

:

He's, uh, he's in prison.

104

:

He is on house arrest at this time, more

than likely between 80, 60 to 62 in Rome.

105

:

And this is what, uh.

106

:

Scholars called the prison

epistles, and so he wrote several

107

:

letters while he was imprisoned.

108

:

The main character, there's a,

there's a number of people that

109

:

are gonna be mentioned, but the

main characters in the letter are

110

:

Paul the Apostle, who intercedes

on the behalf of a guy named OSUs.

111

:

And then there's Philemon, who is

a Christian leader in the city of

112

:

Colossae, and he's actually the host

of a church that meets in his home.

113

:

So he is more than likely a wealthy

Christian because he is able

114

:

to house, uh, that many people.

115

:

Then there's a guy named Onesimus.

116

:

Who's actually the, uh, slave

of Philemon, and so he ran away.

117

:

We don't know all the particulars, but

he became a Christian actually with Paul.

118

:

And now Paul is sending Philemon

back, or excuse me, sending one

119

:

on this miss back to Philemon.

120

:

So you guys get there.

121

:

Alright, so now here's the purpose.

122

:

Paul writes this letter to Urge Philemon

to receive on this myth, not as a slave,

123

:

but as a beloved brother in Christ.

124

:

And the letter calls for

forgiveness, mutual respect and

125

:

love within the Christian community.

126

:

And so this is going to, uh, set us

up so we can have an understanding.

127

:

And what I also love about what

we're gonna do over the next four

128

:

weeks, but in particular today.

129

:

Is we are going to be able to experience

how you and I should go about reading

130

:

our Bibles and our devotionals.

131

:

And so I know a number of us,

we can teach a class on how to

132

:

read a Bible and that's awesome.

133

:

Some of us, we don't know what to do.

134

:

When we read, we're like, I

don't know what this says.

135

:

I don't know how this applies to me.

136

:

And so here's what we first need to do.

137

:

We first need to understand

what is it that we're reading.

138

:

We didn't understand.

139

:

Is this a letter?

140

:

Is this a history book?

141

:

Is this poetry?

142

:

Because we will interpret and we will

receive God's message in a different way.

143

:

You guys get what I'm saying here, and

so we also need to understand, okay?

144

:

Okay.

145

:

When you are reading a letter,

there's some things you have to

146

:

understand as you're reading a letter.

147

:

One is that you can never fully

know all the context of the letter

148

:

because you weren't a part of it.

149

:

You get what I'm saying?

150

:

I'm looking at my boy Gene right here.

151

:

So if I wrote a letter to Gene and I read

this letter to everybody, you would have

152

:

a good idea of what I'm talking about.

153

:

But what if I threw in

some inside jokes in there?

154

:

Would you be able to capture all that?

155

:

No, you wouldn't.

156

:

Right?

157

:

And so as you read the letters, we can't

fully get all of the context because

158

:

we don't know all the particulars.

159

:

But what God wants us to do is he

wants us to take the principles.

160

:

That we see.

161

:

See how it applies to our lives, and

then apply it to our lives going forward.

162

:

You guys get me here.

163

:

Yeah, and so this is important here

as we read so we can speculate.

164

:

There's some things that seem to be

more than likely or probable, but

165

:

some things we don't know what the a

hundred percent certainty how it was.

166

:

You guys get what I'm saying?

167

:

But that's okay because the point

is that we grab the P principles

168

:

and the lessons that God wants

us to take from these letters.

169

:

Church, are you with me here?

170

:

Alright, let's go ahead

and let's get into it.

171

:

Now, here's what I need for you to do.

172

:

I need for you to note and take note, what

principles and what takeaways do you grab

173

:

from this letter from Paul to Philemon.

174

:

Okay.

175

:

So go ahead, pull out your phone.

176

:

I know most of us don't take physical

notes anymore, but go ahead and get

177

:

ready here to write down what is it

that stands out to you in this letter.

178

:

And so we're gonna read

Philemon chapter one.

179

:

There's only one chapter.

180

:

See, y Okay, you, you gotta catch on that.

181

:

All right, here we go.

182

:

Philemon, chapter one.

183

:

You guys with me?

184

:

Church?

185

:

Let's go ahead.

186

:

Let's get into it here.

187

:

All right.

188

:

It says Paul, a prisoner of Christ, Jesus,

and Timothy, our brother to Philemon,

189

:

our dear friend and fellow worker.

190

:

So we believe that Paul met Philemon,

uh, probably maybe an Ephesus.

191

:

We're not sure.

192

:

And so scholars, we we're speculating

here, but we know from this letter

193

:

that they had a great friendship and

that they were workers in the gospel.

194

:

And this is also to Appian and believe

it's probable that that was his, his

195

:

wife, our sister and octopus, and

probably his son, our fellow soldier,

196

:

and to the church that meets in your

home, grace and peace to you from God,

197

:

our father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

198

:

I always think my God, as I remember

you and my prayers, because I hear

199

:

about your love for all his holy people,

and your faith in the Lord Jesus.

200

:

I pray that your partnership with us in

the faith may be effective in deepening

201

:

your understanding of every good

thing we share for the sake of Christ.

202

:

Your love has given me great joy and

encouragement because you brother have

203

:

refreshed the hearts of the Lord's people.

204

:

Therefore, now whenever you see therefore

in the scriptures, what does that mean?

205

:

You need to know what

happened B before, right?

206

:

And so what he just say?

207

:

He says, Hey man, I, I pray that,

that word, were united in things.

208

:

We're united in this faith that you'll,

you'll grow in a gr deeper understanding.

209

:

And some call it being active

in share in your faith that it,

210

:

it will produce something great.

211

:

And hey, I know how much

you love God's people.

212

:

And so therefore, because of that,

because of who you are, what my prayers

213

:

for you here is what I'm gonna ask

or call you to and your attention.

214

:

Although in Christ, I could be bold in

order you to do what you ought to do.

215

:

Yet I prefer to appeal to

you on the basis of love.

216

:

It is none other than Paul, an old man,

and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus

217

:

that I appeal to you from my son Onesimus.

218

:

And again, it's, it seems more than likely

that that Onesimus became a disciple

219

:

of Jesus with Paul over in Rome, who

became my son while I was in chains.

220

:

Formally, he was useless to you, but now

he's become useful both to you and me.

221

:

The word, the name Onesimus means useful.

222

:

So Paul has a little play on words here.

223

:

Before he was useless.

224

:

Now he's living up to his name.

225

:

He's being useful.

226

:

We continue.

227

:

And he says, I'm sending him now.

228

:

This is big.

229

:

I am sending him.

230

:

So again, to give some context here,

the scholars, uh, uh, uh, throughout

231

:

history have said probably at least

a third of the Roman population

232

:

of the Roman Empire were slaves.

233

:

That's a pretty high number.

234

:

And so slavery and, and so when we

read slaves sometimes in the Bible, we

235

:

tend to take our understanding of the

Atlantic slave trade and we apply it.

236

:

To the slave situation of

the old, of the New and Old

237

:

Testament, but it was different.

238

:

So a number of people actually

sold themselves into slavery

239

:

because they were maybe in debt.

240

:

So I owe a lot of money to doca here,

and I'm like, DOCA, I can't pay for it.

241

:

She's like, well, what

you gonna do about it?

242

:

I was like, well, I'll become your slave.

243

:

She's like, okay.

244

:

And so someone even use this as a

way to climb up the social ladder.

245

:

Because you could actually have some,

some property you can actually grow,

246

:

grow up the social ladder, and many

people would buy their freedom back

247

:

and now be in a different position.

248

:

So slavery is different.

249

:

Now, there was also many

bad parts of slavery.

250

:

There's ownership and so we're, we're

not saying that slavery was this great

251

:

option, but it's important that we

don't insert what our understanding

252

:

is to the scriptures because

then we can get things mixed up.

253

:

You guys get what I'm saying here?

254

:

Yeah.

255

:

And so, but here's the thing.

256

:

He says, I am sending him,

here's the risk that's involved.

257

:

Paul's sending Onesimus back to Philemon.

258

:

We don't know if he's still a

slave owner at this time or not.

259

:

We, we don't know.

260

:

But if he goes back what a slave

owner can do with the runaway

261

:

slave, he can do a number of things.

262

:

And what he can do is he can flog him.

263

:

He can brand him.

264

:

Put him in chains or even

kill him via crucifixion.

265

:

So being sent back, there's a lot to this.

266

:

It's a huge risk.

267

:

Would you agree?

268

:

I'm sending him, who is

my hearts back to you.

269

:

I would've liked to keep him with me so

that he could take your place in helping

270

:

me while I'm in chains for the gospel.

271

:

But I did not wanna do anything

without your consent so that any

272

:

favor you would do would not seem

forced, but would be voluntary.

273

:

Perhaps the reason he was separated

from you for a little while was that

274

:

you might have him back forever.

275

:

No longer as a slave,

but better than a slave.

276

:

As a dear brother, he is very dear

to me, but even dear to you both as a

277

:

fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.

278

:

So if you consider me a partner,

welcome him as you would welcome me.

279

:

If he had done any wrong or owes

you anything, charge it to me.

280

:

I Paul, in writing this with my

own hand, I will pay it back.

281

:

Not to mention that you

owe me your very self.

282

:

Yeah, that's what Travis

was talking about.

283

:

I do wish, brother, that I may have

some benefit from you in the Lord.

284

:

Refresh my heart in Christ.

285

:

Confident of your obedience.

286

:

I write to you knowing that

you'll do even more than I ask.

287

:

And one thing more, prepare a guest room

for him because I hope to be restored

288

:

to you and answer to your prayers.

289

:

So, so Philemon has been praying for

Paul, a path Forus, my fellow prisoner

290

:

in Christ Jesus sends you greetings.

291

:

As so do Mark R Star, Deus and

Luke, my fellow workers, the

292

:

grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

293

:

Be with your spirits.

294

:

So we have this letter.

295

:

Paul writes to his pal, his friend,

one of his, one of his good old road

296

:

dogs if Yian, and he says, Hey, I'm

sending back your former slave to you.

297

:

He's a chance for man now.

298

:

And I'm sending him back that he won't be

your slave, but he will be your brother.

299

:

Continue.

300

:

Pray for me that I'll

get outta this situation.

301

:

I'll see you soon.

302

:

Oh, and everybody else sends

their greetings as well.

303

:

And so here's the question, and I want

you to go ahead and write this down

304

:

here, and I want you to take a minute

or two with the people around you.

305

:

What principle, principles or lessons

stand out to you in this letter?

306

:

What stood out to you?

307

:

What principles, what

lessons stand out to you?

308

:

Go ahead and write it on down and then I

want you to go ahead and, uh, give you a

309

:

couple minutes to share with each other.

310

:

What are the things that you

wrote down that stood out to

311

:

you from the letter to Philemon?

312

:

You guys with me here?

313

:

Alright, and those are online.

314

:

Go ahead.

315

:

You can type it in the chat

right there and you can get

316

:

some, discussion going that way.

317

:

All right.

318

:

If you didn't finish, that's okay.

319

:

Afterwards, you can go ahead and share.

320

:

Let's get a couple people,

let's get a couple people.

321

:

What was it, something maybe you

heard or, or stood out to you?

322

:

Uh, from this letter to

Philemon, here we go.

323

:

Let's get a couple people to share.

324

:

Okay.

325

:

And so when Paul says, Hey, I could

command you, but I appeal to you on

326

:

the basis of love, is there a persona?

327

:

Do we have an environment, an aura?

328

:

And do we express our love to

those that we connect with?

329

:

Okay, cool.

330

:

Awesome.

331

:

All right, there you go.

332

:

Yes, over here.

333

:

Okay, so he said, he mentioned redemption,

forgiveness, and, and even a, a, a,

334

:

a glimpse of Jesus and, and, and,

and how this can, can, can lead us to

335

:

how Jesus does this for us as well.

336

:

Okay.

337

:

All right, Nick.

338

:

And so there's a lot of

faith that you see in there.

339

:

Uh, Paul had to have faith in Christ

that, uh, that that, that Philemon

340

:

will hear this correctly and that he

can actually be persuaded or changed

341

:

in his thinking there as opposed to

how we can think people can't change.

342

:

So there's a lot of

good stuff right there.

343

:

Right.

344

:

I'm sure you maybe shared something

that was slightly different or.

345

:

Whoa.

346

:

I didn't think about that.

347

:

But I see that now.

348

:

Again, as we read our Bibles, we read

it, we understand what we're reading,

349

:

and then we go, oh, what are some of

the principles that God's word has?

350

:

And this is how we should read our

Bibles in our devotional times.

351

:

What is it here?

352

:

Because if we just read it, you said,

I don't know, it's just a letter.

353

:

But know when we take a step back away.

354

:

No, there's some principles

here that apply to mankind.

355

:

Now, let's continue here, here.

356

:

Here's something that stood out to me.

357

:

I wanted to share, uh, the

things that stood out to me.

358

:

Can I do that?

359

:

It really doesn't matter what you said

because I was still gonna do it anyway.

360

:

You know what I'm saying?

361

:

So, unless Seth cut the mic off on me.

362

:

But even then I'd be

like, I'm gonna say it.

363

:

You know what I'm saying?

364

:

So, but here's something that

stood out to me is this is the

365

:

kingdom of God versus the world.

366

:

There's a stark contrast.

367

:

To how the citizens in the kingdom

of God are as opposed to the world

368

:

and how it thinks and behaves.

369

:

Now the kingdom of God,

what does that mean?

370

:

That that's where God rules.

371

:

And so yes, that includes the

church, but it's where God reigns.

372

:

And so as a citizen in the kingdom

of God, there's a stark contrast

373

:

when you compare it to how the world

thinks and how the world believes.

374

:

There's a difference in relationships

and reconciliation, forgiveness,

375

:

and also just how we live.

376

:

And so I wanna talk about

these real quickly here.

377

:

Number one, we see relationships.

378

:

We see love, we see mutual respect.

379

:

We see Paul's depth of love

for his brothers in Christ.

380

:

On myth man, that's like my son.

381

:

Hey Philemon, may you,

man, we've been together.

382

:

I pray for you all the time.

383

:

You see a depth of love.

384

:

That's communicated in the passage

there and, and there's, there's not

385

:

this, Hey, you're just my Christian

friend or somebody I went to church

386

:

with, but you are my brother in Christ.

387

:

And so Paul loves them so much.

388

:

He's like, I love you and I love him,

but I need this to be reconciled.

389

:

I can't have my buddies like this.

390

:

The kingdom of God isn't like that.

391

:

There's not divisions in sides.

392

:

Yes.

393

:

And so I want you guys to be together.

394

:

You see the love, you see the

respect, Hey, I could, I do

395

:

have a spiritual authority.

396

:

I do have that, but I

don't wanna use that.

397

:

What I wanna do is I wanna

pee on the basis of love.

398

:

Your love for all the saints

that you already displayed, your

399

:

relationships you already have,

the relationship you have with me.

400

:

I wanna appeal to that.

401

:

There's no manipulation.

402

:

He even offers to pay for an SMUs.

403

:

Hey, whatever he owes

you, I'll pay for you.

404

:

And I'm in prison.

405

:

How much money this man got?

406

:

He's like, I'll pay for it.

407

:

And some believe that the way, because it

says he is written off and he owes money.

408

:

Some believe that on this mess might

have actually stole from Philemon.

409

:

So just imagine that.

410

:

Hey, look, I'll pay you back

whatever he stole from you.

411

:

And you see this love in a truthful

speech again, Hey, remember how

412

:

you do owe me your life Now?

413

:

Maybe he saved his life literally.

414

:

Maybe it's just he helped him find

salvation, or maybe it's an inside

415

:

thing that we don't know about.

416

:

Maybe that's what they

used to always joke about.

417

:

Like, Hey man, you, I owe you my life.

418

:

Hey, remember you used to say

that you owe me your life?

419

:

And so there's truth.

420

:

And sharing her past, which is a

stark contrast to way the world is the

421

:

way you and I used to be or the way

we can be naturally, which includes

422

:

lies in our relationship, looking

at relationships for selfish gain or

423

:

hierarchy in relationships when we're

in the world, but the kingdom of God.

424

:

We relate to each other not as friend,

but as brother and sister in Christ.

425

:

We also see in this

area of reconciliation.

426

:

Again, it's possible that

he, he, he robbed him.

427

:

We don't know.

428

:

Or, but, or he didn't pay off his

debts to Philemon maybe, maybe on this

429

:

Miss Ode, and he didn't pay it off.

430

:

He didn't work enough and he

left whatever the case is.

431

:

But we see, hey, Paul is thinking here.

432

:

We gotta have this be reconciled.

433

:

He can stay with me and we

don't have to have a problem.

434

:

He's not probably gonna see me in Rome,

but he is like, no, this isn't right.

435

:

We need to make sure

that this is reconciled.

436

:

Not just forgiven, but reconciled where

we can have peace and that we can have

437

:

a mutual affection for one another.

438

:

That's what the desire is.

439

:

That's what not only the ask is, but

there's an expectation that Philemon,

440

:

what Philemon would, would be merciful

forgive and will go even beyond that.

441

:

Did you catch that?

442

:

I know you'll do even more than I ask.

443

:

I'm asking you to take him back, but I

know who you are and the way we are in the

444

:

kingdom of God, you'll do even more than

that because that's who you are, Philemon.

445

:

And so we see this reconciliation to

make sure it's right, but onesimus,

446

:

him being humble enough and going,

I need to go and make this right.

447

:

So yes, there's a call for Philemon,

but what about that call for animus?

448

:

Hey, you can go back and you can

literally be killed for this move.

449

:

And it's more than likely that

he's the one that actually gave the

450

:

letter to the church in Colossae.

451

:

'cause this is where they

probably were in Colossae.

452

:

So they believe that Colossians

was written and then either right

453

:

with it, or maybe right afterwards

was this letter from Philemon.

454

:

And so it's possible, or maybe

even probable that Onesimus is

455

:

right there handing it to Philemon.

456

:

Awkward.

457

:

You know, just imagine when Philemon

sees it, like, hold up, is it?

458

:

Is that on missus right there?

459

:

Maybe he heard like, oh, you've been

a Christian, but man, we gotta talk.

460

:

Or maybe he didn't even know.

461

:

He's like, man, this dude has the audacity

to run up upon my church, into my home.

462

:

And then, you know, if I, I mean

on this one, like, uh, read this

463

:

letter first and then let's talk.

464

:

You can just imagine how that was.

465

:

But this Ms knows, you know what, in the

kingdom of God, we do things differently.

466

:

We're gonna be reconciled.

467

:

I'm gonna do what's right.

468

:

Yes, I've done it wrong,

but I'm gonna make it right.

469

:

You see, reconciliation

happens in the kingdom.

470

:

That's not what happens in the world

in any era or any part of the world.

471

:

That's not normal, that's not natural.

472

:

But in the kingdom of

God, it's the expectation.

473

:

You know, the world demands

punishment, retaliation, or

474

:

distance, and that's my challenge.

475

:

I can forgive you, but

I'm like, I'm cool on you.

476

:

From now on.

477

:

I forgive you, but man, I

just don't wanna see you.

478

:

I just don't want to talk to you.

479

:

Really like that.

480

:

That's my challenge.

481

:

That's my sin that I have to battle,

and that's how we are in the world.

482

:

The world says, you owe me, but the

kingdom, God says, I forgive you.

483

:

There's a difference.

484

:

The kingdom God leads to forgiveness,

restoration, healing, and unity.

485

:

We also see the effects of grace.

486

:

We see the effects of grace.

487

:

You know, all have received grace.

488

:

In this all have been transformed by

grace and all respond to God's grace.

489

:

Paul has been transformed.

490

:

He received God's grace in his

life, and now what's he doing?

491

:

He's trying to help Philemon and

Onesimus find even more grace.

492

:

Hey, Onesimus, I, I, I, I, I

want you to find more grace from

493

:

your brother, Philemon Philemon.

494

:

I want you to extend Grace to your

brother in Christ right there.

495

:

I.

496

:

Onesimus, he's been transformed by grace.

497

:

He's no longer useless, but he's useful

for God and God's people and because

498

:

of the grace that he's received, Hey,

you need to go and make things right.

499

:

I'm gonna go and make things right.

500

:

Philemon's been transformed by grace.

501

:

He's saved, and now he's a

servant to God's people and the

502

:

grace is now expected of him.

503

:

And for him to extend it

to his brother in Christ.

504

:

And you know, Philemon, what do you think?

505

:

You think he did it?

506

:

Of course he did it.

507

:

We wouldn't have this letter if he didn't.

508

:

We hear a whole different story

about this dude, Philemon.

509

:

Remember that dude, Philemon,

he'd be one of the bad Examplers.

510

:

Don't be like Phil Lehman.

511

:

He'd be all over there.

512

:

But they wouldn't have had it.

513

:

And so again, what happened with

the letters is that they would

514

:

receive 'em, they would share 'em,

and then they started copying them

515

:

so they could be distributed to all

the brothers and sisters in Christ.

516

:

And so, yes, Philemon did it.

517

:

Why did he do it?

518

:

Because of the grace he received.

519

:

Now, if he didn't,

520

:

if he didn't, and he stopped

being a true Christian.

521

:

Yeah, he stopped being a citizen

in the kingdom of God, and he has

522

:

reentered the empire of the world

because he's holding on to bitterness.

523

:

He's holding onto what feels natural

and what comes when we act as if

524

:

Jesus is not king of our lives.

525

:

But see, love reconciliation.

526

:

They aren't theories or suggestions.

527

:

But they're the reality in the kingdom

of God, and they live differently because

528

:

of this grace that they experience.

529

:

They live abnormal to what the Roman and

Jewish society would think at that time.

530

:

If somebody were to read that letter

back then they say, are you crazy?

531

:

Why would you do such a thing?

532

:

Because I'm a child of God,

because I submit to the

533

:

lordship of Jesus in my life.

534

:

That's right.

535

:

I mean, imagine this.

536

:

They had slaves and slave owners in

the house worshiping God together.

537

:

They were having fellowship

and there was no hierarchy.

538

:

There was mutual love and respect,

539

:

and you see this grace through

Jesus generated a new way of living.

540

:

The way they thought

about life was different.

541

:

The way they lived their

lives were different.

542

:

It was now under the lordship of Jesus.

543

:

And so insist used to be useless.

544

:

Now he's useful, he's helping

Paul, he's helping churches.

545

:

He's helping others.

546

:

It says that he delivered the

church, uh, the letter to the

547

:

church, uh, the Colossians church.

548

:

So now he's a benefit.

549

:

And with him, we have the benefit

of reading the book of Colossians.

550

:

We see Paul, he tried to stop the

spread of the gospel to now becoming a

551

:

Christian and then dying for his faith,

and also writing 13 letters of the New

552

:

Testament, which you and I get to enjoy,

appreciate, and grow from, transformed

553

:

by Grace Philemon using his wealth in

service and in love to God's people.

554

:

Let's use our house.

555

:

And he has a reputation for serving.

556

:

You know, disciples live differently

and handle situations differently

557

:

than what, what's normal in society.

558

:

That's what we do.

559

:

In the kingdom of God, this is normal, but

to everybody else, that's odd and strange.

560

:

That's not what we do.

561

:

That's what we do because

we serve the king most high.

562

:

Amen.

563

:

So here's the question.

564

:

How does God want you to apply

the principles of this letter?

565

:

Again, when we get into the word,

we figure out what are we reading?

566

:

Hey, what is the message?

567

:

Well, how does that apply

to me and my life today?

568

:

What do I take away from this and how

do I insert into my life going forward?

569

:

And so does your life

reflect these principles?

570

:

Does your life reflect the principles

that stood out to you as you

571

:

were sharing with one another?

572

:

Maybe it's relationships.

573

:

Do you have them?

574

:

Are they of depth?

575

:

Are they spiritual?

576

:

Are they binding in a, in a

never an ending conviction that

577

:

we will ride or die together?

578

:

Are they loving or are they withholding?

579

:

Are your relationships

are where you are serving?

580

:

Are you waiting to be served?

581

:

Do you have a God-given respect?

582

:

Or judgmental hearts

in your relationships.

583

:

Reconciliation, are you holding a grudge?

584

:

You know, you need to forgive, but the

natural thing is to hold on to that

585

:

bitterness or is there a situation

where you need to make things right?

586

:

You know what you did and, but you

haven't gone and made things right.

587

:

Maybe it's yet your job, maybe

it's your roommate, a sibling, a

588

:

parent, a child, or your spouse.

589

:

Does it reflect the kingdom of

God or does it reflect the world?

590

:

What about the ways in which we're living?

591

:

Are you living different than you did

before you knew Jesus or the same?

592

:

I appreciate Carla sharing.

593

:

Hey, our marriage was, was a train wreck.

594

:

We weren't even sure

if it was gonna happen.

595

:

Continue.

596

:

What do we do with the child?

597

:

And now she stands before you and

her son is in the second row and

598

:

she's talking about, it's transforms.

599

:

The family now sees this after many

years, Hey, can we get some advice?

600

:

So there's a clear difference

from before and after Christ.

601

:

And so let me ask you, is there

a difference right now before

602

:

you knew Jesus and today?

603

:

Is there a difference?

604

:

You know, Jesus didn't die and raise

so that we would live the same way and

605

:

have the same worldview as the world.

606

:

That wouldn't make any sense.

607

:

He didn't do that.

608

:

And it all comes down to this question.

609

:

Are we gonna be citizens in the

kingdom of God or are we gonna

610

:

be natural citizens in the world?

611

:

Because it comes down to that.

612

:

You know, disciples of Jesus live

like God is the king of our world.

613

:

Not our feelings, not our opinions,

not a Reddit article, and, and for

614

:

sure not some TikTok influencer.

615

:

We think, and we live differently.

616

:

We deny ourselves of sin because of

the forgiveness we have received.

617

:

We sacrifice convenience for the

sake of love that we have received.

618

:

We extend grace to those

who are undeserving because

619

:

Jesus extended grace to us.

620

:

We pour out ourselves to the

church, to those who are lost

621

:

and to those who are needy.

622

:

Why?

623

:

Because God cares for all of those,

and anything less is not Christian.

624

:

It's who we are and it's what we do.

625

:

Because We are citizens

in the kingdom of God.

626

:

Some here you've never made that

decision or you've never lived the life.

627

:

I'm gonna be honest with you.

628

:

I had to learn this myself 24 years ago.

629

:

You're not a real Christian.

630

:

If you never made a decision

where Jesus was gonna be Lord,

631

:

you were gonna think differently.

632

:

You were gonna behave differently.

633

:

You're not a Christian.

634

:

I don't say this to shame, I say

this to be honest, because God is

635

:

calling you to become a Christian.

636

:

God is calling you in grace to make that

decision so that you can live as a child

637

:

and as a citizen in the kingdom of God.

638

:

Some of here, you're no longer living

this out, you once were, and maybe you

639

:

completely abandoned it or, or you're

just realizing, you know, my life doesn't

640

:

really reflect the kingdom of God.

641

:

It reflects the world.

642

:

But you're on dangerous ground

of losing your connection to God.

643

:

The call for you today is to repent today,

not tomorrow, not Tuesday, not Thursday.

644

:

This very hour.

645

:

And get the help that you need.

646

:

We all help each other out.

647

:

Some of us, hey, we've been faithful

to God, and, and, and, and we know it.

648

:

We can say with conviction and

we can stand confidently and God

649

:

would testify to and say yes.

650

:

And I wanna encourage you,

stay faithful and keep going.

651

:

Don't say, well, let me just slow down a

little bit, or let me pat myself on the

652

:

back note, you are responding to God's

grace in your life, so keep moving forward

653

:

and then help others to connect with God's

grace that's offered to them as well.

654

:

I wanna get real practical.

655

:

Church, are you still with me here?

656

:

I like to have action steps for the week

here, so let's just do it this week here.

657

:

All right, ask yourself and

answer this question this week.

658

:

And please make sure you do this.

659

:

What principle from Philemon

applies to my life this week?

660

:

So maybe again, it was

something you shared.

661

:

Maybe it was relationships,

reconciliation, the effects of

662

:

grace, whatever the case may be.

663

:

Ask yourself that question.

664

:

What principle from Philemon

applies to my life this week?

665

:

And then do this, answer this question.

666

:

What specific action will I take to

live out that principle this week?

667

:

'cause again.

668

:

When you read God's Word,

alright, let me understand.

669

:

What am I reading?

670

:

Okay, here's the message that we

see that, that, that, that God

671

:

has here as it applies to my life.

672

:

Now here's what I'm gonna go do with that,

673

:

and that's how we take in God's word.

674

:

And so why do these things?

675

:

Well?

676

:

Because it'll align you with God's

will for your life this week.

677

:

I heard this phrase many years ago, and

I say it and I'm a full believer in this

678

:

phrase, being at the center of God's

will is the safest place you can be.

679

:

Being right at the center of God's

will, it's the best place you can be.

680

:

The blessings that come, the fruit of it,

and, and the fruit that you're able to, or

681

:

the blessing you're able to be to others.

682

:

Also, God wants you to apply his

word to your life, and this is where

683

:

the transformation takes place.

684

:

Not from just reading, not from just

studying, not for just agreeing and

685

:

liking it, but you actually living

it out will transform your life.

686

:

And so if we do this this week, God

will take steps in the transformation

687

:

this week in our lives Forgotten letter.

688

:

It's for us today.

689

:

And in God's love and in God's grace,

he has a message for your soul.

690

:

This hour.

691

:

May you receive it and may you apply it.

692

:

Philemon Philemon, there's at

least one theme that we know of.

693

:

Do you see the Kingdom

of God versus the world?

694

:

We see it in relationships,

reconciliation, and the effects of grace.

695

:

We close out with this desire

and this prayer as well.

696

:

I pray that your partnership with

us in the faith may be effective

697

:

in deepening your understanding

of every good thing we share.

698

:

For the sake of Christ.

699

:

The grace of the Lord Jesus

Christ be with your spirit.

700

:

Amen.

Next Episode All Episodes Previous Episode

About the Podcast

Show artwork for OC Church of Christ Sermons
OC Church of Christ Sermons
Hear the latest sermon from the OC Church of Christ

Listen for free