All right, we're here in the book of Philemon, we're in the book of Philemon, and so we just
finished our memorization of the book of Philemon, and you know, or maybe you're still
going to do that later today, I'm not sure, but we're going to go through the book
of Philemon, the entire chapter, and we're going to cover four different points,
and we're going to kind of hit some highlights along the way, and this is a
book that was written by Paul, and notice what it says here in verse number one.
Titus chapter one, or not Titus, Philemon chapter one verse one, it says, Paul a prisoner
of Jesus Christ in Timothy our brother, on to Philemon our dearly beloved in
fellow labor. And so what you notice here right off the bat is that Paul at
this time is literally a prisoner, okay? This was written when he was in prison,
you know, they talk about the prison epistles of Paul, and he is in prison
when he's writing this book. In fact, many of the books in the Bible were
written while he was in jail. Now I'm sure at the time he didn't like
being persecuted for the cause of Christ, but we get to benefit from all of his
wisdom that he's written down here, and he is a prisoner when he's writing this
book, and what he's doing is writing to this man Philemon on behalf of
someone he won to the Lord named Onesimus, who used to be a servant of
Philemon, and we're going to look at that later on here in the chapter, but
I want you to see here at the end of verse number one what it says. It
says in fellow laborer, fellow laborer, go to verse number 24, verse number 24,
and it says in verse number 24, Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellow laborers.
See, what you see throughout the entire Bible is Paul's closest friends are
laborers. They do the work. They do the soul winning. That's what it's
referring to. The people that Paul the Apostle was close to are those that
went soul winning that loved the Lord. Fellow laborers. Now labor is what's
known as hard work. Not just work, but very hard work, okay? Why? Because soul
winning is very hard work. When you go soul winning for hours, you're
exhausted. It's very tiring. It takes a lot of effort, and the numbers in our
bulletin didn't just happen because we were on some TV show, and then like
10,000 people got to say no. It happened through hours and hundreds of
hours and thousands of hours of work. A lot of work. Why? Soul winning requires a
lot of work, but before we get into that, I want to highlight where it says
here in verse number 24. It mentions Demas. It mentions Demas, and Demas is
more famous for another verse in the Bible. Turn to 2 Timothy chapter 4.
2 Timothy chapter 4.
Now in the book of Philemon, it refers to Demas as a fellow laborer of Paul
the Apostle. This is a man who was a soul winner, and you got to think about
that Paul the Apostle probably knew a lot of soul winners, and when he's
highlighting specific people, this was probably one of the best. Demas was
probably one of the great soul winners that's ever existed, but I want
you to notice what it says in 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 10. It says,
For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has
departed unto Thessalonica, Cretans to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. Only Luke
is with me. Take Mark and bring him with thee, for he is profitable to me for
the ministry. Now in verse number 10, what he says about Demas is, Demas
forsook him, and the reason why is because of worldliness. He loved the
present world. Now I don't want you to get confused from verse 10, because
even though Cretans departs from Paul, it doesn't say that Cretans loved the
present world. It doesn't say that Cretans was backsliding. He just went to
serve God in another location. It doesn't say he backslid. It doesn't say that
Titus backslid. Titus just went to serve God in another location. So those
two people left Paul, and only Luke is with Paul, but it doesn't just say
that Demas left Paul. It says he backslid. It says he loved the present
world. That's the reason why he departed. Now we don't know how much he
backslid. We don't know if that just means that he was just kind of a from
time to time soul winner. He completely got out of church, but we know
he backslid on Paul the Apostle and left. That's the reason why he left. Now
if you notice, 2 Timothy is written before Philemon in your Bible. When
you're going through the orders, right? You went backwards to the book of 2
Timothy and Philemon's later. So I've heard people ask the question, did
Demas forsake Paul and then come back to the ministry in the book of
Philemon? Which of these happened later on in time, chronologically? Well you
have to understand the New Testament is not written chronologically. The last
thing Demas ever did that we know about is he forsook Paul and backslid.
Philemon was written before 2 Timothy chapter 4. You say, how do you know that?
You compare spiritual things with spiritual. What does it say in 2 Timothy
chapter 4 verse 6? 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 6, for I am now ready to be
offered and the time of my departure is at hand. At hand means it's about to
take place. It could happen at any moment. Just like, you know, in 2 Thessalonians
it talks about, don't think that the return of Jesus Christ is at hand. Why?
Because it can't happen at any moment. Why? Things must take place first. And
he's saying the time of my departure. I'm gonna physically die soon is what
he's saying. It's at hand. It could happen at any moment. I have fought a
good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. And what Paul is
saying is I could depart or pass away at any moment. What does that tell you?
That means that was the last book Paul ever wrote. That's towards the end
of his life. God's trying to tell you that because this is the last
chapter. 2 Timothy chapter 4. He's saying the time of my departure is at
hand. I fought a good fight. What does that mean about Demas? That means that
Demas forsook Paul and that was the last thing he ever did. Philemon, in the
book of Philemon, he's a fellow laborer. And then somewhere along that time
period before 2 Timothy chapter 4, Demas forsook Paul because he loved
the present world. Now I could be wrong, but I personally believe that if
Demas got right with God again it would have mentioned that. And it
doesn't because the book of Philemon is before 2 Timothy and you can tell
that due to the wording of 2 Timothy chapter 4. Now look, I believe Demas was
probably one of the great soul winners in the world at the time because he gets
a special mention from Paul the Apostle. You say, Brother Stuckey, what
does that mean to me in this room? It means any one of us could quit soul
winning one day. Any one of us in this room. Look, I don't think that I'm
as zealous as Demas was in the Bible. I think Demas was probably a better
soul winner and more zealous than me. And yet he forsook Paul and the
reason why is he loved the present world. Now that is what the scripture is
telling you and that is true. But if we heard Demas' side of the story,
he'd probably have an excuse. He'd probably say, well, I didn't get worldly. I
didn't forsake Paul. This thing came up in my life and I kind of
had to quit church, blah blah blah. I'm sure he had an excuse that he would
say, but what the narrator is telling you is this is actually what took place
that he did backslide. He forsook Paul and wouldn't it be sad if the last
thing that was ever written about you was that you basically quit soul winning
and quit living for God? You say, Brother Stuckey, you know I'm a soul
winner in this room. I'm never going to quit. Well, the reality is that most
of us have a long time ahead of ourselves in life. Look, I started going
soul winning probably around 15 years ago. I got saved at 18, started
soul winning at the age of 19. I'm in my mid 30s, by no means am I
extremely old. And if you remember in the Bible, the Bible talks about a
tree bringing forth its fruit in its season. And so basically every year
you go to that tree and you have your apples, your avocados, or
whatever the fruit is. So basically year after year after year after year,
that tree is bringing forth fruit. Now look, 15 years of soul winning is a long
time, but quite honestly, if you have a fruit tree and it stops producing fruit
after 15 years, you'll be disappointed. You want it to produce fruit every
single year. And see, most soul winners will go soul winning for a couple years
and they kind of fade out. That's a pretty unsuccessful fruit tree to be
honest. You say, Brother Stuckey, I get more people saved than just about
anybody here. I go soul winning and very few churches do. We're not comparing
ourselves to other people. You're unwise, the Bible says, if you compare yourself
to other people, because quite honestly the standard is pretty low that
people are setting out there. Most same people are setting a pretty low
standard. And if you compare yourself to those people, I'm sure you are higher
than them. That doesn't mean anything. The reality is God expects you to be a
soul winner every single year until the day you die, especially as you're a
young person. When you're young, you have the energy to go and do a lot of
soul winning. As you start to get older, it will become more difficult.
It won't be as easy. Don't waste your time now. We don't know how old
Demas is, but we know he did forsake Paul, and that's the last thing we
ever find out about. And so if someone like Demas could forsake Paul, any one
of us could. Now when it comes to living for God, you pretty much have to
do well at everything in order to really be a zealous person living for
God. There are so many different ways you can slip up along the way. You only
need to slip up in one area. For Demas, it's worldliness. But for other
people, it's persecution. For other people, it's some besetting sin. I mean,
there's so many different things that can cause you to backslide on God, but
you have to ask yourself this question of what do you want the last
words written about your life to be? That basically you just kind of quit on
God. Yeah, you know, 20 years ago, brother so-and-so was a great soul
winner. I don't want that to be said of me. I want it to be said of me
that I'm a soul winner until the day I die. And if Demas could backslide, and
that's the last thing he ever did, you know what? That could happen to any
single one of us. Now turn to 1st Corinthians, chapter 3. 1st Corinthians 3.
Now I do think it's significant that the Bible tells us the reason why he
departed from Paul was he loved the present world. That would be basically
what we mean as worldliness, okay? And what the Bible is trying to share with
you is a big thing that could cause you to quit on God could be worldliness.
Quite honestly, none of us have all of our ducks in a row. We all have at
least some worldliness that we're trying to get rid of. All of us are
working, trying to become better. You have to realize that if you don't work
on that, that could destroy your life. It could get worse and worse, and
before you know it, you never have time for soul winning, you never have
time for Bible reading, you never have any time for living for God, but you
do have time for the movies and the music and the entertainment that's out
there. Notice what it says in 1st Corinthians 3, verse 8. Going back to
what he was talking about, about being a laborer, notice what it says
in verse 8. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one, and
every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. So
you're rewarded based on your own labor, not the labor of other people.
You say, Brother Stuckey, I'm at a church that gets a lot of people
saved, but if you're not part of that soul winning ministry, you don't get
rewarded for what other people do. You say, but I'm part of a church that goes so
many so much, but if you want rewards, you're rewarded for your own labor.
You're not rewarded for someone else's labor, you're rewarded for your own
labor. Notice what it says in verse 9. For we are laborers together with
God, year of God's husbandry, year of God's building. So we see here in 1st
Corinthians 3, we get rewards up in heaven based on the work we do, based on
the labor we do, and that's always what Paul is highlighting, because what
his life was about was soul winning, getting churches started, that's what his
life was about. Now I want you to realize we're rewarded based on the
labor we do. Here's the thing, we live in a country that is very receptive to
the gospel, okay? If you were going soul winning in the United States of
America in Sacramento, California, you would not get as many people saved with
the same amount of soul winning time. See, if somebody goes soul winning for five
hours in Sacramento, there's a possibility they're not winning
anybody to the Lord. You go soul winning five hours out here, you're
probably going to win several people to the Lord, but you get the same amount
of rewards. You say, why? It's the same amount of labor, that's what the
Bible is saying. Look, we live in a very receptive country, but don't think that
we automatically get more rewards than everybody in any other country.
You're rewarded based on the work that you personally do, and if
somebody who's a bona fide soul winner lives in an unreceptive area and
they go soul winning four hours every week of the year, 208 hours soul
winning, and they only win 12 people to the Lord, they will get more rewards
than someone who goes for 50 hours and gets 50 saved. Why? You're rewarded
for the work that you do. That's what the Bible is saying, the labor that you do.
Now, don't misunderstand me. If you don't put in the time and effort to learn how
to go soul winning and you're just spinning your wheels out there, I don't
really think God's going to reward you if you don't even know what you're
doing. You have to actually learn how to go soul winning, because that takes some time as
well, but if you actually know how to go soul winning, you're a bona fide soul
winner, and you're just in an unreceptive country, if you're putting in more
work, you'll get more rewards, even though you don't get as many people
saved. Now, turn in your Bible to 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians,
2 Corinthians, Chapter 5, 2 Corinthians, Chapter 5.
And in 2 Corinthians, Chapter 5, 2 Corinthians, Chapter 5, the Bible
reads in verse number 9, Wherefore we labor that whether present or absent,
we may be accepted of him. And so if we want to be accepted of God, the
Bible says we're going to labor. Present or absent, this is what we do. We labor, we
work, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone
may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done,
whether it be good or bad. Now in verse 10, when it talks about the
things done good or bad, this is not saying good or sinful, okay? He's
writing to a church of believers, saved people. He's not writing to a Catholic
church, okay? He's writing to save people, okay? And he's saying that you're
going to appear before the judgment seat of Christ, and whether you've done good or
bad, that's what you're going to get rewarded based on. And if you link this
with 1 Corinthians 3, it talks about gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay,
stubble. You throw wood into a fire, it burns up. You throw hay into a fire,
it burns up. Gold, silver, precious stones will last through the fire. So when it
says good or bad, it's talking about you do something that has eternal value
versus things that have no eternal value. So basically if you spend your whole
life just trying to get in the best shape you possibly can, you will not get
rewards for that. It's not sinful, but there's no rewards for that. There's
many things we do in life that are not sinful, but it doesn't mean you get
rewarded for those things. And so when he's saying good or bad, he is not
saying, you know, good or sinful because there's a weird teaching out
there that when you end up going to heaven one day, you'll stand before the
judgment and every sin you ever committed as a believer, God's going to pull
that out. And if you were six years old and you stole that cookie from the
cookie jar, it's like, I'm gonna bring that to light. You're gonna be so
embarrassed. And preachers preach that way, but the Bible speaks about a great
white throne judgment for unbelievers, and the judgment seat of Christ where
basically you can get rewarded, but you can't be shown any sins because
when you're saved, your soul is perfect. God won't see any sins. He will
reward you based on good things you've done, but he will not basically bring up
all your sins because your soul is perfect. Your punishment happens here on
earth, okay. You'll lose rewards in heaven, and then you'll be punished on
earth, but he's not gonna bring your sins before you. You are 19 years old
and you told this lie. How dare you? Do you feel bad about this? That's
ridiculous. That's not what the Bible says, and you need to compare spiritual
things with spiritual. And the judgment seat of Christ, this is for
believers because it's written to believers. So good or bad does not mean
good or sinful. It's just talking about some things you do have eternal
value, and some things you do have no eternal value. Now don't misunderstand
me though. Many things in life, in fact most things in life we do have no
eternal value, but there's a lot of things we have to do, okay. You don't get
rewards in heaven for sleeping, but you have to sleep for your survival, okay.
You don't get rewarded in heaven for eating breakfast, okay, but you need to
eat breakfast to survive. It's not a sin to eat breakfast. Most things in life
are not sinful, but I want you to realize is you don't want to fill your
life full of things with no eternal value because you will not get rewards
in heaven if you're not doing the labor, you're not doing the work. Now
turn to 1 Timothy 3, 1 Timothy 3.
First Timothy chapter 3, and let's look at verse number one where the
Bible says, this is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he
desireth a good work. When it says the office of a bishop, a bishop, a pastor,
an elder, these terms are basically interchangeable, but they represent
different roles of that position, and it says that you desire a good work, okay.
What is it saying? That when you're someone who's running a church, it's a lot
of work that's involved if you're doing a good job. You desire a good work.
Now the Bible speaks about your first works being soul winning, okay. Now
there's a lot of great works that we can do and a lot of things we need to
do, and you're preaching sermons, you got to spend time on that. You can never
forsake the soul winning though, because when Paul the Apostle is highlighting
laborers, he's highlighting people that are going soul winning. But there's a
lot of churches where pastors will say, hey you need to be out there
bringing people to church. God bless you, but I'm never gonna be out there.
Now they don't say that, but that's the reality. They're never there for any of
the soul winning times. Now look, I understand you're preaching sermons, that
takes time to work on those things. There's a lot of work to do, but if
you're never out soul winning, there's a problem there. If you guys
never saw me going soul winning, if I never win on Sundays, if I never win on
Wednesdays, if I never win on Saturdays, there would be a problem if you never
saw me out soul winning. But all of you have seen me out soul winning, because I do go
soul winning, because that's the first works. And look, if I did forsake soul
winning to be a pastor, I would forsake being a pastor. Say why? Because I like
soul winning. Because that's the first works, that's the most exciting thing you
can possibly do, and anyone can be involved in that. And look, there's a
lot of churches where the pastors do no soul winning, it shouldn't be a
surprise that the members don't go soul winning. Because they're gonna follow
the person who's leading, and if the leader is doing no soul winning and not
doing the work, they're not gonna do the work either. Now turn back to Philemon.
Now obviously this is gonna depend on how big your church is, how many hours
you work, and things such as that. If somebody runs a church that has 500
members, you know, honestly, they're probably not gonna go soul winning as much as
someone who runs a church of five members. Because a small church, you're
really trying to bring up the attendance, you're trying to get people saved and
bring them to church. And as the church gets bigger, there's gonna be other
responsibilities and things such as that. But if there's no soul winning
involved, there's a big problem there, okay? Notice what it says in Philemon 1
verse 2. Philemon 1 verse 2. And to our beloved Apphia and our Kippus, our fellow
soldier, and to the church in thy house. Now notice how it says, the church in
thy house. And this is something that you're gonna see pop up in the Bible
a lot. And a lot of churches, they start in houses, okay? Now this is kind of
appropriate timing because next week we're starting a church, and it will
start in a house, okay? You say, what are the benefits of starting in a house?
Well look, if your church is small and you can fit in the house, it will save
you a lot of money if you don't buy a building. And look, a lot of churches,
they say, we're gonna start this ministry, we're praying God will bless us
with a building. And it's like, you got three members. You have three
members and you're looking for a big expensive building? And so I'm just
gonna pray and trust in God. Look, I remember one summer I was out in
Utah because after I got saved, I had a good friend who was Mormon, so I
wanted to learn about Mormonism. And I stayed at a Baptist pastor's house out in,
right near Salt Lake City, Utah. I think it was West Jordan, Utah. It's like 15
minutes from Salt Lake City, Utah. It's like right in the heart of
Mormonism in America, like the big Mormon capital of the world. And I
remember they were building a building. He was part of a denomination, so they
have all these funds coming in, but his church had like 10 members. And this
building was like, you know, like the building right over there. I mean it was
massive, but it's just like lots of money being spent on this thing, and
there's very few members. And it's just like, you know, hey, you know, if we can
just get like one rich person to come to this church, literally that's what
they said, one rich person or a few people with a lot of money to come to
this church, and we can get them to tithe, we'll be able to pay for this
building. And I remember I was staying out there, and basically I was staying
for free, and he paid for my food. And I basically, I went soul winning like
all day and helped on the construction of the building. And I
remember, you know, he'd ask how it went and everything like that, and I
would tell him about my conversations. And he even told me, he's like, you know, I
don't want you to spend too much time, you know, with those people basically
that aren't going to be able to contribute financially, is what he was
saying, without literally saying it. You say, why? Because he basically was in a
contract for a building that they couldn't afford. It doesn't make any
logical sense. Look, you've got to be smart when you do these things. You
know, you wait until you can actually afford that. There's nothing wrong
with a church meeting in a house. And look, if this church started with less
members, that's what would have taken place. We started with a decent amount of
people so we could afford to rent out a place, you know, as we did at Bayview,
and then we bought, got a building, didn't buy it, but we're renting here. But look,
if we couldn't do that, we would meet in a house. You say, why? Because you
have to be able to afford to pay the bills. And look, I don't believe in
churches just throwing on to some denomination and just say, well, they'll
pay for it. No, it's like, you need to be able to pay for your bills. And
the church meets in the house because of the fact it's a smaller church, and
someone's opened up their home. And quite honestly, I believe the model to reach
here in the Philippines is really going to be a lot of churches that start in
the house until they can afford a bigger area. You say, why? Because
commercial real estate is very expensive in the Philippines. It
shocked me when I came here. It's kind of depressing because trying to
look at prices, I'm like, good night. I was like, that's the same prices in
America. And it's like, you know, honestly, this building is, it's very
good deal for us in this area, but the buildings around there, they're not
cheap. And it's just like, you know, the salaries are a lot higher in the US,
but the prices of the buildings are not that much higher. And it's like,
you know, the reality is, if you want to reach the Philippines, you
can't just trust and we're going to have enough money for these
buildings, you're gonna have to start in something in a small location
in a house. And as that grows, and you're stable financially, and you
know you have enough money, you can outgrow that into something big. You
don't have to jump into a fancy building from day one. And look, this
building, it's kind of modest, right? I mean, we don't have 200 people on a
Sunday morning. If we had 200 people on a Sunday morning, we would
have a bigger building. But we don't, so we're in a place that we can
afford. And if we couldn't afford this place, we'd have to look at
something smaller and maybe not quite as nice. Why? Because of the fact
you have to go with what you can afford. And this is in the Bible
because it says the church in thy house. And throughout the Bible you see
many churches that start in the house. Verity Baptist Church in
Sacramento, California started in the house. You say, why? They had
less than 10 people at that church. They weren't going to be able to
afford a building. Faithful Word Baptist Church in Phoenix, Arizona
or Tempe, Arizona, it started in a house. You say, why? They
couldn't afford a building at the time. It was a small church.
There is nothing wrong with this model. And one thing you see
coming out of America, and I believe it's in most countries, are
like, you gotta have a building from day one. Show me the verse in
the Bible that says that. You don't see that in the Bible. You
don't have to have a building from day one. If you can't afford
it, then you don't start in the building. You start in a house,
you start in something modest, you start meeting in a park, you
start meeting in whatever for a cheap price. You say, why?
Because you're not going to be able to afford a building from
day one. In most cases, we were blessed to have a decent
amount of people at this church. So we were able to afford this
church after a couple months meeting in a hotel. We were able to
afford to rent out this place. But look, as we start other
church plants in the future, they're not going to start in a
building from day one. You say, why? They're not going to have
the money for that. And that church needs to be self
supporting by itself. Because you're never going to be able
to replicate yourself unless your church can be financially
stable. And then as you start a new one, it becomes
financially stable, and it branches off. If every single
church is not financially stable on its own, you're just
going to end up reaching a point where you run out of
money. That's just the way it works. It's like a business that
expands too quickly. It won't work. It's just not a logical
method. And so we're seeing here the church meets in the
house. And that is the model we're going to start next week
as we start in Pampanga. And honestly, that was the big
reason why we have the ability to start a church there.
Because we don't really have expenses. We're meeting in a
house. Other than giving invitations and guys going down
to preach, very few expenses. But if we had to start paying,
you know, I don't know, 25,000 pesos monthly, we wouldn't
start it because we just wouldn't be able to afford it
or it'd be a very unwise decision when you have a small
church. Okay. Now notice what it says here in verse number
three. You have to realize this is even more so in the
Philippines because commercial real estate is expensive
here. If you were to compare it to America, the
commercial real estate is only a little bit higher in the
U.S. for the same amount of space. But the salaries are
a lot higher in the U.S. So if you have 30 people at a
church in the U.S. or 20 people, it's really not hard to
find something you can rent out at a small, you know, a
small building, small location. But quite honestly,
that's not necessarily going to be the case here in the
Philippines. Okay. Verse number three. Grace to you and
peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I
thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers,
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. Now, if you look up the word
communication throughout the Bible, it does not just
mean what you say. It means your entire lifestyle. Okay,
what is it? Pabumuhay, right? Your lifestyle. Basically
everything you do, not just the words you say, how
you live your life, how you act, your attitude. It's
all of these things. Your communication is only a small
part of what you're saying verbally. And quite
honestly, it really doesn't have anything to do with
here because he's saying, I've heard of basically how
good of a person you are. I don't believe that Philemon
was just bragging about, I've read the Bible 25
times. And Paul's like, man, I've heard. You've read
the Bible a lot. I've gotten 50 people saved this
month. I've heard you get a lot of people saved.
No, I think it's just the way that Philemon lived
his life. People saw it and they told about it. The Bible says,
let another man praise you. Not your own self or
not your own lips. You shouldn't be praising
yourself. Let somebody else lift you up. And look,
if nobody lifts you up, then either God doesn't want
you lifted up or maybe you haven't done anything to be
lifted up. But let somebody else praise you.
Don't praise your own self. Philemon did not praise
his own self. And notice what it says in verse 6, that
the communication of thy faith may become
effectual. Think of cause and effect. Basically,
because of how Philemon lived his life, it had an
effect on other people. Philemon went soul winning
a lot. What's the reaction? Other people go soul winning
a lot. They'd always see Philemon at the start of
church reading his Bible. What's the result?
Everyone's like, man, I need to read my Bible too.
Philemon was someone who was, you know, spending
time in prayer and devoted to the things of God. He
had a good attitude. The result is other people see
that. And the reality is at a church, the way you
act and the way you live your life spiritually, it
will have an effect on other people for good or
for bad. Either way. See, if you're living a godly
and holy life, it has a positive effect on other
people. If you're living a worldly and wicked
life, it's going to have a negative effect. Look,
if you're always watching movies and then coming
to church saying, hey, I saw the new Avengers
movie, the new Star Wars movie. Look, you're
going to cause people to live a worldly life.
That's what's going to take place. And so, look, I
understand we can all struggle with worldliness,
but don't go around and try to spread it to
other people. You're in church. I mean, you can
talk about families. How's your life going? How's
your job going? Things such as that. Don't spread
worldliness in church, though. It's just going
to have a negative effect on other people.
Philemon, the way he lived his life, it had a
positive effect. Notice what it says in verse
seven. For we have great joy and consolation in
thy love, because the bowels of the saints are
refreshed by thee, brother. And so basically
what he's saying is Philemon lives his life in
such a way that knowing about it and hearing
about it kind of refreshes you and motivates you.
You know, think of somebody who's new that goes
soul winning. I know of people I've met in my
life that just started going soul winning.
They're kind of new at it. And they were so
zealous that it kind of refreshed you. It kind
of reminds you back to when you first started
going soul winning or you first started reading
the Bible. And they're just so zealous, it
refreshes you. Okay. And that is what he's
saying there in verse number seven, that Paul
the Apostle is refreshed by someone. Now, look,
I would presume Paul the Apostle outside of maybe
John the Baptist in the New Testament probably
got more rewards than anybody. I could be wrong.
But he's refreshed by somebody else. Okay. It
doesn't matter who you are. We need each
other in order to be effective. Think about
before this church started, I would presume that
most of you didn't go soul winning as much a
year ago as you do now. You say, why? Because
we have a positive effect on one another. You
hear that so-and-so got their brother saved.
You're thinking, man, I need to try to get my
brother saved. I need to try to get my sister
saved. You know that other people are reading
the Bible. It motivates you to read the Bible.
Look, nobody's that effective by their, by
themselves. It's like this in anything in
life. If you lift weights and you want to
become stronger, find somebody to lift with you
because it's hard to be self motivated by
yourself. Oftentimes you'll do it for a little
while and be like, man, I'm really feeling like
McDonald's today. But if you have somebody
else who's going with you, you're like, oh
man, I can't go to McDonald's because I told
someone I'm going to be there at 4 p.m. at the
gym. Right? And I'm not trying to recommend
that to you. I'm just using that as an
example to say when you have other people
doing the same things, when you're down on one
day or not feeling like it, they will
motivate you. Every single one of us, we have
certain weeks where we walk into church and we
feel defeated. We don't feel like soul winning.
We don't feel like reading the Bible. Things
are going wrong with our finances, our jobs
or whatever. Our lives are a mess. But when
you're around other people, doesn't it
refresh you? So that's the importance of
church. That's what he's saying in verse
number seven, verse eight. Wherefore, that I
might be much bold in Christ to enjoin
in that which is convenient. Yet for love's
sake, I rather beseech thee, being such a
one as Paul the aged and now also a prisoner
of Jesus Christ. Now, Paul the apostle is
beseeching Philemon for
Onesimus, okay, who he got saved. Okay,
Paul got Onesimus saved. He mentions here
that he's the aged and a prisoner. What I
think he's trying to do is trying to get
some brownie points, as they would say.
Basically saying, hey, I'm a little bit
older. Can you do me this favor? You know,
I'm in prison. Like he kind of mentions
this and he mentioned some other things
later on. He's kind of subtly saying this
and he's trying to motivate Philemon basically
to forgive Onesimus. Okay, now look at
verse number 10 where it says, I beseech thee
for my son Onesimus, whom I have
begotten in my bonds. What Paul is saying
is, when I was in prison, I won Onesimus
to the Lord. He says, I've begotten. Okay,
that's a term in the Bible, so and so
begat, so and so begat, so and so begat,
so and so. So there's that physical birth.
But when we receive, you know, everlasting
life, buhay nawalang hangan, that's the
spiritual birth, okay? And you can say
that I've begotten somebody. That's what
Paul's saying. He's saying, I want him to
the Lord. And so our second point here
today is this, not only do we labor, but
we win souls. That's what the Bible says.
We win. What I'm saying is we win them.
We save them according to the Bible.
You say, but Brother Stuckey, I think
it's arrogant to say that you save
souls. Well, I guess Paul the Apostle was
arrogant because in Philemon 1 verse 10,
he says, I have begotten. Paul often says
this. Turn actually to Romans chapter 11,
Romans chapter 11.
See, there's something you need to
understand when it comes to God that we
cannot win anybody to the Lord without
God. God cannot win anyone to the Lord
without us. You say, how dare you make
that statement? This is what the Bible
teaches. See, yes, the Lord Jesus Christ is
a Savior. But look, last I checked, God's
not going to come down from heaven and
preach the gospel to your brother or
sister. Last I checked, God's not going
to come down from heaven and start
knocking the doors of the unsaved
people or talking to them in caisson
memorial circle. That's not going to
happen. No, He left us with that job.
And so what it says here in Romans
11 verse 14 is this, if by any means
I may provoke to emulation them which
are my flesh and might save some of
them. Notice what Paul says. I might
save some of them. What is he
saying? He's saying I might win them
to the Lord. Not God, but me. Yes,
Jesus is our Savior, but that alone
will not lead people to heaven. They
need to hear the gospel. And the way
they hear the gospel is through
people, through believers, saved people.
We preach the gospel to them. Turn
to First Corinthians nine, First
Corinthians nine. And as you're
turning to First Corinthians nine, let
me just read you in Proverbs 11 in
the Old Testament where it says, He
that winneth souls is wise. And so
as a brother Chris preached last week,
soul winning is something that was in
the Old Testament and is in the New
Testament. This is not just a New
Testament thing. Wow, Jesus rose
again. Now everything's different. Now
we're going soul winning. But in
the Old Testament, God was a
Calvinist. That's not the way it
works. In the Old Testament, to win
someone to the Lord, he needed soul
winners to preach the gospel. Okay.
Old Testament, New Testament, nothing's
changed. The nature of God has not
changed. Okay. God is the same. And
the method He has always used is
people preach the gospel. Okay. Notice
what it says in First Corinthians
nine, verse 22 says to the weak
became I as weak that I might gain
the weak. I made all things to all
men that I might try that I might
by all means save some. And he
says, I'll become all things to
all people in hopes of winning
some people to the Lord. He
says, I will save some. That's
what he's saying. So throughout
Paul's writing, he's saying that
he wins souls to the Lord. He
saved brother Stuckey. You know, I
don't think we do the same. I
don't think that we should save
someone to the Lord. We don't
save anybody. Well, maybe you
don't save anybody. I do save
people. Say why? Because I go
soul winning and God's word does
not return void, especially in
this country. Look, if you're
doing the work, you're going to
get some people saved. And
that's the terminology mentioned
in the Bible. And look, a
pastor or man of God who
doesn't go soul winning is not a
man of God. And quit calling
them a pastor too. If they're
not going soul winning, not
doing the work, they're not a
great man of God. See, the
Bible says I might by all
means save some. Okay? And we
do the saving. Why? God has
left that with us. You say,
how do you know that? Turn to
second Corinthians five. I'm
glad you asked. Second
Corinthians chapter five. Now I
want you to understand
something. There has never been
a single person who's ever
existed that got saved on their
own. Every single person had to
hear the gospel from someone
else. You might say brother
Stuckey, you know, what about
Adam? You know, Adam heard the
gospel from the Lord Jesus
Christ. You say, how do you
know that? Because he was
heard walking in the garden in
the cool of the day. He
wasn't just hanging out, like
walking around. No, he had to
hear the gospel from somebody
else. And he heard it. In the
Old Testament, you do see the
Lord Jesus Christ appearing at
various times. Okay? When
Jesus was here on earth, he
won people to the Lord. And in
the Old Testament, in the
book of Genesis, you heard
him walking in the garden in
the midst of the day or in
the cool of the day. I
might be misquoting that.
But you hear him walking.
He's actually there. It wasn't
just a voice up in heaven. No,
Adam actually heard the
gospel and he knew how to be
saved. Okay? That is what
the Bible teaches because every
single person to get saved,
they need to hear the gospel
from somebody else. But you
have to understand, the Lord
Jesus Christ is not making
any appearances in today's
world. He's not going to
knock. And look, if your story
of conversion, like some
famous Pentecostals in this
country are, I heard this angel
came and talked to me. I'm
sorry, but that's not the
gospel. And the gospel is
believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, not change your
lifestyle and quit drinking and
quit fornicating and cheating
on your wife. No, the gospel
is believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's what the Bible
teaches. Okay? God has left
this with us. And what it
says in second Corinthians five
verse 18, second Corinthians
five verse 18, and all
things are of God who have
reconciled us to himself by
Jesus Christ and have given
to us the ministry of
reconciliation. Okay? Now,
yes, God has reconciled us
to himself. We're not saving
them on our own. Whenever you
look at those soul winning
passages at the end of Mark
16 and Matthew 28, you're
always seeing that the Lord
is with them. And lo, I am
with you always, even onto
the end of the world. Amen.
You say, why? Because God
doesn't leave us alone out
there. Now, look, generally
when we go soul winning, we
go in groups, but no matter
how many people are there or
if it's just one person,
God is with you when you're
doing the work. Now, if
you're standing on a street
corner, screaming at people,
then he's probably not going
to be with you. But if
you're doing what he told
you to do and preaching the
gospel and getting people
saved, he's going to be with
you. You say, why? He doesn't
leave us by ourselves. And
yes, we're saved. We're
indwelled with the Holy
Ghost, but he's actually out
there helping us. Now, we
don't see the spiritual
battle. And honestly, I don't
really think it's something
we can fully perceive. So
maybe that's why we don't
see what's going on out
there. But that's why we
pray before we go soul
winning and that God will
give us boldness and
clarity to preach the
gospel. And when we go soul
winning, there are times
you know that things are
happening and the devil's
trying to prevent someone
from getting saved. And
there's some sort of battle
out there. Look, we're not
on our own out there
soul winning. Okay. But
what it said in verse 18
was he's given to us the
ministry of reconciliation.
And so he left and what
he told them was, go into
all the world and preach
the gospel to every
creature. And in Acts 1, he
basically says, hey, get
churches started, reach this
area, then the next,
then the next, then the
next. What he's saying is
go out there and go
soul winning. And that job
was left to us. And
quite honestly, I'm glad
that job was left to us.
You say, why? Because it
makes your life have a
purpose. Imagine if the
ministry of reconciling
was to the angels. What's
the purpose of doing
anything? Look, you say
Brother Stuckey, what
made you come here to the
Philippines? You know,
what happened in your life
back when you got saved
and things such as that.
It all started with soul
winning. That's what
started. Look, when I was
18 and I got saved in the
back of my mind, I
wondered, man, what
about my family? What
about my friends? Do they
understand salvation? And I
remember telling my roommate
in college, hey, you got
to talk to this guy. He's
going to tell you about
how to get to heaven. And
you know, I had my
roommate hear the gospel
the next day from the
person who led me to the
Lord because I didn't know
how to preach the
gospel. But I had a fear
of hell, of people going
to hell. Before I was
saved, I had a fear I was
going to hell. After I
was saved, I was afraid of
everybody else might be
going to hell. And look,
you walk down the
street, if you just look
around, go to Rizal Park
sometime, go to Kaysom
Memorial Circle, just look
out at hundreds and
hundreds and hundreds of
people. And it's rare any
of them are saved. It's
very rare. Now it's
becoming less rare around
our church building. We
go down to the park and
it's like, man, we've
already won this person
in the Lord, which it's
great. But quite honestly,
in general here in the
Philippines, you look at
people, very few are
saved. You hop into a
jipney with 12 other
people, there's a good
chance nobody's saving
that jipney except you.
That's the reality. And
it does as much sowing
as we do. Look, 5,000
salvations is a very small
percentage of this country.
It's a very small
percentage. He's left us
the ministry of
reconciliation. The angels
aren't going out preaching
the gospel and we ought
to be thankful for that.
But when I realized this,
when I realized people
were going to hell and I
was afraid of them going
to hell, I started going
soul winning. What I
realized was I needed
to change my life to be
more effective. That's
what I realized. And I'd
hear that preached in
sermons from time to
time, but it's just
kind of something I
think the spirit kind
of teaches you or you
see it in the Bible and
you know, man, maybe I
should quit listening to
rock music. Why? Because
people are going to hell.
Maybe I should start
reading the Bible because
people are going to
hell. Maybe I should
start praying more
because people are going
to hell. Every single
thing you do in your
life matters because of
the fact it is our
job to reconcile people
onto the savior. And
look, Demas forsook
Paul at a moment in
his life. And you
have to realize you're
going to be a much
more effective soul
winner if you get rid
of your worldliness
and decide to serve
God 100%. Or you
could be like Jehu, who
is like the coolest
character in the Bible
for a very short time.
But he didn't set his
whole heart to seek the
Lord. You say, brother
Stuckey, who is Jehu?
See, that's my point.
Most, a lot of people
don't know Jehu. Why?
Because he was very
good for like half a
chapter. It's like he
was really cool. I
mean, I remember the
first time reading
about him, I'm like,
this guy's the
greatest character in
the Bible. Why haven't
I heard sermons
about this guy? Then
all of a sudden, like
the next chapter
answers a question. It's
like, Oh, he's like
really good for like
a really short time.
Look, you have to go
all in for God if you
want to really be
successful in life.
Now turn back to
Philemon. Turn back
to Philemon.
Now, when it comes
to reaching the world,
because obviously we
want to reach the
world with the gospel,
but that's a really
generic statement to
make. You have to be
practical of what
does that mean to us
as a church in Manila.
I don't really think
it's our job
specifically to reach,
you know, some other
country. Like we're
going to do a
mission trip to South
Korea and get all
these people saved.
Look, there's nothing
wrong with doing that.
You know, praise the
Lord for anyone to get
saved. But quite
honestly, you can only
do like one mission
trip a year to another
country. Okay. It'd be
kind of a pretty big
effort to put in. And
honestly, the way you
end up doing this is
you get new churches
started. Now, my
personal, just belief
or personal, my desire,
I guess, so to speak,
is quite honestly, I
kind of look at the
Philippines as three
countries. And I kind
of looked at Luzon
as like kind of our
country because there's
so many people here in
Luzon. And so I kind
of think of our job is
to get churches
started all throughout
Luzon. Okay. Now, I'm
not saying we can't get
a church started in
another location, but
it's kind of like you
can only do so much in
life. You know, we're
not going to start a
church plant, you know,
in some other country
unless someone's doing
the work and there's
already a group of
people. We're going to
try to reach this
area. And we're
starting in Pampanga,
right? We're not going
to, you know, South
Korea or North Korea.
Now, look, I'm not
saying that can't take
place though, because
when Verity Baptist
Church did their first
church plant in
Vancouver, that really
wasn't planned out as
something that Pastor
Mendez was desiring.
Kind of the need
presented itself and
Verity Baptist Church
stepped in to fill that
need. Because
Vancouver is not that
close to Sacramento. It's
a nine hour drive. Now,
yes, there's a lot of
flights that you can
go on. It's like an
hour and a half
flight, but quite
honestly, going to the
airport, it takes
energy. It takes
effort. It's not as
easy as just being
able to drive like an
hour and a half. See
Pampanga is like an
hour and a half away on
Sundays, but just you
hop in a car,
you're there. Okay.
Flying to another place.
You got to have a
rental car and all
these things. It wasn't
really the original
plans, but there was
already a group of
people doing the work
and doing soul
winning. And honestly,
what I believe is if
people want church
starting their area, they
need to start the
soul winning by
themselves. Be self
motivated to start the
soul winning, get
something going. And I
believe God's going to
bless that area. So
that is something we
would definitely try to
fill in if there was
a need and there was
an opportunity. But I
kind of look at the
main area we're
trying to reach as
lose on. It's like
50 million people.
Okay. More than 50
million. And it's growing
very rapidly. Okay. Over
half the population of
the Philippines is in
Luzon. That's a huge
area to reach. Okay.
Now notice what it said
in verse number 10,
where it says, Philemon
chapter one, verse 10.
Philemon one, verse 10.
It says, I beseech thee
for my son, Onesimus,
whom I have begotten
in my bonds. And so
we're going to talk
about this guy named
Onesimus. And this is
someone that Paul the
apostle led to the
Lord. Okay. Honestly,
we don't really know
a lot about what
happened to Onesimus.
And why he ends up
leaving Philemon. Obviously,
some sort of problem
took place. And the
Bible doesn't really
give us a lot of
insight, but it tells us
enough to know that we
know Onesimus is
basically to blame. He's
the one who seems to be
at fault for this
situation of what took
place. And he was a
servant, the Bible
speaks of, you know,
of Philemon. It doesn't
really tell us. And I
think the reason why is
because it's a very
foolish thing and it's
the wrong thing to
bring up past sins or
mistakes of people from
years ago. That's a
foolish thing to do. And
if Onesimus did something
really foolish and wrong
like two years ago, that
was two years ago. Who
cares what happened two
years ago? And look, that
would be a very wicked
thing for anybody to do.
You say, wow, you know,
back in, you know, 2010,
you did this. Okay. It's
like, look, that was a
long time ago. And that
might seem kind of, you
know, facetious or
humorous, but no people
actually do that. And
honestly, that's a large
part of when fights are
happening in marriage.
People bring up, well,
you did this and then
you did this. Well, let's
go to January of 2015.
Let's go to February of
2015. Let's go to March.
I mean, that's ridiculous.
It's like the past is
the past and whatever
happened is done. Okay.
And this is actually
encouraging to us because
quite honestly, people can
really screw up their
lives and then end up
serving God. And look,
I'll be honest with you.
I don't want to know
what people have done
wrong in their past. I
don't care. It's the
past. If you're in this
church and then back in
2005, you have some dark
secret. I don't want to
know that secret. We're
not a Catholic church
here. I'm not a priest.
Do I look like a priest
to you today? I know
every once in a while,
kids come in and say,
father, but look, I'm not
a priest. I don't want
to know about your
sins, especially from years
ago. Okay. Now I'm not
saying I can't help you
out if you have a
problem in life that's
going on, but don't
tell me something
somebody did five years
ago. I was at a church
in West Virginia and
I've been there for
about six months. There's
this guy at the church
who was basically
teaching junior church
before I ever taught
junior church and
somebody at the church
just told me, well, so
and so cheated on his
wife. And this was
something that happened
like over a decade ago.
This was a guy who
was like an assistant
pastor, I think. And he
basically had to quit
the ministry because he
committed adultery. Okay.
And somebody's telling
this to me and it
happened over 10 years
in the past. I was
like, I literally said,
why are you telling me
that? And she's like, I
was like, I didn't know
that. I don't want to
know that. I was like, I
like so-and-so. I was
like, why did you tell
me that? And I was
like, and I don't even
know if what you're
saying is true. She's
like, Oh, it's true.
And I'm just like, I
was like, I didn't want
to know that. And
she's like, well,
everyone already knows
it anyway. I was like,
well, I didn't. I
didn't want to know
that. I was, I was
really angry that this
person would tell me
that. It's like, why
are you telling me
that so-and-so when
they were in their
early twenties, this
guy was like 40
years old. It was
like when he was in
his twenties, he
cheated on his wife.
It's like, you know,
why don't you just
let the past be the
past? Because all
you're going to do
is make that marriage
harder for them. If
that always comes up
into the mind of the
wife, if you want her
to be able to
forget, then nobody
should talk about it.
And it's like, I
didn't know that.
And to this day, I
can't prove that's
a fact. I don't
know it's a fact.
So why? Because
somebody randomly says
something you don't
know for sure
that's true. And
look, if it is
true, I don't want
to know about it.
Why would I want
to know about that?
Why would I want
to know that somebody
cheated on their wife
like 15 years in the
past? And look, I
don't know what
happened in the life
of Onesimus, but it's
in the past. And so
the book of Philemon
doesn't say, well, he
got drunk and did
this. It doesn't say
that. We don't know
what happened because
God's trying to allow
the past be the
past. And so is Paul
because he cares about
someone who wanted
the Lord Onesimus.
And he says in verse
number 11, which in
time past was to be
unprofitable, but
now profitable to the
end to me.
Basically, he was an
unprofitable servant,
as it says in verse
16, not now as a
servant, but above a
servant. I believe he
was literally a servant
of Philemon. Okay.
Now, throughout the
Bible, you see that
people can be in
servitude because of
various things. They
can't pay off debts
and various things like
this. This is not
the same thing as
slavery. Okay. That's
not what's taking
place. Obviously, if
you have someone who
works for you, if you
want them to be a
good employee, you're
going to be nice to
them. You're not
going to be a jerk.
Okay. But he was a
servant, but he was an
unprofitable servant.
Okay. He wasn't doing
what he was supposed
to do. Now turn to
Genesis 47, Genesis 47.
I'll have to hurry up.
You know, I try to make
short sermons and it
just doesn't happen.
So that's, that's the
secret of looking at the
clock. You know, I'm
not going to name any
names, but that way
you don't preach two
hour sermons. But,
um, Genesis chapter 47,
Genesis 47. And in
Genesis chapter 47, notice
what it says in verse
six. It says, the land
of Egypt is before thee,
and the best of the
land make thy father
and brethren to dwell.
And the land of Goshen
let them dwell. And if
thou knowest any men
of activity among them,
then make them rulers
over my cattle. And
the, what he says
here is if you know
anybody who works hard,
he's a man of
activity. And the
reason why he says if
you know anyone is
because the average
person doesn't work
hard. He's like, if
there's anybody who's
a man of activity,
make them a ruler.
Why? Because there's
not a lot of candidates
for that job. That's
what he's saying.
Because look, the
average, unsafe person,
or even the average
safe person is a bit
lazy. That's the
reality. Look, I'll be
honest with you. When
I started listening to
this kind of preaching,
I was a little bit lazy
in my life. I didn't
really take my job and
my secular life as
seriously as I should
have. Why? Because,
you know, I don't
know, just the world
we live in, other
people are lazy and
it's effectual. In a
good way or bad way,
it rubs off on you.
And most people are
kind of lazy. And so
if there's anyone
who's a man of
activity, make him a
ruler. And so when you
look at Onesimus, he
was probably a bad
servant, but part of
it was probably
because most people
are probably bad
servants. Most people
are probably bad
workers. Now turn to
Titus chapter two. Now
here's the thing
about this though. This
was before Onesimus was
saved. You say, how
do you know that?
Because Paul begot
Onesimus to the
Lord in prison. Okay.
So when he was a
servant, he was not
spiritually a child of
God. Okay. Now I
don't know for sure
because the Bible
doesn't tell us, but I
presume Philemon had
been saved for a long
time. And I presume
he's a very good soul
winner. I mean, I
think we know enough
about the Bible to
know he's a soul
winner. And it's very
possible he preached
the gospel to Onesimus
quite a bit. And
Onesimus might have
rejected it. Even
though Onesimus is not
literally his son, if
you're working for
them and living with
them, in a way,
you're almost part of
that family. Kind of
like if somebody
works as a nanny, you
know, as an OFW in
another country and
they live with a
family and work
there, they're kind
of part of that
family. Okay. Even
though they have a
job to get done. And
quite honestly,
sometimes people don't
respond to the gospel
as well when it's a
family member.
Sometimes it's more
difficult for you to
win someone to the
Lord than it would
be a random stranger.
And that is why one
thing that, you know,
I did in the U.S. and
I think it's a great
thing here is
sometimes if there's
someone you're
trying to reach, a
brother or a sister
and you can't get
them saved, send a
soul winner to knock
on their door and
try to preach the
gospel to them. They
might respond better
to that. And look, I
do know of success
stories that have taken
place. You know, a
couple of times in
America with people
that are friends and
people that you would
know in terms of
being in the movement
where somebody
knocked their door and
eventually somebody
ended up getting saved
as a result of it. And
it didn't happen
immediately. But quite
honestly, there's kind
of a barrier with
family of certain
things that how dare
I'm your father. How
dare you tell me I'm
going to hell. I
raised you. I changed
your diapers and
you're going to tell
me what to do. And
look, my son's young,
but if my son grew up
and was trying to
convert me to some
other religion, I could
see how I'd be like,
how dare you? I raised
you in an IFB church.
How dare you try to
take me to the
Catholic church? It's
like you could see
how a Catholic family
member could be
really offended when
they took you to
Catholic church and
they taught you how
to pray to Mary. They
taught you how to do
the rosary. They
gave for your birthday,
your 16th birthday,
they gave you gold
beads, you know,
really nice. They gave
you a nice idol. They
have a presence. You
open up your door.
There's this big idol
of Mary that you can
bow down and worship
every day. Look, just
on the way here, my
wife and I were behind
a gypney and I made
a joke to my wife
because in the back of
that gypney, there was
Jesus and there was
Mary. And I told my
wife, I asked her, I
was like, which one's
Jesus? Because they
both had long hair.
They're both really
effeminate. I was
like, they literally
looked the same. Okay.
That's another point.
But anyways, let's go
back to Philemon. Actually,
notice in Titus 2, verse
number seven, quickly, it
says, in all things
showing thyself a
pattern of good works, a
pattern of good works.
Now turn to
Philemon. See, the
reality is when it
comes to serving God in
all areas, we need to
hear these things
preached. When it comes
to working hard, we
need to hear this
preached. That makes
changes in your life.
When it comes to going
soul winning, you hear
preach. When it comes
to starting to read the
Bible, you hear it
preached. When it comes
to getting rid of
movies, you have to
hear it preached. That
has a big effect. When
it comes to being a
hard worker, we need
to preach from the
rooftops. We live in a
very lazy world. There
are many times when
this building was being
finished, where we
would show up here at
the building and, you
know, brother Jay and
I sometimes would come
here and it's just
like, oh, just lunch
break. It's like, like
a two hour lunch break.
Or it's like, oh, you
know, we get started at
like noon. And it's
just like, man, it's
like work hard. But
the reality is very
few people work hard in
this world. And we as
Christians ought to be
different than the world.
Okay. This world is
lazy. We should not be
lazy as Christians. Now
notice what it says in
Philemon 1 verse 12. He
says, whom I have sinned
again, thou therefore
receive that is mine
own bowels, whom I
would have retained with
me, with me that in
thy steady might
administered unto me
in the bonds of the
gospel. But without
thy mind would I do
nothing. Thy benefit
should not be as it
were of necessity, but
willingly. And Paul says,
I would love to have
Lonesmus with me because
he's a great soul
winner and he does the
work. He's a fellow
laborer. Okay. Verse
15 for perhaps he
therefore departed for a
season that thou should
us receive him forever.
And notice what it says
in verse 15. He's like,
maybe this situation
happened that he
departed from you so you
could receive him
forever. What is he
saying? That he left in
order for things to
happen in his life where
he ends up getting
saved. You receive him
forever. Not now as a
servant, but above a
servant, a brother in
Christ is what he's
saying. Basically, maybe
circumstances happened.
And I know, and from
what I read, what I
think happened is
basically Lonesmus was
probably in servitude
and he just like left,
which is illegal. That's
what I believe took
place. Basically, he had
a certain amount of
years. He had a job
he had to do. And
look, you would hire
people to do a job.
You expect them to do
it. And he, and you
pay all the money and
he just leaves the job
midway. And he just
runs out on what he's
required to do. That
would make you mad even
if you're saved because
you spent the money on
it. I believe that's
what's taking place
with Onesimus. But
perhaps, you know, this
happened to Onesimus and
things happened in his
life where he wasn't
ready to receive the
gospel back when he
lived with Philemon. But
now maybe you hit rock
bottom when you
backslide and when
you're lazy, which
probably happened to
him. And then all of
a sudden he finds
himself getting saved by
Paul. Was he in prison
when he heard the
gospel himself as a
prisoner? That would be
my guess. It doesn't
tell us, but maybe
that's why he heard the
gospel in prison. Maybe
he was in prison with
Paul and he heard the
gospel. That would be
my guess. I'm not a
hundred percent sure.
I'm not going to go
above what the Bible
says. That would be my
best guess though. But
then, you know what,
honestly, people in
life, sometimes they
hit rock bottom and
they get saved and
they end up fixing
their lives. And look, I
don't know everybody's
story at this church,
but I'll be honest
with you that, you
know, I know a lot of
people at Verity
pretty well. I was
around them for a long
time. And you know, a
lot of them have a
lot of mistakes they
made in the past. And
you would never guess
it because they come to
church and you know,
things they did three
years ago, they come
dressed in a shirt and
tie. They go soul
winning. They talk
about the Bible. You
never know that three
years ago they did such
and such. And look, it
would be a wicked thing
for any of us to
spread what somebody did
years ago. If they
choose to open up
about it, that's their
choice. We don't open
up that can of worms
though when they don't
do that. Look, none
of us in our, in this
room want everyone to
know all the sins you
committed five years
ago. Everything you've
done wrong six years
ago. Let's just make a
list. Like, you know,
God in heaven is going
to make that list. You
know, look, that's
ridiculous. Okay. And
we, as people, we
shouldn't do that
either. God doesn't do
it. And we should,
because when you get
saved, your sins are
cast as far as the
East is from the West.
Basically, they're
gone past, present,
future, big and
small. They're all
gone. Okay. They're
all into the blood,
whether they're in the
past or the future. And
so I'm not going to
turn there for sake of
time, but you know,
the Bible talks about
things working together
for good to them that
love God. And quite
honestly, I know of a
lot of stories of
people getting saved
where basically God
allowed things to
happen to them in
order for them to get
saved. And I think we
all know some of
those stories. That's
probably what took
place with Onesimus.
Now notice what it
says in verse 16, where
it says, 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. If thou
count me therefore a
partner, receive him
as myself. If he
hath wronged me, or
oweeth the ought, put
that on mine account.
And Paul says to him,
if there's something
he owes you, basically,
you know, he had two
more years of work,
you know, put that
on my account. Let me
make up the difference.
Okay. And I believe
he is speaking
financially in that term
or in however way he
could pay off that
debt. Okay. Now verse
number 19, notice
what it says. I, Paul,
have written it with
my own hand. I will
repay it. Albeit, I
do not say to thee
how thou oweest on
me, even thine own
self besides. And so
Paul says, I will
repay the debt of this
man Onesimus that is my
person I've won to the
Lord. Now, look, maybe
you know of someone
you've led to the Lord.
And when you lead
someone to the Lord
and they come to church,
there's kind of this
kinship between you
and them where you're
kind of responsible of
teaching them and
training them. I
remember in Sacramento,
there was someone I
led to the Lord. And
this is someone who
lived on the streets.
He was homeless. And
in America, homeless
people are drug addicts.
There's very few
exceptions to this. Now
it's different than in
the Philippines, but in
America, they're
basically usually drug
addicts. And this was a
kid who was in his
twenties and he had
really destroyed his
life. And look, we
let him stay in our
backyard in a tent for
a week. Okay. And I
was after the services,
I take him to church
and he was coming out
sowing with me. I
gave him a Bible
reading plan. He's
reading his Bible, but
he still doesn't have
a job. He still has a
fleshly desire to do
drugs and things like
that. And he stayed in
our tent for a week.
And then, you know,
before he was in our
backyard after service, I
would drive him down
to this park where we
had him staying in a tent.
As I got to know a
little bit more, I let
him stay in our backyard
and everything. And,
you know, quite
honestly, I probably
went way overboard
because quite honestly,
he went back to his
old ways. But you just
care about people you
lead to the Lord. Now
I wouldn't do this
with a random stranger, I
don't know, but it's
somebody that I led to
the Lord and he
started coming sowing
with me and I really
wanted to see him
change his life. And
unfortunately it didn't
happen, but you feel
that sort of kinship to
someone you led to
the Lord. I would love
to hear one day
that he's going to
Verity Baptist Church
again because he got
baptized at Verity
Baptist Church and he
was going soul winning
and he was making
changes. And then this
happened a couple of
times, then all of a
sudden you just wouldn't
see him anymore. And
just by chance
circumstance, I ran into
him on the streets and
he was down to the
same problems. And I
remember seeing him and
he was just like
started crying when he
saw me and gave me a
hug and everything. And
sadly, you know, you
make a lot of choices
in your life. And
sadly, you usually go
back to those things
if you have a really
dark history. But,
you know, quite
honestly, there are
people that are
living for God that
they did things in
the past and it's the
past. And you want to
see those people just
be a church member
who loves the Lord
and is serving God.
And I hope to hear one
day that he is
serving God. And
honestly, that's
probably the way Paul
felt with this man,
Onesimus. Okay. What
you see is that Paul
wants to take care
financially of his own,
just as you would take
care of your own
kids financially if
they can't support
themselves. And
honestly, it's the
same thing even with
a church that a
church is designed to
help people that are
members of the
church. That's what
the Bible teaches.
And look, from time to
time, we have people
that will visit our
church that aren't
members and they'll ask
us for money. And
look, it is something
that here in the
Philippines is going
to be kind of an
issue because of the
fact I'm an American.
And so people come
here asking for money.
And the reality is a
church is meant to
help out those that
are members. Okay.
That's what the Bible
teaches. Okay. Now
notice what it says
here in verse number
20. It says,
Ye brother, let me
have joy of thee in
the Lord. Refresh my
bowels in the Lord.
Having confidence in
thy obedience, I wrote
unto thee, knowing that
thou wilt also do more
than I say. Now, before
I go on, go back to
verse number 19. There
is something that's
very funny here in
verse 19 because he
says, Albeit I do not
say to thee how thou
oweest unto me, even
I know in self
besides. Kind of like
he made me led by
Leman to the Lord or
taught him the things
of God. He's like, I'm
not going to tell you
how you owe me. You
just did. You just
said, I'm not going
to tell you how you
you owe me, but you
kind of do owe me.
Okay. So it's kind of
funny how I say that's
what I'm saying, how
Paul is really trying
to push him. Like I'm
the aged. I'm an old
man in prison. I led
you to the Lord. I
taught you the things
of God. Maybe he
baptized him. I'm not
really sure, but you
know, I'm not going
to tell you about
this, but you do kind
of owe me. And so in
verse number 22, the
Bible reads, but with
all, prepare me also
lodging for I trust
that through your
prayers, I shall be
given on you. There
salute the
Epaphras, my fellow
prisoner in Christ
Jesus. Marcus,
Aristarchus, Demas,
Lucas, my fellow
laborers, the grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ
be with your spirit.
Amen. And so this is
a great short book
in the Bible. The
thing I'd like to
highlight for you to
kind of take away
from this though, is
going back toward the
beginning about Demas
because Demas is a
fellow laborer at
one point in his
life, but he ends up
quitting. The vast
majority of people
at our church go
soul winning and
love the Lord. The
vast majority of
people. That is not
a guarantee you're
going to go soul
winning forever. The
reality is that
you're gonna have a
lot of choices you
need to make in
life. And if you
want to stay dedicated,
living for God, you
might have to make
some tough choices
because many people
fall along, fall
along the way. But
the reality is your
number one goal
should be to be stay
dedicated to God
your entire life. I
don't want to be a
Demas. I don't want
any of you to be a
Demas, but the
reality is in a
church this size,
there will be Demases
that are good people
that fade out on the
things of God. And
he faded out due to
loving this present
world. Let's close
in a word of prayer.
Dear heavenly father,
thank you for
allowing us to be
here in your house
today. And I ask you
to just bless this
sermon to our lives.
Help us apply this to
our life and help us
to just to learn the
Bible even more and
deeper every, every
single passing week.
God help us to be
like Paul who not only
was he an avid soul
winner God, but he
also really cared about
those that he won to
the Lord. God help
us to have that
same care and
compassion for those
who went to the
Lord, help us train
them and bring them
to church and
teaching the things
of God and change
their lives. God, we
pray these things in
Jesus name. Amen.