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🎶🎶🎶 🎶🎶🎶 🎶🎶🎶 🎶🎶🎶 🎶🎶🎶🎶 🎶🎶🎶🎶 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶 You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You Good evening and welcome to Verity Baptist Church. Let's go ahead and find our seats this evening Find a seat find a hymnal close to you turn the page number two hundred and fifteen Song number two one five and we will sing Heaven came down and glory filled my soul song number two one five. Let's go ahead and sing it out on the first oh What a wonderful wonderful day. Hey, I will never forget After that wondered in darkness away Jesus my Savior I'm a Tender compassionate friend he met the need of my heart Shadows dispelling with joy, I am telling Heaven came down and glory filled my soul When at the cross the Savior made me My sins will wash away and my night was done today Heaven came down Song number two one five sing it out on the second born of a spirit with life from above into God's family divine Justified Standing is mine And a transaction so quickly was made when as a sinner I came Took off the offer of grace They didn't offer Heaven came down When at the cross the Savior made me My sins will wash away and my night was done today Heaven came down Song number two one five we're gonna sing it out on the third, but I just want to remind you There's a there's a tag at the last course so when we get there It's time to just belt it out all right song number two one five sing it out on the last Now I hope that will surely endure after the passing of time I have a future in heaven for sure there in those mansions sublime And it's because of that wonderful day when at the cross I believe Riches eternal and blessings to burn out from his precious Heaven came down Oh When at the cross the Savior made me My sins will wash away and my night was done today Heaven came down Sing it out Oh Amen great scene welcome to Verity Baptist Church here on our Sunday evening service We are so glad to see everyone here this evening. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer Your family fire will love you. We thank you for a great day giving us, and we thank you for loving us Thank you for our salvation Thank you for the opportunity to be in your house Lord And we thank for these dear people would come sing praises to your name We ask Lord that you would bless the service we pray for the singing The preaching the fellowship, and we hope Lord that everything that would be said and then this evening would only bring glory and honor She named me love you in Jesus my pray amen Alright, it's now time for favorites where if you're selected. We will sing a stanza from the song that you pick 22 song number 22 Are You washed in the blood somber 22 Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing passing it out on the first have you been to Jesus? Are you washing the blood of the lamb? Are you fully trusting in his greatness are are you lost in the blood of the lamb? Are you In the soul cleansing By the side But they're glad For for one son number four hundred and forty one Great Is thy faithfulness it's great songs on singing it with some passion. I see it up on the first great Now changes They feel Great is I faith Mercy's I see I Laney go ahead What was it 232 Son number 232 Tell me the story of Jesus on a bird 232 sing it out on the first tell me the story Tell me the story most Tell how the angels in chorus sang as they welcomed his Oh Tell me the story of Jesus right on my heart Tell me the story most precious Amen Emma go ahead What was it 84 son number 84? Jesus is coming again. So number 84 see it up on the first marvelous message we bring Oh Jesus is coming Oh Jesus is coming Miss I'll go to 16 song number 216 I'm sure the goodness and mercy saw her to 160 get out on the first Pilgrim was I and In the Jesus Oh Miss angel guide Oh Yes 143 blessed assurance. She's as is mine Glory device on 143 sing it out on the first blessed assurance Jesus is mine Oh Yeah This is my story this is my song Raising my say Oh This is my soul This is my song Raising my say All right, let's sing one more song miss Kimmy go ahead 188 on the third This will be the last song for favorite song number 188 The Love of God song number 188 sing it out on the last good we with the ocean And were the skies of parchment made where every star Scribe by trade We'll train the ocean dry Contain those from sky to sky How rich and The Saints and Amen Amen and we welcome you to the Sunday evening service here at ready Baptist Church We're so glad that you're with us Let's take our bulletins and we'll look at some announcements real quickly If you do not have a bulletin just raise your hand and one of our ushers can get one for you If you need a bulletin just put your hand up and we'll get one for you this week the verse this week here is Psalm 23 6 surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever and that's a good verse there. We like that If you open up your bulletin, you'll see our service time Sunday morning service 10 30 a.m And we had a wonderful service this morning we're of course glad that you're back with us tonight for the evening service and we want to invite you to be with us on Wednesday night for the midweek Bible study and we are studying the book of Psalms on Wednesday night. We'll be in Psalm 9 It's a little bit of a longer Psalm in comparison to the ones that we've been in We've been in Psalms that are like 8 verses 9 verses This is 20 verses, but we'll cover the whole thing in one night So I'm gonna you I want to encourage you to read it and be ready to study it Of course with us on Wednesday night We look at our sewing times our main sewing times on Saturday mornings at 10 a.m Then we have additional sewing times on Thursdays and Sundays at 2 p.m And if you're a soul winner, of course Please don't forget to add your salvation's on the communication card so that that can be added To the bulletin and if you have a map that you did not finish Please clearly mark what was done was not done in the bin in the foyer so we can get that Recycled through it we can get it finished. And then of course also If you're running late, don't forget to call us or text us at the number there nine one six eight six eight nine zero eight zero Let us know that you're planning on being there but you're running late that way our sowing captains can make sure they have a map and a partner and Everything that you need if you look across the page there, of course this morning. We started the brand new series You should have one of these cards In your bulletin. We started a series on the spirit world and we began this morning with a sermon on heaven And I think it's good. I don't know that we talk enough about heaven I know we preach about heaven a lot of obviously a soul winners But as far as studying heaven and learning about heaven, I think it's an important thing I was joking with brother Andrew after the service that there's only one person that maybe will have a job of just you know Being on a cloud and playing a harp and that could be miss Esther She might she might have that that job, but everyone else is gonna have to just find something else to do in heaven We're all gonna have to work I want to encourage of course to be with us next week as we study hell and again hell is something that people don't like to talk a lot about But it's something we need to learn about something we need to know about the Bible talks a lot about hell so next week we'll study hell and then of course, we'll study angels demons the devil and Spiritual warfare, so we want to just encourage to be faithful with this new sermon series and then last Sunday night We began a study in the book of Philemon and Philemon is only one chapter, but it's got three characters We're taking one week for each character last week. We looked at Philemon the householder and today We're gonna look at Onesimus the runaway so of course we're excited about that And then we've got lots of things going on this week Just want you to be aware of that first of all the biblical leadership Institute for you men that have signed up make sure you don't forget about that That's that starts this Tuesday at 7 p.m.. And we'll meet in the fellowship hall so make sure that you're aware of that and Also in honor of the launch of the biblical leadership Institute. I'm gonna be doing a special live stream We're calling it leadership live on Tuesday at 6 p.m.. So at 7 p.m.. Begins the Institute at 6 p.m.. I'm gonna do a 30-minute live stream On the subject of leadership. I'll teach a short leadership Lesson principle, and then we'd like to answer some questions that leadership questions They don't have to be just I don't want you to think it has to just be biblical You know it can be about business it can be anything you want Even self leadership if you want to ask questions about time management or productivity things of that nature Of course we'll we'll get questions through email questions through the live stream But for our church family if you have questions on your communication card on the back There's a place for you to put write down a leadership question even ladies. You can ask questions, whatever If you'd like to fill that out tonight, then we can take a look at that before Tuesday of course and And then everybody's invited to tune into the live stream of course and then on Saturday is our Spanish service Saturday September 28th at 5 p.m. And we hope that you're excited about that and the Spanish service is geared towards a few different people of course number one Anybody who speaks Spanish we'd love for you to be a part of the Spanish service We've got about 70 people signed up for the service so praise the Lord for that But if you have a friend or a family member that speaks Spanish whether you speak Spanish or not if you know someone that speaks Spanish and you'd like to invite them to the service you're welcome to do that and you can come with them of course and that Would probably make it easier for them and then also anyone that wants to learn Spanish You're welcome to come to the Spanish service on Saturday September 28th, and if you say well if you want to learn Spanish I'm just gonna give you a little bit of a heads up and and say this Several weeks ago. I started on Sunday mornings We were doing a series called rooted and grounded And I'm gonna be preaching that exact series in Spanish in our Spanish services So what I would encourage you if you're coming to learn Spanish is that you may be refresh yourself You can find it on our website and listen to the sermon again if you'd like the very first sermon from rooted and grounded It's called faith versus works if you want to listen to that in English and get yourself acquainted with it so that When you hear it, it'll be the same outline obviously it's not gonna be word-for-word the same It's gonna be the same outline in Spanish Maybe that'll help you to I don't know if it'll help you or not I honestly don't know, but I'm just trying to help you out And maybe it'll help you to know what we're talking about and just say amen and look like you're enjoying it You'll be fine, but this Saturday and even if you come you don't understand anything You'll understand this Spanish potluck after the service and that's gonna be a great time of fellowship So if you're coming, please bring a dish to share We'll have a time of fellowship and food after the service and we're doing a Spanish themed potluck So whatever Spanish food you like homeschool group, they've got PE class on Thursday October 10th at 10 a.m Ladies weight loss and accountability group the information is there upcoming cleaning crew. We appreciate your faithfulness To that if you look at the back of the bulletin birthdays and anniversaries For the month of September today is brother Nate Deacon's birthday So happy birthday to brother Nate and also brother Graham and miss Michelle Scott having a very anniversary today September 22nd tomorrow brother Ray and miss Denise Anderson have an anniversary September 23rd And then later this week Lainey Usher has a birthday September 26 Ezra Nellis Tesco has a birthday September 27th Brother James Bahamundi and miss Connie Ramirez and Genevieve Rosenberg and brother David Nell Tesco all have birthdays on September 28th this week Praise report money matters. All of those things are there for you to look at we had 271 in church this morning and so praise the Lord for that. That's a good solid number there and I think we've got 206 in church tonight. So those are all good numbers there. I think that's it for all of the announcements So let's go ahead and we're gonna sing the chorus of the week Which is the insert in your bulletin and we're gonna sing holy Holy holy as we prepare to receive the offering this Evening and let's go ahead and sing it on purpose and with passion on the first Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee Holy, holy, holy Merciful and mighty One in three persons Blessed Trinity Good sing it out on the second All the saints adore thee Casting down their golden crowns All the saints adore thee Casting down their golden crowns All the saints adore thee All the saints adore thee All the saints adore thee All the saints adore thee All the saints adore thee All the saints adore thee All the saints adore thee All the saints adore thee May not see, only thou art holy, there is none beside Thee, perfect in power, in love and pure. Good, sing it out on the last, let's slow it down just a little bit more. On the last, sing it on purpose. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, all Thy works shall praise Thy name in earth and sky and sea. Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty, God in three persons, blessed Trinity. I think that's what heaven's gonna be like and praise the Lord for that. I look forward to one day spending all our days praising the Lord. And before the ushers come, of course, let me remind you that we are a family integrated church and we've got mother-baby rooms and daddy rooms available for convenience. Please make sure you use those. If you need to be baptized, you can let us know on your communication card and make sure you turn your cell phones off or place them on silent so that they don't go off during the preaching. We'll have the guys come up and help us at this time. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, we do love you and we thank you for allowing us to gather together tonight. Lord, we pray that you'd bless the offering, the gift and the giver. Lord, we do ask that you would continue to meet our financial needs. We pray, Lord, that you would speak to us tonight through your word. We ask that you would help us to learn from the Bible, to draw closer to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Please open up to the book of Philemon. Philemon 1. If you do not have a Bible, please raise your hand and the ushers can bring you a Bible. Philemon chapter 1. Philemon 1. We will read verses 8 through 19. Philemon 1 verses 8 through 19. Philemon 1 being a verse from 8. Wherefore, though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee in thou which is convenient, yet for love's sake I rather beseech thee, being such an one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ. I beseech thee from my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds, which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me. Whom I have sent again, thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels, whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel. But without thy mind would I do nothing, that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly. For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou should receive him forever, not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, specially 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 thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account. I, Paul, have written it with mine own hand. I will repay it, albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for this evening. I've got to thank you for your word and for our church. Please give us all tender hearts at the message tonight, and be their pastor. Please strengthen him, and from your spirit. We love you, and in Jesus' name, pray. Amen. Amen. All right, we're there in the book of Philemon, and of course, last Sunday night, we began a short Bible study in the book of Philemon. Of course, Philemon is only one chapter, and it's not a lengthy book. It's 25 verses, of course. But what we learned last week is that there are three main characters in this book of Philemon. Of course, there's Philemon, and then there's the Apostle Paul, and then there's this man by the name of Onesimus. And what we're doing is we're taking one week for each one of the characters and looking at them through this book of Philemon. And last Sunday night, we learned about Philemon the householder, and tonight, we're going to take a look at Onesimus the runaway. Onesimus the runaway. And just to remind you of the context, or maybe if you weren't here last week to catch you up, of course, Philemon is the shortest letter in the New Testament. Like we've already said, one chapter. It's a prison epistle, meaning that it's written from Paul while in prison, but it's not a church epistle. It is not a pastoral epistle. It is a personal epistle that Paul writes to this man, Philemon. And the book of Philemon is a letter written by Paul to Philemon concerning a runaway servant named Onesimus. And if you remember, Philemon is a well-to-do householder. He is a convert and a dear friend of the Apostle Paul. And Philemon's lazy and dishonest servant Onesimus has apparently, from what we read in the letter, not only ran away from Philemon, but either stole or owed him something. And somehow, if you remember, we learned last week that Philemon lived in Colossae. The Apostle Paul is in Rome. Onesimus runs away from Philemon and somehow ends up coming across the Apostle Paul in Rome. And Onesimus gets saved as a result of meeting the Apostle Paul. He's discipled by the Apostle Paul. And of course, in the course of that relationship, it becomes apparent to Paul that he knows the master of this man Onesimus. And Paul is now moving towards and helping guide Onesimus towards restoration with his master Philemon. And this letter is a letter in which Paul is making an appeal to Philemon to receive and to forgive Onesimus, not as a servant, but as a brother in Christ. So we dealt with the first seven verses last week. I'm not going to take the time to go through that. You're welcome to listen to that on our website or wherever, all the different places we have the sermons. But we're going to pick it up right at verse number 8, as we look at this man Onesimus. And I call him the runaway because he's a runaway servant. He's someone that is running away from his problems. And you know what I've learned in 14 years of ministry, is that this is very Onesimus. You might ask yourself, why would God give a whole chapter of the Bible to this story? But I think that the reason that God does it is because these characters are so common, in the sense that we see this theme throughout the Bible. For example, we see Jonah running away. We see Onesimus here running away. And what I've learned is that people often try to run away from their problems. Now they might run away through divorce. They might run away through physically running away. They might run away through all sorts of different ways that they end relationships, cut relationships and leave. But the problem is that when you run away from your problems, you do not run away from God. And God is going to meet you wherever you go. And your problems are going to meet you wherever you go. Because of the fact that we lived in a fallen and sinful world. And because of the fact that most of our problems are staring us in the mirror. And when we run away, we run away with the one person who probably makes the most problems for us and it's ourselves. And what we find is this Onesimus running away from his problems. But the Lord is going to lead him back through the Apostle Paul. I want you to notice seven things here we learn about Onesimus and seven things that we learn about restoring relationships, about bringing people back together and bringing people back into the will of God. If you're taking notes and I of course encourage you to take notes on the back of your course of the week, there's a place for you to write down some of these things. And I'd like you to notice number one this evening, the plea for Onesimus. The plea for Onesimus. And what we see is the Apostle Paul. If you remember in verses one through seven, Paul is addressing Philemon. He's talking to Philemon and he's letting us know things about Philemon and Philemon's life and the relationship that Paul and Philemon had together. And we covered that last week. But in verse eight, Paul finally gets to kind of the point of the book, the reason that he's writing. He says in verse eight to Philemon, he says, Wherefore, though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee. I want to just take a moment to break down this statement because I think sometimes Paul, you know, Peter tells us that Paul writes in a very sophisticated way. He writes at a very high level. And I think sometimes it's easy for us to read the letters of Paul, read the statements of Paul. And they're written in such a technical way, such an intelligent way, such an intellectual way that maybe we miss it. What it is that he's trying to say. And it's easier to just kind of read through something, not understand it, and move forward. And I want you to understand what Paul is saying here. And we're actually going to deal with this even more, this specific verse eight, even more next time we're in Philemon when we are studying the Apostle Paul and his role in this. But I do think it's important for you to see what Paul is saying. He says, Wherefore, though I might be. Now, when he says, I might be, what he's saying and the way that maybe you and I would say it. In fact, if you don't mind writing in your Bible or jotting down notes in your Bible, maybe next to the words might be, you could put these words, I could. And what the Apostle Paul is saying is this, he says, I could do this. He says, I could be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient. Again, I want you to understand these words. The word enjoin, it's an older word, not a word we use a lot today. And the word enjoin means to direct. It means to give an order. It means to give a command. And here's what Paul is saying. Paul is saying, I could, I might be much bold. I could be very bold in Christ to enjoin thee, to direct thee, to command thee, to order you that which is convenient. And the word convenient there, again, being used in a different way than you and I maybe would use it today. The word convenient there is referring to something that is appropriate, something that is true, something that is right. You're there in Philemon. Keep your place there. But real quickly, go with me to the book of Colossians. Colossians chapter number 3. In the New Testament, you've got Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1st, 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and then the book of Colossians. 1st, 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians. Colossians chapter number 3. And when you get to Colossians, I'd like you to put a ribbon or a bookmark or something there because we're going to leave it, excuse me, and we're going to come back to it. But I want you to see this word convenient. The underlying Greek word in Philippians 1.8 that is being translated in Philippians as the word convenient is also used in Colossians 3.18. And I want you to see how it's translated somewhere else in the Bible because that helps us to get a synonym. It helps us to kind of understand what it is that Paul is saying. In Colossians 3.18, Paul is writing, of course, on the subject of marriage. And he says, wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands. And then he makes a statement. He says, as it is fit. You see that word fit there? The word fit is the same Greek word that is translated fit in Colossians 3.18 is the same Greek word that's translated as the word convenient in Philemon 1.8. And here Paul says, wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands as it is fit in the Lord. And I don't want to get into a sermon on marriage, but what Paul is teaching here is that wives are to submit to their husbands as long as it is within the bounds of things that are appropriate to the Lord. Obviously, if your husband asks you to sin, like any authority, if any authority ever asks you to sin, then we ought to obey God rather than men. That's the way the word is being used there. If it's fit in the Lord. Now, with that understanding and with that context, keep your place in Colossians. We're going to come back to it. Go back to Philemon and I want you to understand what Paul is saying. Paul is saying, I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient. And here's what Paul is saying. Paul is saying, what I'm asking, and he hasn't asked it yet, but he's going to ask. And he's telling Philemon, he says, I'm going to ask you to do something and I want you to know that I know that what I'm going to ask you to do is convenient. Not convenient, the way you and I use the word convenient is like it's easy and that is an appropriate word, but the way the word is being used here is that it is suitable. It is right. It is fit in the Lord, Colossians 3.18. It's something that God would be for. And what Paul is saying is this, I know that I'm not asking you to do something that God is against. I know that I'm not asking you to do something that God would not want. And he says, because of that, I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee. Again, remember the word enjoin means to direct you, means to order you, means to command you. And here's what Paul is saying to Philemon. Paul is saying, I could just order you to do what I'm going to ask you to do. And he's saying, as your spiritual leader, I would be right, it would be fitting, it would be convenient in the Lord. Because the Bible says that we ought to obey those that have the rule over us. And the apostle Paul is definitely a spiritual leader in the life of Philemon, in the life of these churches. And he's saying, look, I have the option and I could if I wanted to. He said, I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee, that which is convenient. I could just direct you and order you and tell you to do this because it's the right thing to do and leave it at that. But what Paul is saying is this, he's saying, I don't want to do that. Look at verse 9, he says, yet for loves sake I rather beseech thee. The word beseech means to implore, it means to ask, it means to in some context to beg and to eagerly ask someone to do something. And what Paul is saying, I'm within my right to not have to sit here and explain myself to you. I could just tell you, Philemon you need to do this and I would be within my right to just order you to do it. But Paul is taking a different approach here and he's saying, yet for loves sake I rather implore you. I'd rather beg you. I'd rather ask you, being such and one as Paul the agent and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ. And here's what he's saying, he's saying, I'm Paul the agent. In fact, next time we're in the book of Philemon, the first sermon I preached in Philemon was called Philemon the householder. The second sermon we're going through tonight is called Onesimus the runaway. The third sermon in Philemon is going to be called Paul the agent. Because here we have Paul writing and he's telling us, I'm an old man. He says, look, I'm an old man, I am Paul the agent, I am a prisoner of Jesus Christ, I am an apostle, I am a spiritual leader. I could, he says, there's an option here where I could just be very bold and tell you what to do. But he said, I'd rather for loves sake beseech thee. And what we see is that the apostle Paul is pleading with Onesimus, excuse me, with Philemon on behalf of Onesimus. Look at verse 10, he says, I, and he uses the word again, beseech thee. Again, the word beseech means to implore, to beg, to ask. He says, I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds. And what we see is the apostle Paul is stepping in to this conflict between Philemon and Onesimus and he's attempting to bring reconciliation. And I think the reason we read the book of Philemon is because he was successful at it. And what we see is that Paul is saying, I could force you to do this, but I don't want to force you to do it. I want you to do it for loves sake, for the love of God, for the love of each other. If you remember last week, we saw in the previous verses that Paul was commending Philemon and saying, you are someone who has love toward God and toward your brethren. And he's saying, because of that, I want to beseech thee for love's sake. Now I think there's a couple of things, several things that we can learn in regards to investing in others from the apostle Paul here. And let me just give you a couple of applications before we move on to the next point. The first thing that we can learn is this, that investing in others is going to require a personal sacrifice. Here we see the apostle Paul, and think about Paul. He is the leader of Christianity at this time. Obviously we know that Jesus is the head of the church, but Jesus has ascended up to heaven at this point. And on earth, if there's a leader of the Christian movement, of the New Testament, local church movement, it is the apostle Paul. Not only is he a leader at this time in his ministry, we know that in Rome, Paul is writing much of the New Testament. He's being used of God to write books like Philippians and Ephesians. A lot of these prison epistles are being written under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost by the apostle Paul. Not only that, but we know that he has all sorts of legal problems. He's being drawn before kings and before magistrates. He's got court case after court case. He's got personal issues, he's got ministry issues, he's got churches he needs to correct, he's got all these things. The apostle Paul tells us in the book of 1 Corinthians that the care of the churches was upon him. And I don't understand the stress of that. My wife and I can understand the care of one church, and there's enough care in this church to keep us busy. You know, 40, 50, 60 hours a week. I can only imagine what the apostle Paul was going through. But what I think is interesting is that in the midst of all of those court cases, in the midst of all of those writing projects, in the midst of all of that, of leading a soul winning New Testament church planting ministry, the apostle Paul somehow finds time and finds enough energy and finds enough love in his heart to write a personal letter to a personal friend attempting to reconcile him to another believer in Christ. And what that shows me is this, that I think here we find the greatness of Paul. Because you and I like to act like we're too busy for people. You're not, I'm not, but we like to act like we are. The truth of the matter is if you took the amount of time that you spend on your phone, you'd probably find that you have a lot of time to invest in others, to love others, to help others. And here I think we see the greatness of the apostle Paul, that he's taking time to step into this situation and to try to reconcile these two people, Philemon and Onesimus. We also learn this, that when it comes to counseling and reconciliation, I think what we can learn is this, and this is not always possible, but I think what we can learn is this, that it is best if the mediator is fully invested in both parties and vice versa. We know that Paul is deeply invested in Philemon. Paul got Philemon saved. Philemon is Paul's convert and Paul discipled him. Not only that, but Paul got Onesimus saved. Onesimus is Paul's convert and his disciple. Paul has a deep relationship with Philemon and Paul has a deep relationship with Onesimus and that really puts him, and Paul himself, is aged, he's mature, he's spiritual, he's knowledgeable. That puts him in a great position to try to mediate between these two individuals. And I would just say this, obviously our heart should always be in the right place and if we need to or if we're asked to, we should try to counsel and mediate in situations. But I think a lesson we can learn from the book of Philemon is this, that we ought to be careful about stepping into conflict of individuals that we just aren't that close to. Because what is needed to lead people in a direction of reconciliation is a level of influence, a level of respect and Paul the aged had that with Philemon and with Onesimus and that didn't happen overnight. It wasn't like Paul, Paul's not writing Philemon and saying, I know you don't know me but I'm just some guy and let me tell you what I think about you. Paul has already taken years to invest into both of these lives and he's invested into them. And what we learn is this, that you and I need to just stop being so selfish and invest our lives into others. Because we don't know when the opportunity might arise that we need to leverage some of that influence to help those individuals. Not only that but another thing that I see is this, that when it comes to restoring relationships and mediating in a counseling situation, it is best if the two parties being mediated are both spiritual Christians. I mean I've just found that if someone's like pastor or if someone's asking my wife, you know, we need counseling, we need this, I can tell you right now, the best, it works the best, it's the most honoring to the Lord, it's just the, it works the best when both people, whether it's a husband or a wife or two church members or whatever it might be, when both people, I'm not saying they need to be perfect, I'm not saying they need to be sinless, but if there is just some, a certain level of just spirituality and love the Lord. You know what the worst thing in the world, trying to counsel someone where you have an individual, maybe they're spiritual, they love the Lord and then this person's just carnal. Just carnal and it's just like you can't even, you're not even speaking the same language, I mean you're talking about forgiveness and reconciliation and this is like not registering. And you know what's even worse than that is when you're counseling two carnal people. At that point I'm just like, I'm going to divorce you, you two, you know like just get out of my office, you know. It's look, and here's what we can learn, you say well what's the lesson, here's the lesson, be spiritual. You be spiritual, you love the Lord, you don't be selfish, you get in the word of God, you live for God because you don't know when you might be called upon to be a Paul the Aged, to bring individuals together or you don't know when you might be the one who's getting the letter like Philemon. And I think one of the reasons that Paul felt comfortable writing this letter is because he knew the man who would receive the letter was spiritual enough to receive it. So we see the plea for Onesimus. Then I want you to notice secondly, not only do we see the plea for Onesimus, but we see the prophet of Onesimus. Look at verse 11, notice what Paul, and again remember the context is this, Paul is writing Philemon about Onesimus and here's what he says, he says, he's talking about Onesimus, he says, which in time past was to thee unprofitable. He's talking to Philemon about Onesimus and he's telling Philemon, look I know that in time past, I know that in the past Onesimus was unprofitable. Now look, I think the best way for us, Onesimus is a servant during the first century in the empire of Rome. And we obviously don't have these types of servant master relationships here in our country or in our day and age. I think the best way for us to bring this into our world is to think of like an employee and employer relationship. Obviously that's not exactly the same, but that's probably the best way to look at it. And I would say this, if you're an employee, the worst way for you to be described by your employer is this, the word unprofitable. When an employer hires an employee, you know what he wants him to be? He wants him to be profitable. He's spending a certain amount of money to pay you and he's hoping that your work, your labor, your productivity not only covers that, but covers more than that. So here Paul is being very real and he's saying, look, I know this guy wasn't a good worker. I know in time past he was pretty lazy. He says, which in time past was to the unprofitable? He says, but now profitable to thee and to me. He says in verse 12, whom I have sent again, thou therefore receive him, that is mine own vows. And then I want you to notice that Paul's not lying here when he says, I know that he used to be lazy, but he's going to be a good worker now. I know that he used to be unprofitable, but he's going to be profitable now. Paul says, look, in verse 13, he says, whom I would have retained with me. He said, this guy is so good, I wish I could keep him, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel. So first we see the plea of Onesimus, verses 8 through 10. But then I want you to notice, secondly, tonight we see the prophet of Onesimus, verses 11 through 13. And here's what we really see. We see the power of discipleship. And the fact that Paul getting Onesimus saved, but not just getting him saved, discipling him in the things of God, turned Onesimus from a different person. He says, in time past he was unprofitable, but now profitable. If you kept your place in Colossians, I'd like you to go to Ephesians, if you would, Ephesians chapter number 4. If you go backwards from Colossians, you have Philippians and then the book of Ephesians, Ephesians chapter number 4. When we talk about discipleship, this is what we're talking about. Salvation changes your destination. Sanctification changes your life. It changes who you are. And the apostle Paul is writing to Philemon and he's saying, look, I know that Onesimus used to be unprofitable, but he's changed. He's different now. I got him saved, but he said, that's not just enough. Just getting saved isn't going to change anything. He says, I've been working with him. I've been discipling him. He says, in time past he was to the unprofitable. He says, but now profitable. He said, in fact, he's so profitable that I would have retained him with me. I would have just kept him because he's helping me and he's ministering unto me. He says that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel. We see the prophet of Onesimus and what we see here is the change that discipleship can bring. Are you there in Ephesians 4? Look at verse 22. In Ephesians 4, 22, it's explained this way. Discipleship, it's explained this way. That ye put off concerning the former conversation. The word conversation is referring to, the word conversation means your lifestyle. And he's saying, put off the former lifestyle. That's what Paul is talking about in Philemon when he says, in time past, was to the unprofitable. In Ephesians 4, 22, he's saying that ye put off concerning the former conversation, the old man, which is corrupt according to the disciples and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that ye put on, look at it, the new man. What is discipleship? Discipleship is I'm going to put off the old man and the former conversation, the old lifestyle, and I'm going to put on a new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. You say, well that sounds good, that sounds spiritual, I like that. Okay, but let's get specific. What does that mean? Verse 25. Wherefore, putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Look at verse 28. He says, Let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he might give to him that needeth. See, this is really because Onesimus, we're going to see later in Philemon, that he even stole from, he owed Philemon something, and it sounds like he stole from him or he did something that caused Philemon to lose something. But notice that Paul is saying here, and I think this would apply to Philemon, he's saying let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor. That's changed. That's going from being unprofitable to profitable. And that's what discipleship was all about. Why would you show up to a church like this on a Sunday night? Why would you show up on a Wednesday night? Why would you show up on a Sunday morning? Why? What's the point? I really don't know what the answer is for you. I can tell you what the biblical answer is. The biblical answer is this. The whole reason we come to church is so we can learn the word of God, so we can see what God tells us to do, and then we can look at the Bible and say, Oh, that's how God wants me to be a husband. I haven't been being that way. Oh, that's how God wants me to be a wife. I haven't been being that way. Oh, that's how God wants me to be an employee. God wants me to work not just with eye service as men pleasers, but unto the Lord. So God doesn't just want me to work hard when the boss is watching. God wants me to work hard all the time, whether the boss is watching or not, because God is always watching. Do you understand what I'm saying to you? And as we study the Bible, and as we learn the Bible, and as we begin to apply these things in our lives, it actually changes our lives, and people can look at us and say, That guy used to be lazy, but he's not lazy no more. That guy used to be a liar, but he's honest now. That guy used to steal, but he labors with his hint. There's been a change in your life. You've got to ask yourself this question, and I've got to ask myself this question. Is there any profit in our Christianity? I've been coming to this church for years, but has anything changed? Have you applied anything? Hopefully you've learned some things. We work hard here to teach you the Bible in heavy doses. But teaching you the Word of God and you applying it to your life are two different things. And what we see is the Apostle Paul is telling Philemon, He used to be unprofitable, but he's not anymore. He used to be a liar, but he's not anymore. He used to be lazy, but he's not anymore. He is profitable to thee and to me. And this should be your testimony. And look, in your Christian life and in my Christian life, and don't get to this place where you say, Well, I've been coming here for 14 years, and none of us have attained. There's more we can do. There's more work to be done. We will not be done until the day of the rapture or until God kills you and sends you to heaven or whatever. So you get in that glorified body, when we will behold Him, we will be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Until that day, there's more work to be done. I think this is interesting. It's one of the reasons we're starting this leadership institute. I always think it's interesting when people think to themselves, like, I don't need to learn anything about leadership. It's like, you suck as a leader, but I don't need to learn anything. No, you do. Look, don't assume that just because you're a father, you're a good father. Don't assume that just because you're a husband, you're a good husband. Don't assume that just because you have children and you're a mother, that makes you a good mother. Don't assume that just because you sit in a building with chandeliers and a steeple, that makes you a good Christian. Don't assume that just because you're employed somewhere, that makes you a good employee. You and I need to be constantly working on ourselves to be profitable servants, to be profitable unto the Lord, profitable in our lives. So we see the plea of Onesimus, verses 8 through 10. We see the prophet of Onesimus, verses 11 through 13. I want you to notice, thirdly tonight, we see the permission of Onesimus. Excuse me, the permission for Onesimus in verse 14. I want you to notice what Paul says here in Philemon 1.14. He says, but without thy mind would I do nothing. And this harkens back to what we started in verse 8. Paul says, I'm not going to force you to do this. I could force you. I could make you do it. I think the reason that Paul says that is because I think Philemon, the church is meeting in his house. So I think Philemon holds a role of leadership in the church in Colossae, and Paul is saying, I could make you do this because you're in my leadership structure. But he's saying, I don't want to make you do this. Verse 14, he says, but without thy mind would I do nothing. He says, I'm sending him back to you because I wouldn't just force this on you. He says, look at what he says, verse 14, that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly. Now, when I read that, that immediately reminds me of another verse that the Apostle Paul wrote. I'd like you to see it in 2 Corinthians chapter 9. If you kept your place in Ephesians, I'm not sure if you did. If you go backwards from Ephesians, you have Galatians and 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians chapter 9, and do me a favor, put a ribbon or something in 2 Corinthians. We're going to leave it and come back to it. But I want you to notice 2 Corinthians chapter 9. So in Philemon 1.14, Paul says to Philemon, but without thy mind would I do nothing that thy benefit. He says, here's why I'm not going to force you to do it. Because if I force you to do it, you're not going to get the benefit. He says, without thy mind, without your permission, without thy mind would I do nothing that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly. What does Paul say? Paul is saying, I could make you do this, I could force you to do that, but if I do that, that's not going to benefit you. There's no reward there for you. Because something that you and I need to understand is this, that motives matter. And the reason we do things matter to God. And if you're just doing it, Jesus talked a lot about this, to be seen of men. If you're just doing it for a show. If you're just doing it because the apostle Paul told you to. He says, there's no benefit in that. Paul says, I don't want to make you do this. He said, I want you to do this from the right heart, from a heart for love's sake, he said. He said, not of necessity, but willingly. Now, that reminds me of this verse. In 2 Corinthians 9, Paul is writing to the church in Corinth about giving. And notice what he says in verse 6. But this I say, he which soweth sparingly, shall reap also sparingly. That is the Bible way of saying, if you're cheap with God, God's going to be cheap with you. But he which soweth bountifully, shall reap also bountifully. That's God's way of saying, if you're generous with God, he'll be generous with you. Verse 7, every man according as he purposeth in his heart. Here Paul is telling the church of Corinth. And the context is about giving. About giving to the work of God. He says, I'm not going to force you to do it. Every man as he purposeth in his heart, notice what he says. So let him give, not grudgingly, or of necessity, for God loveth a cheerful giver. And that's what Paul is telling Philemon. He says, that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly. And look, I believe in duty, I think that we should do things, if for no good reason, we should do it out of duty. Say, when I don't feel like going to soul winning, just go out of duty. Because it's the right thing to do. When you don't feel like showing up to church, just do it out of duty. Duty! Rescue the perishing, duty demands it. I believe in that. But let me just say this, if everything you do in the Christian life is done out of duty, you will grow better and you will quit on God. Now every once in a while, you got to force yourself, you got to force your flesh, and you got to tell yourself, I'm going to do it out of duty. I'm just going to show up. Look, sometimes I tell myself, or my wife tells me, you just got to go, you're the pastor. They expect you to preach today. Sometimes we just do it out of duty. But you know, your whole Christian life shouldn't just be this grudging, just duty. You understand what I'm saying to you? I like how the apostle Paul says, he said, I want to get to the end of my course with joy. Sometimes we do things out of duty. Sometimes it's difficult. Sometimes, look, every time you're putting that tithe check, you're just like, argh! Keep your stinking money. God doesn't want you to do it out of necessity. He says, so let him give, not grudgingly or of necessity. God loveth a cheerful giver. And it matters what you do, and it matters why you do it. And look, yeah, sometimes you got to read your Bible out of duty. But if you're reading your Bible out of duty every day, you're going to eventually quit reading your Bible. So you got to check your heart, and you got to ask God to help soften your heart and to bring back. This is why God, in the book of Revelation, he's telling the churches in Revelation, he says, you need to repent. He says, you need to go back to your first love. And I often see this in the Christian life where people just grow cold. Sometimes I just want to shake them and say, why don't you get excited about God again? You've gotten a little too distracted with politics, or a little too distracted with money, or a little too distracted with health, or a little too distracted with sports, or whatever it is that you've gotten into. Why don't you get your heart right with God again? Why don't you go back to that first love when you loved God, and you loved the word of God, and you loved the preaching of God's word, and you loved coming to church, and you loved reading your Bible, you loved sharing the gospel. We need to get back to that. And every once in a while, yes, duty, rescue the perishing, duty demands it. That should not be your Christian life. You will grow bitter, and you will grow cold. So Paul tells Philemon, I could force you to do this, but without thy mind would I do nothing. That thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly. He says, Philemon, I want your permission. I want you to do this because it's something you want to do from your heart. Now I want you to notice, thirdly tonight, keep your place there in 2 Corinthians, and go back to Philemon, excuse me, fourthly tonight. We saw the plea of Onesimus versus 8 through 10, the prophet of Onesimus versus 11 through 13, the permission for Onesimus in verse 14. Now I want you to notice number four tonight, the providence of Onesimus in verse 15. Now I've got seven points tonight, and I realize I'm running out of time. I've got to move quickly, but let me just tell you this. Out of all the points in this sermon, for me this is my favorite. I kind of wish I could have just preached it last, but I'm preaching up to verse 19, and it's in verse 15. It's just kind of right in the middle, so I've got to deal with it in the middle. But the providence of Onesimus, and here's what Paul says. He says in verse 15, remember the context. The context is this, Philemon is a householder. He has a servant who's Onesimus. Onesimus owes him money. Probably the reason why Onesimus is a servant is that he did something, stole from Philemon, or owes him money, he's in debt. Onesimus was supposed to be working that off as a servant, but he was unprofitable as a servant. He was lazy as a servant, and now he's even just ran away. He's ran away from his duties. He's ran away from the things that God has called him to do. And he happens to. And I use that term loosely, because you understand that there's nothing coincidental in the will of God. What we see in verse 15 is what I call the providence of God in the life of Onesimus. I want you to see it in verse 15. Here's what Paul says to Philemon. He says, for perhaps. And he's saying, I'm not going to say that this is for sure. But Paul is saying, I kind of think, I kind of have this tendency to think. You know, Rome's a pretty big city, Philemon. And out of all the people that Onesimus could have ran into, he ran into me, who happens to know you, who got him saved. He started being under my ministry, I discipled him. And Paul says in Philemon 1.15, he says, for perhaps he therefore departed for a season. That thou shouldest receive him forever. You say, I don't understand why you're making a big deal about that. Here's what the Apostle Paul is saying. Philemon, you were hurt. In fact, you were ripped off. You were stolen from, and you're frustrated. This guy was unprofitable, he was lazy, and then he has the audacity to run away. But Paul says, maybe, maybe this happened for a reason. Perhaps God allowed this. Perhaps he therefore departed for a season. That thou shouldest receive him forever. And what Paul is saying is this, that maybe, Philemon, the hurts in our lives, the difficulties in our lives, when people hurt us and attack us, when they steal from us, when they run away, cut and run from relationship, these bad things, because to Philemon, the relationship he had with Onesimus would have been categorized as a bad thing. But Paul is saying, maybe, just maybe, God allowed all these things in your life that he might depart for a season, and that thou shouldest receive him forever. Are you understanding what I'm saying? I don't know if you are, but let me give you some other examples from the Bible. You don't have to turn here, I'll just read this for you. Remember this, Genesis 50 and verse 20? Remember Joseph in the Bible? Remember Joseph was lied about, was sold into slavery by his brethren, he was lied about by Potiphar's wife, he was thrown into prison, he was forgotten by his friends in prison, he had all these bad things happen to him, and then he ascends up to being the second most powerful man in Egypt, and when his brethren come, and when his father dies, and they come to him, here's what Joseph said, Joseph said, Genesis 50 verse 20, but as for you, this is Joseph speaking to his brothers, he says, ye thought evil against me, but God meant it for good. And he says, I know that you tried to hurt me, I know that you tried to rip me off, I know that you tried to do me wrong, but the truth of the matter is this, that ye thought evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring to pass as it is this day, to save much people alive. Do you understand that? I love the story of Joseph, I often think of the story of Joseph, because why is it that God was able to use Joseph to save the nation of Israel, this fragile nation, that at this time was just a family, but they were going to starve. How was Joseph able to help them? Joseph was able to help them, because he became the second most powerful person, in the most powerful nation at the time, Egypt, and he orchestrated the bringing in of the food, and the saving up of food, so that people could survive the famine. But why did Joseph get that chance? Well Joseph got that chance, because he happened to be in prison, and he happened to interpret a dream for a guy in prison, and that guy was connected to Pharaoh, and when Pharaoh had a dream, that guy remembered Joseph, and said Joseph, this guy in prison, interpreted by a dream, maybe he can interpret your dream. How did Joseph end up in prison interpreting the dream of that guy? Well he ended up in prison interpreting the dream of that guy, because he got sold into slavery by his brothers in the Canaan land, and he ended up in Potiphar's house. And then in Potiphar's house they accused him, and Potiphar's wife lied about him, and all these bad things happened in Joseph's life, but we can see that God's hand was on Joseph, and God was moving Joseph through these difficulties, exactly where God needed Joseph. It might be the same thing that Mordecai was saying to Esther when he said, For if thou all together holdest thy peace at this time, then shall their enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place. But thou in thy father's house shall be destroyed. And then Mordecai says this to Esther, he says, And who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? And the truth is this, and I understand that the hurts, and the pains of your life when you have been betrayed, when you've had people turn on you, when you've had people lie about you, when you've had people steal from you, when you've had people hurt you, when they've cut and ran away and they should not have. All those things have been painful. But perhaps God's hand was in it, and perhaps God was moving you in the direction that he needed you to go, because here's the truth, Joseph would not have gone to where God needed him on his own. Neither would have Esther. Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Ye thought evil against me, but God meant it for good. And that's what Paul is saying to Philemon in Philemon 1.15, for perhaps he therefore departed for a season that thou shouldest receive him forever. Paul said something similar about his own life in Philippians. Philippians 1.12, if you would, I'd like you to go there. If you kept your place in 2 Corinthians, if you go from 2 Corinthians, you have the book of Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians. Philippians chapter 1. In Philippians, Paul is writing from prison. And if you remember the story of Paul, he's been betrayed, he's been lied about, he's been beaten, he's been arrested, he's had all these things happen to him. And here's what Paul says in Philippians 1.12. He says, But I would ye should understand, brethren, he's talking to them about all the difficulties in his life, and he says, I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me, What is he talking about? Being assaulted, not given a fair hearing, being in prison, being beaten, being persecuted. He said, I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me, he said, have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel. What is he saying? He's saying all these bad things that happened in my life, yes they were bad, yes they were difficult, but they were in God's plan, and God used them for good. He said, in fact, all these things that have happened unto me have only helped the gospel go further. He said they've fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel. Paul's saying that about himself. Mordecai says about Esther, Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Joseph said, But as for you, ye thought evil against me, but God meant it for good. And Paul says to Philemon, Perhaps ye therefore departed for a season that thou shouldest receive him forever. And what I'm saying to you is this, that maybe in the providence of God, he uses the difficulty in our lives to do a greater work through us. This is what Romans 8.28 says, you don't have to turn there, it says this, And we know that all things work together for good, to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. And I always want to point out that this verse does not say we know all things are good. It doesn't say that. It says we know all things can work together for good. Sometimes those are bad things, and we don't want to go through them, and they're difficult. But even in the bad, even in the evil, even when they run from us, even when they steal from us, even when they thought evil against us, God says he can work all those things together for good. Maybe your story has happened to you that you, like Onesimus, might be received as a brother forever. Maybe your story has happened for the furtherance of the gospel, to reach more people, to do more things. So we see in this verse that sometimes God allows things in our lives to lead us in the direction that he wants us to go. So we see the providence. Now I want you to notice, fifthly, in Philemon 1.16 verses 16 and 17, we see the position of Onesimus. He says, not now as a servant, Paul is telling Philemon, if you're going to receive him, I don't want you to receive him simply as a servant. He 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. I just want you to notice that Paul says when he comes back, he's coming back with a different position. And it's not a different position in the earth, because look, Onesimus was still a servant. In fact, all throughout the Bible, Paul is telling servants to obey their masters in the Lord. And he's telling masters to treat their servants well and to not take advantage of them. But what Paul is saying, he's not coming back as a servant spiritually, he's coming back as a brother beloved. Galatians 4, you don't have to turn there, says this, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons, and because ye are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts, crying Abba Father, wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. I just think it's interesting that Onesimus left as a servant and came back as a brother. And you know that's my story too. I was once a servant, but now because of Christ, I'm no more a servant, but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. So you see the position of Onesimus, it's changed, it's our position in Christ. We're not servants, we're friends. We're not servants, we're brothers. We're not servants, we're the sons and the daughters of God. And I want you to notice, number six tonight, the picture of Onesimus. In verse 18, Paul says this, if he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ah, here's what Paul says, put that on mine account. He says, put that on me. If he did you wrong, if he owes you something, I'll take care of it. Now Paul is speaking literally here. He's saying, if Onesimus cost you something, if he owes you something, we're going to see it in verse 19 as well. He said, I want you to put that on mine account. But I think what we see here is a picture, and it is a picture of salvation. Isn't this what salvation is? Salvation is the Lord Jesus Christ coming to God the Father and saying about you and about me, if he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ah, put that on mine account. You know what salvation is? Salvation is that God had made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. He took our sins and we took his righteousness. He took our sins and put them on his account. He took his righteousness and put it on our account. If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ah, put that on mine account. I think this is a beautiful picture of salvation, of Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity, the Bible says. So we see here a picture of salvation. And then I want you to notice lastly tonight, we see a payment for Onesimus. Look at verse 19. I, Paul, have written it with mine own hand. I will repay it. And what Paul is saying here is that he cares so much about Onesimus and the problem between Onesimus and Philemon, that Paul says whatever he owes you, put it on my account, he says you have my commitment, I will repay it. And you know this reminds me of a story in the book of Luke. I'd like you to see it real quickly, Luke chapter 10. Matthew, Mark, and then Luke. Luke chapter 10. And look at verse 33. In Luke 10 and verse 33 we have the famous story of the Good Samaritan. The Bible says, But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. What do we see here with the Good Samaritan? The Bible says, But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed. This guy wasn't just out on a walk with nothing to do. He was on a journey. He had somewhere to be. He had planned to go somewhere, but as he was out on this journey, he came across this person that was left half beaten, half dead, half alive, and the Bible says he had compassion on him. And he went to him. You can't get out of the soul winning implications here. He went to him. He bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to the inn, and took care of him. He invested himself into this individual. Look at verse 35. And on the morrow, when he departed, he took out two pence. That's money. And gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him, and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, here's what reminds me of Philemon. Last part of verse 35, he says, I will repay. I will repay. You know what Paul said? Paul said in Philemon 119, I, Paul, have written it with mine own hand. I will repay it. You know what we can learn from this? Is that if you and I are going to invest ourselves into people, it's probably going to cost us. It might cost us money. It will cost us time. It'll cost us energy. It'll cost us stress, to be honest with you. It'll cost you hurt. You'll invest your life into people, and they'll stab you in the back. You'll invest your life into people, and they'll run away. But maybe just for a season, so that they could be restored to the Lord. But here we see that Paul was not afraid to make the payment, the cost of discipleship. Yes, investing yourself in someone, it might cost you something, but Paul said, I want to pay it. I will repay. I can tell you in my life, and this is minimal, but in 14 years of ministry, there have been times in this church, in this church, where two individuals have been fighting about, they did some deal or something, and it fell through, and they were fighting about several hundred dollars, and I was trying to help them, and they were just both carnal and whatever. They weren't seeing, and I just took money out of my wallet and said, here, I'll just pay for it myself. I'll pay for it. I will repay. They're like, no, no. I'm like, no, it's worth to not have to talk to you anymore about this. But what I'm telling you is this. Sometimes it costs to help people, to love people, to be there for people. He says, I, Paul, have ran it with my own hand. I will repay it. But then, I really love this, and you might not like this, but I like it, and it's in the Bible, and it's the Holy Spirit, so it doesn't matter if you like it, because to me, it shows the humanity of Paul. You know, we see this in the book of Acts 2, when they went on that journey, and Paul said you shouldn't do it, and then he's like, I'm not going to say it, but I told you so. And here's what Paul says. He says, I, Paul, have ran it with my own hand. I will repay it. He says, look, whatever he owes you, I'll pay for it. If you have wronged thee or owed thee art, put that on mine account. And look, what you really see here is the power of influence, and it is this. He says, albeit, I do not say. This is what I like about Paul. Paul says, I'm not going to say, and then he says what he says he's not going to say. That's how you know that Paul was a Baptist preacher. He says, albeit, I do not say to thee, Philemon, how thou always unto me, even thine own self besides. And Paul's like, I'm not going to say this, Philemon, but you know that, and then he says it, which I think is funny. But what does he say? He says, Philemon, I'm telling you, if he owes you something, I'll pay it. Put it on my account, I'll pay for it. But he said, I don't want to mention the fact that I got you saved. And if it wasn't for me, Philemon, you'd die and go to hell. And not only that, but I discipled you. And that lovely wife of yours, Iphia, and that relationship that you have, that's as a result of the teaching and ministry of the church that I started. And the fact that your kids have been raised in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, Paul would say, is because I took the time to write words and to invest in you and to teach you. So Paul says, if he owes you something and you just can't get over it, he says, I'll pay it, but I do not say to thee how thou always unto me even thine own self besides. And here's what we can learn from that. It's this, that we should forgive others, you know why? Because we've been forgiven. We should not hold things against people, because we've had others be generous to us. And Paul says to Philemon, if you really can't let this go with Onesimus, I'll pay for it, but you owe me more than you owe him. And this goes in line with the teaching of Jesus on forgiveness when he says, you want to hold something against an individual when I've forgiven much more. And that's why God says. That's why he tells us to pray that we would be forgiven as we have forgiven, as he's forgiven us, we should forgive others. So we see that there's a payment, there's a cost. Now I just want to end with two practical applications and we'll be done. And the applications are this. All throughout this passage, what we've seen is the cost of investing your life in others. If you invest your life in others, it's going to cost you time. It's going to cost you energy. It might cost you money. You have some new convert and you might have to go pick him up for church. It might cost you something, but it's worth it. It's worth doing it. But you know there's another application that I think is interesting and it is this. We see the exact same thing with Jonah that we do with Onesimus and it is this. When you decide to run away from God, when you decide to cut and run, you just have to realize this. That whenever you come back to God, you'll have to come back to the exact same place where you left. I mean isn't that interesting? Onesimus runs away from Philemon. Living out in Rome. Maybe he had some sort of a prodigal son story where he was just doing whatever. But at some point, he ran into Paul. At some point, he got saved. At some point, he got discipled. At some point, he decided to do right and God brings him full circle and says, Remember Philemon? And I'm here to tell you that wherever you and I decide to cut out on God, when we finally come to the end of ourselves, we'll just have to start right back where we left off. Jonah runs away from God because he doesn't want to go to Nineveh. He gets thrown into the ocean, gets swallowed by a whale, gets vomited by a whale, and when he's ready to get right with God, God says, Alright, now that thing about Nineveh. Because whenever we come back to God, we'll have to just come back to where we left off. So why not not quit and just keep going for the Lord? That's why I had to have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, we do love you. And we thank you for these stories. You've put them in scripture for our admonition. To help us and to teach us. And Lord, I pray you'd help us. Help us to be like the Apostle Paul. Help us to be like Philemon. Help us to be like Onesimus. Wherever these things apply to us. Maybe we need to be the spiritual Paul of the ages that are attempting to reconcile brethren. Maybe we need to be the spiritual Philemon who needs to receive and forgive. Maybe we need to be Onesimus and we need to change who we were and stop being unprofitable and start being profitable and get back right where we left off. Lord, I pray you'd help us with all these things. In the matchless name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. All right. Well, God bless you. Thank you very much for being here tonight. We're going to have Brother RJ come up and lead us in a final song. Just want to remind you of a couple of things. First of all, don't forget, men, if you're part of the class for the leadership thing, that's this Tuesday, 7 p.m., so just don't forget about that. And then everybody else, we just want to invite you. We're having a leadership live stream at 6 p.m., so if you could just check that out, we'd appreciate it, or if you're interested in that. And also, if you have any questions that we can answer on the live stream, then you can ask them on the communication card. And even if you missed the offering or whatever, just hand it to me or one of the staff guys after the service and we would love to be able to try to answer some of those questions on the live stream. And then, of course, want to invite you to be back on Wednesday night for the midweek service. We have a Spanish service on Saturday. Don't forget about that as well. If there's anything we can do for you, please let us know. If you wouldn't mind looking around your row there, if your kids made a mess or whatever, if you don't mind cleaning it up or putting the hymn books back or whatever, it helps the cleaners tomorrow. And, of course, my wife and I hope you know that we love you, we care for you, we're praying for you, and if there's ever anything we can do for you, please let us know. Why, Brother R.J., come up and lead us in a final song. Amen. Let's grab our songbooks and turn to page number 360. Song number 360. We will sing Pray About Everything. Song number 360. Sing it out on the first. Once I was burdened with many a care. Problems too hard for my weak soul to bear. Then in God's word came a message so clear. Pray about everything. There is a wonderful treasure. There is a wonderful thing. Blessing our roles without measure. So pray about everything. Song number 360. I know this is kind of new for everybody. I think it's new for me as well. So if you know it, sing it out. If you don't, let's learn it together. All right, song number 360 on the second. Ask of your Father, he'd love it to please. Unlock his treasure, he gives us a keys. Claiming this promise, I drop to my knees. Pray about everything. There is a wonderful treasure. There is a wonderful thing. Blessings all ours without measure. So pray about everything. Doubting and fretting can only bring shame. For me and fear will dishonor his name. Go to your Savior, he promised to claim. Pray about everything. There is a wonderful treasure. There is a wonderful thing. Blessings all ours without measure. So pray about everything. Sing it out on the last. Riches in Jesus, abundance and free. Needs in our work, oh whatever it be. Ours for our asking bids only his plea. Pray about everything. There is a wonderful treasure. There is a wonderful thing. Blessings all ours without measure. So pray about everything. Amen. Great singing. I'm going to have to ask Brother Scott to dismiss us with a word of prayer, but before he does that, I just want to remind you that if anyone here has questions about salvation, baptism or church membership, that pastor will be at the door and he'd love to talk to you directly to someone who's trained to do that as well. All right, Brother Scott. Amen. Amen.