Rejoicing Over Love; Philemon 1-7
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· 7 viewsThe faith of a believer is not only seen but felt by others.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
PRAY AT BEGINNING!
Go straight into the text, using Paul’s introduction to introduce the book
1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother: To Philemon our dear friend and coworker,
2 to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church that meets in your home.
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Spend a couple minutes going through Paul’s introduction
Who are the different people
Philemon - main person that the letter is written to, owner of the slave Onesimus
Apphia - most likely Philemon’s wife
Archrippus - possibly Philemon’s son because he is in the house with Philemon; most likely person that took over the Colossian church after Epaphras left
This letter delivered at the same time as the letter to the Colossians, by the same people
the letter to the church would have been read aloud to the church
we do not know if this letter was originally that way, but we do know it was given to the church, as we have it today
Grace and Peace to you…
Paul’s usual greeting - He always starts with grace to you and ends with grace be with you, or continue with you
4 I always thank my God when I mention you in my prayers,
5 because I hear of your love for all the saints and the faith that you have in the Lord Jesus.
6 I pray that your participation in the faith may become effective through knowing every good thing that is in us for the glory of Christ.
7 For I have great joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.
The faith of a believer is not only seen but felt by others.
Famously Loving People
Famously Loving People
People care what other people think…
Even though we know that we should not, we all do to some respect
I don’t want people to think that I am lazy (Heather tells me I am crazy and nobody thinks that)
We try and keep a reputation that we control (that is one of the things that we love about social media, we control the image we put out there
Instagram boyfriends… we watched at a stoplight in Wichita
4 I always thank my God when I mention you in my prayers,
5 because I hear of your love for all the saints and the faith that you have in the Lord Jesus.
A man may be a good doctor without loving his patients; a good lawyer without loving his clients; a good geologist without loving science; but he cannot be a good Christian without love.
Dwight Lyman Moody (Evangelist)
Paul heard of the love Philemon had for the saints
who are the saints
fellow believers
both in Colossae and spread throughout
i would go out on a limb and say that he loved non believers too
how would he love them
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can such faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food
16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,” but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it?
we see needs and fill needs
speak to what James is saying
The things that Jesus said separated the sheep and the goats
you gave me food, drink , clothed me, visited me in prison
remember both the ones who did these things and the ones who did not, recognized the opportunity
it was just who they were and what they did… or did not
love is not always doing in the sense that you are providing a service
sometimes the way to love another saint is to sit with them in their pain
loving the saints is not always for the needy
taking care of those who are on the front lines in the mission of furthering the kingdom of God
making sure that they have the supplies that they need
imagine fighting a war and not having the supplies and things it takes to win
figuratively speaking… we know that God has all things, and has already won the battle
it may just be that the supplies God is going to use for those on the front lines are in your hands
what are the needs of those that are reaching the lost world with the gospel
maybe God has given to you, so that you could be involved in the battle this way
Philemon was providing for the saints
possibly sending a gift with Epaphras to help in Paul’s ministry
heard again a story again this week of when this building was being built, the supplies needed to continue and finish were running out, predicted to last until about 2pm in the afternoon when in the last moments an envelope of cash comes with $10,000. A trip to town and suddenly supplies have been purchased to continue.
an unsolicited, unknown gift in God’s timing to a people who were acting on faith
Are you loving in a way that is causing people to talk
all the things that we give people to talk about us, is our love one of them
we should be the most generous people in the world
Malachi 3 tells us the one thing that God says to test him… giving
give… in Malachi 3, it is the tithe to the church
but are we giving sacrificially to God
rather it is to the church or to others
what is the promise when we do… he will open the floodgates of heaven and pour out blessings without measure
I am not preaching a prosperity gospel, that if you give to the church you will be rich… sow that seed in my ministry and watch as God multiplies it to your life
there are other ways God blesses besides money… but when we live open handed, radically giving away as God directed us to give then you will not be able to count the blessings that come upon you
I think we could all love more
I am not asking that you go out and look for ways that you can love
I am asking for something far more difficult… pray
Will you pray for God to show you where and how you can love others
Will you be obedient when he calls on you to move
Living Out Our Faith
Living Out Our Faith
None of what I have talked about will save you
too often we are doing good things to get in the good graces with the man upstairs
God is not the man upstairs that you can satisfy
all people who sin have debt with God, but nothing that you do can pay that debt
it is the debt that Jesus gave on the cross
so we do not love others out of a need to save yourself
that actually is not loving people, that is using them to better yourself
it is a self love and the people that you are loving are a means to an end
Our love is an expression of our faith
4 I always thank my God when I mention you in my prayers,
5 because I hear of your love for all the saints and the faith that you have in the Lord Jesus.
see how the two are connected in this text… your love for the saints and your faith
but it is connected for us in James 2:17
17 In the same way faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.
Faith is a living, restless thing. It cannot be inoperative.
Martin Luther (Founder of the German Reformation)
Our faith in the lord leads us to action
first it leads us to confess that Jesus is Lord
9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.
our belief, faith in Christ leads us to a confession of who he is
Our faith in Jesus causes us to love like he loves
with compassion - love in action
sacrificially like Jesus
with compassion he left his throne
he gave himself physically so that we could live
Our faith causes us to hate what Jesus hates
we hate sin, we hate injustice
that does not mean that simply shout from the rooftops how sinful people are
yet it does not mean that are quiet about it
The active faith of Philemon caused Paul to praise God
can that be said of us
The Result of Faith
The Result of Faith
I grew up in Missouri, the Show Me State
it is not that I do not trust you, I do not trust anyone… do not tell me, show me.
Are there results of our faith, evidence of our faith
we are saved by faith through grace
8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—
9 not from works, so that no one can boast.
but you can see the evidence in how we love others because of our faith
6 I pray that your participation in the faith may become effective through knowing every good thing that is in us for the glory of Christ.
7 For I have great joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor during WWII, stood firm in his faith against the tyranny of the Nazis. He became involved in plans to undermine the regime, all while remaining deeply committed to God’s principles. His courage and acts of faith, even when facing death, served as inspiration to many during such dark times.
Philemon’s faith is felt not only by Paul and those with him, but hearts of the saints have been refreshed
the saints are fellow believers
people in Colossae and people abroad
the result of our faith, again, is not what we get out of it, but others
The refreshing is not exalting you, but the God your faith is in
God is using you to encourage and refresh people
just as God has done for you
remember a time when while you were struggling, a kind word, gift, or hug made you feel seen, not just by the fellow family members, but by God
God tells his people, I have heard your cries, I have seen your difficulties and I know you
when we are the hands and feet of Christ, we help make those words come alive for those who need it
The Faith is not in our works but in what Christ has done
this is what we remember when we do communion
Our love for the Lord should cause others to rejoice and move us to action.
A Life Leading Others to Praise
A Life Leading Others to Praise
Have you met somebody and thought there is a person who loves the Lord
or heard of a great ministry and sat in amazement at God was doing
I do not mean, “Wow, you used him?”
usually the louder ones… we are easily drawn to a show
4 I always thank my God when I mention you in my prayers,
5 because I hear of your love for all the saints and the faith that you have in the Lord Jesus.
What does it mean to love the Lord -
Romans 5:1
Romans 8:1
Romans 12:1
What does it mean to life a life of sacrifice
Romans 12:2
James 2:4-5
Why does this cause others to Praise God
We love to hear how God is working here and around the world
it is an encouragement that God is working here
it is an encouragement that this is not the only place
A Life Leading Others to Pray
A Life Leading Others to Pray
Too often when we hear, “Life leading others to pray,” we think that our lives are so messed up we need them to pray for us.
but that is not what is taking place
Philemon has such an active faith, that Paul feels the pull to pray for the things that he is doing
too many of us, the only reason we have people praying for us is so that our faith would grow enough that we were more active in it
6 I pray that your participation in the faith may become effective through knowing every good thing that is in us for the glory of Christ.
There are days I just need prayer to live for the Lord
everyday, everyday I need prayers to live for the Lord or I end up living for myself
I have to pray for the spirit to lead me and for me to follow
These are the prayers we should be praying for ourselves and the prayers that we should be praying for each other
Are you actively serving God someplace where you are thinking, I need people to pray or this is never going to work!
We should be risk takers for the Lord
giving sacrificially
loving sacrificially
going sacrificially
sacrificially means just that… a sacrifice, pain
A Life Leading Others to Encouragement
A Life Leading Others to Encouragement
7 For I have great joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.
Encouraging others to live the same
Encouraged to love the same God
the testimony how God has taken care of you
the testimony what God has done through you
The story of George Müller is one of profound faith. Leading an orphanage in England during the 19th century, Müller relied completely on God for provisions, never asking for money directly. His steadfast belief led to countless answered prayers and miraculous provisions for the children in his care. Müller's story serves as a powerful reminder that when we act in faith, it can lead to extraordinary outcomes that inspire those around us.
