[Note: This is a four-part sermon series. The link to the next sermon in the series is at the end of this post]
I. Introduction
-- turn in your Bibles to Philemon 4-7
Philemon 1:4-7 (NIV)
4 I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers,
5 because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.
6 I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.
7 Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.
-- this morning we are going to be continuing in our sermon series on the Prayers of Paul -- we began our study by looking at Paul's prayer for the church at Ephesus for power -- specifically, his prayer that the Ephesian Christians would be strengthened in their inner being with the power of God so that they would know and experience God's presence and love in their lives
-- we talked about how we need to pray bold and specific prayers in our own lives in order to fully know God's presence among us -- and I challenged you to do that as we closed the message that morning
-- today we are turning to the next of Paul's prayers that we are going to be looking at in this series -- the prayer today is from the little-known book of Philemon -- just one chapter -- a short letter that Paul sent to his friend Philemon in Colosse
-- before we dig into the scriptures, let me give you the context of this letter, because we need to know the reason why Paul wrote this letter if we are truly going to understand his prayer here in verses 4 through 7
-- at the time this letter was written Paul was in prison in Rome -- and, although he remained in chains, he had apparently been given the rights to rent a home in Rome and live there -- receiving guests and living as comfortably as he could as he awaited his audience with Nero
-- one day, a man named Onesimus came to visit Paul -- most scholars agree that Onesimus was a slave -- a runaway slave, in fact -- and that he wasn't a Christian
-- so we're not sure of the circumstances that brought him to Paul's door -- it could be he had heard of Paul and sought refuge in Paul's home to avoid being captured and returned home to his master -- based on this letter, we do know that Paul was friends with Onesimus' owner, Philemon
-- no matter the circumstances that brought Onesimus there, Paul welcomed him to his home and he became a much-loved servant and friend to Paul -- Paul described Onesimus in verse 10 as his son, so they apparently had a very close relationship -- during his time with Paul, Onesimus became a Christian -- we don’t know how he came to believe in Jesus, but he was probably influenced by watching Paul live out his faith even while in chains -- and it is almost certain that Paul shared the gospel directly with Onesimus while they were together
-- shortly after his conversion, a decision was made that Onesimus should return home to the master he had fled -- to make amends for his actions -- and to restore the relationship he once had with Philemon
-- since Paul knew Philemon well -- in fact, the church of Colossians met at Philemon's home -- Paul wrote this letter on behalf of Onesimus for him to carry back with him to Colossae -- in this letter, Paul asks Philemon to receive Onesimus back into his household and to forgive him of his past wrongs -- not because Onesimus deserved this from Philemon -- but because Christ requires forgiveness and fellowship from His followers
-- which brings us to Paul's prayer recorded in this short epistle to Philemon -- look back with me now at verse 4 and let's see what we can learn from Paul's message this morning
II. Scripture Lesson (Philemon 4-7)
-- verse 4
4 I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers,
-- there's an important principle here for us that I want you to see -- Paul prayed for Philemon on a regular basis -- not just concerning this issue with Onesimus, but regularly -- in fact, in the KJV, this verse is slightly different and Paul writes there that he always prays for Philemon
-- which begs the question: what do our prayers look like? -- are they inward or outward focused? -- here is Paul -- sitting in chains in Roman captivity -- and his focus is not on his situation -- his focus is not on his chains or his wrongful imprisonment -- no, Paul's focus in prayer is outward -- his prayer is for others -- and, as he remembers them, he thanks God for His work in their lives
-- in Ephesians 6:18, Paul wrote that we should continue to pray for all the saints -- and Paul shows us here that those were not mere words of instruction, but a way of life for him -- we need to pray for other people -- that God may touch them and use them in bold and powerful ways and we need to thank Him for what He has done in their lives
-- every Sunday in here we try to take a moment to share our praises and our prayer concerns -- and I want to encourage you to write those down -- to remember them however you need to -- so you can continue to pray for the needs that were mentioned and for all the people who shared their needs and their concerns
-- prayers for the saints should not be something we pray about just on Sunday, but every day, as the Bible commands
-- look back at verse 4 again
Philemon 1:4-7 (NIV)
4 I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers,
5 because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.
-- Paul always remembered Philemon in his prayers, but why did he constantly thank God for Philemon? -- because he continually heard about Philemon's faith in Jesus and his love for all the saints
-- there's something I want you to see here -- the word Paul uses when he describes Philemon's love for all the saints is agape -- unconditional love -- the love of God expressed to others -- not based on who they are or what they have done but poured out simply because of the overflow of love from God through us
-- this is not human love -- we are incapable of agape love on our own -- it has to come from above -- it has to come from God
-- God is love -- and this verse makes the case that it was Philemon's faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that was the source of the agape love he showed to others
-- now, remember the context -- remember the reason Paul wrote this letter to Philemon -- Paul is about to send Philemon's runaway slave Onesimus home -- and Philemon would be in his rights to punish Onesimus harshly -- even to kill him for running away -- so before he even makes his request to Philemon, Paul reminds him here of what it is about Philemon that causes Paul to thank God when he remembers him in his prayers
-- Philemon cared about other believers -- he loved them with an agape love -- and Paul is laying the foundation here that Philemon is to love Onesimus -- yes, his wayward, runaway slave -- in the same way that he loves others -- as one commentator put it, "this will be an acid test of Philemon's [agape] love for "all""3
-- we all have people in our lives that are difficult to love -- and in order to love them -- to truly care for them -- we will have to ask God to increase our faith and to fill us with His agape love just as He had done for Philemon -- sometimes over and over and over again, because this is just something that we can't do on our own
-- verse 6
6 I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.
-- Paul prays that Philemon would be active in sharing his faith -- now that's a common term in our day -- "sharing your faith" -- we hear it in church all the time -- and what comes to mind when you hear that? -- evangelism -- go out and share your faith with others -- but that concept doesn't entirely sum up what Paul means here when he prays that Philemon would be active in sharing his faith
-- the Greek word that Paul uses in this passage when he says "share your faith" is Koinonia -- Koinonia means the sharing of your life with others -- it is faith lived out in community -- it is doing life together
-- Koinonia -- the sharing of our faith -- reflects the heart of the church -- "Christianity is about a transformation of the way we see and think about other people"1 -- they are no longer just individuals who cross our paths on a Sunday morning -- but they are family -- part of our body -- and together we grow in our faith and express our love and we live out the life Christ has called us to live -- "when we begin to view others as those with whom life and faith are shared equally in Christ, arrogance and bigotry are finished"1 and the church springs into existence
-- Koinonia takes place when believers recognize that we need each other -- that we can't do it alone -- that everyone has value and everyone has a place in the body of Christ -- that we are one with each other and we are all part of God’s family
-- at Chrysalis last year, a young man stood up in chapel and made a statement that quieted the room -- he was a former gang-banger -- he had done some bad stuff -- he had lived a hard life -- he had seen family members and friends killed on the streets -- all he knew was violence and that he had to get out -- so he left his home and eventually made his way to Valdosta
-- so, he stood up that night and made the statement, “All of you will leave here and go back to your families -- I don’t have a family to go back to”
-- and those young men stood up and surrounded this guy and loved on him and told him that they were never going to leave him -- that they were his family now -- that he was home with them
-- when I went back out to Chrysalis this past week, this young man was out there, serving on the Chrysalis team -- and he was different this year than last year because those guys had kept their word and shared their faith and their life and brought him into their families -- Koinonia in action -- he was no longer alone -- he was part of the family of God
-- that’s what Paul is telling us the body of Christ should look like -- believers sharing their lives with one another
-- so, when Paul prays that Philemon would "share his faith," he's not just speaking from an evangelistic point of view -- he's talking about Philemon continuing to live out his faith in agape love to all -- believers -- unbelievers -- even to his poor, runaway slave Onesimus
-- notice the "so that" statement that Paul uses here in verse 6 -- just like in all his prayers we're going to look at in this series, Paul prays on purpose -- he prays that Philemon would be active in sharing his faith SO THAT he would have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ -- as we experience koinonia -- as we give and receive agape love -- we come to fully appreciate and know the grace of God through Jesus Christ
-- let me give you an example of this through the story of a real-life Christian -- Pachomius was an Egyptian soldier who became a believer in Christ Jesus around 315 AD because of the kindness of Christians in Thebes -- after he was saved, he thought the best way to live out his faith was as a monk -- to go out into the desert wilderness and live a life of contemplation and prayer and study all by himself -- away from anyone who would tempt him or distract him
-- but after a few years of this, Pachomius began to question his path -- How can you learn to love if no one else is around? -- How can you learn humility living alone? -- How can you learn kindness or gentleness or goodness in isolation? -- How can you learn patience unless someone puts yours to the test?
-- finally, he came to the conclusion that to be a Christian requires being around people -- ordinary, ornery people -- because God's kind of love is best learned when we live out our faith among the people of this world -- those who are easy to love -- and those who are not
-- Pachomius began what he called "ascetic koinonia" -- disciplined community -- and in this community with flawed, demanding, and sometimes disagreeable people, followers of Pachomius learned to take hurt rather than give it -- they discovered that disagreements and opposition provide the opportunity to redeem life situations and truly experience God's grace6
-- as Pachomius and his followers actively shared their faith and their lives with others, they began to grasp and truly live out the grace and the goodness of the cross -- thus, Paul's prayer for Philemon
verse 7
7 Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.
-- it all comes down to love -- love lived out in a community developed through faith in Jesus
-- Paul is praying here that Philemon would continue to live out his faith through the active sharing of agape love with all those in the community of faith -- he is praying for Philemon's spiritual maturity -- that he would be able to love even his runaway slave Onesimus and invite him into the community of faith that met in Philemon's home
-- what we do says more about our faith than anything we say -- how we treat others that aren't like us -- how we treat those who differ in their opinions and their behavior -- speaks volumes about who we truly are in Christ
-- Philemon had consistently shown love and grace to all the believers in Colossae -- but now he was being asked by Paul to show the same love and grace to Onesimus -- to forgive a hurt -- to receive him as a brother -- to "koinonia" him with agape love
III. Closing
-- so let's bring this home -- right now, we live in a divided and polarized nation -- instead of being the land of the free and the home of the brave -- instead of being a united nation -- we have settled into camps of us versus them
-- we see that played out so many ways today -- from the impeachment trial in Washington and the divisions between the Democrats and the Republicans -- to the divisions in race -- the issue of homosexuality, even in the church -- everywhere we look, we see people taking sides and setting up campaigns against those who disagree
-- the question for us is how do we respond as the church of Christ
-- I think the message of the Bible is clear -- Jesus said we must love our neighbor as ourselves -- and this true regardless of what our neighbors believe -- agape love knows no boundaries -- and Christ called us to love both our neighbors and our enemies
-- as Paul demonstrates in his prayer for Philemon, we must actively share our faith -- share our lives -- share our love -- share the message of the cross -- the forgiveness of sins and new life with Christ -- to all around us -- to those within the church and to those outside the church
-- we must love as Christ loved -- we must be ambassadors of reconciliation -- bringers of peace -- never wavering in what the Bible says on these subjects -- but speaking the truth in love so that the grace of God might heal the wounds of a hurting nation
-- one thing I want you to remember -- you cannot legislate morality -- you cannot legislate the things of the heart -- our country has a heritage of racism and intolerance, but you can't change the heart of the nation by the decision of nine justices on the Supreme Court or by a vote in the Senate concerning the removal of an impeached president
-- the only power that can change hearts and minds today is the power of love expressed through the grace of the cross and the Lord Jesus Christ
-- so this morning, as I close, let me echo the words of the Apostle Paul as I pray for your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to be expanded and your love for all to be magnified -- as I pray that you be active in sharing your faith and your life and your love with others so that you may experience the grace of Jesus more and more every day and so that our land may be healed
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1 https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/IVP-NT/Phlm/Pauls-Prayer
2 Third Millennium Study Bible http://thirdmill.org/studybible/note.asp/id/41575
3 Dr. Grant Richison, http://preceptaustin.org/philemon_commentaries_2.htm#richison
4 Based on sermon series from Craig Groeschel, Life Church
5 Christopher Arch, "Why is Fellowship Essential?" http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/why-is-fellowship-essential-christopher-arch-sermon-on-church-body-of-christ-126963.asp?page=0
6 Condensed from Marshall Shelley, "Developing spiritual fruit requires being around people -- ordinary, ornery people," Leadership journal (Spring 1993)
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