Destination: Titus and Philemon | Skip Heitzig

[Music] [Music] we are in Jerusalem the center for so much of the New Testament in the Bible let's get this background on the book we are approaching in this flight segment our flight now banks over to New Testament books that are easy to overlook but we do not want to miss the sites that Titus and Philemon provide remember all Scripture is god-breathed and is profitable one of my favorite little gems in my library is a little thin book it's called selected letters of Samuel Rutherford and I realize that to most people that doesn't mean anything so let me just tell you a little bit about this character Samuel Rutherford lived in the 17th century the 1600s in Scotland he preached a little town called an woth and because the political setting of the day was such he was exiled and forbidden to preach and sent up to the town of Aberdeen in northern Scotland and there for a few years forbidden to preach he could only write letters he was effectively imprisoned and so he wrote letters some letters to members of his flock that he used to preach at letters to friends etc but they reveal his personal heart and it was said that his letters inspired Scotland in preaching for a century after that just a few letters well tonight we're looking at a couple of very personal letters of the Apostle Paul one was written to a pastor on the island of Crete I'll tell you about that in a minute and the other was to a wealthy slave owner in a town called colossi very very short letters and very personal letters now Titus we mentioned last week that first Timothy second Timothy and Titus were called pastoral epistles and this is the last one of them and if I were to give a theme to the book of Titus it would be order in the church not order in the court as the judge would often say but Paul would say to the church order in the church we need order solid teaching strong leadership direction for different people groups in the church and how to be a witness to the world and that's what he writes this letter for now Crete was a very difficult place let me tell you about it was an island you think great I love islands a Greek island what a cool place to minister not so fast it was difficult geographically it was difficult politically it was difficult culturally it was difficult spiritually it's an island off the southern coast of Greece off the Peloponnesian Peninsula to be exact out in the Mediterranean Sea it's a hundred and seventy miles from east to west and only 3035 miles from north to south a long narrow mountainous island difficult to get around on and the people had a reputation for being only for being problematic and it was a tough place to Minister and yet a church sprung up there how we don't know exactly but a church sprung up there and Titus was the guy that Paul sent to set the church in order in fact those are the directions in Chapter 1 now I was reading a guy by the name of G Campbell Morgan this afternoon and he said that the church existing in Crete was proof of the power of the gospel proof of the power of the church and he said the most difficult soil was selected under the most difficult circumstances in other words if a church can work in Crete it can work anywhere and it could be that Titus was becoming a little bit discouraged and that's why Paul had to write a letter of encouragement but what excited me about reading about this from G Campbell Morgan is sometimes people get sent by the Lord to difficult places and they want to use that as an excuse well you know where I live is very different from everywhere else in the world where I live is a little more difficult it's a little harder and every place has its own personality and particular peculiarities but if a church can spring up and thrive in Crete 2,000 years ago I think the message is clear that God can do his work anywhere now we've sent young men out over the years to start churches and I love their excitement I love the opportunity when our board gets to lay hands on them where our pastoral team gets to lay hands on them and they're so excited to go out and they've got vision they've got a plan and they might take a little group with them and then as soon as we pray for them when we send them out I will often turn to my leaders or my board and I will say and now it begins and they'll look at me and go what do you mean by that I said well now the phone calls and the emails and the letters and the problems and all the things they didn't foresee that will shape them into strong men of God is now gonna happen doctor I remember years ago we sent a young man out from this church who was our youth pastor and it was so excited because we did this outreach I did an outreach and and gave an altar call down in Tucson Arizona and the youth pastor was Robert furrow and I said Robert why don't you leave here and move to Tucson and at the altar call that night the people who come forward brand new believers they'll be your church so he goes okay and he would commute for a while every week from Albuquerque to Tucson to start his church till he moved there and he was so excited the night we ordained him and sent him out and I said to my board now it begins now the letters come now the problems come and it was probably two weeks later I got my first phone call oh man this is tough this is a problem what do I do about this situation and that situation and you know what ministry is tough it is hard and we do need encouragement and we do need back in I know about that when I first moved from Southern California with Lenya in my Datsun pickup truck they didn't even make Datsun pickup trucks anymore and it was losing oil and we were dumping a quart in every hundred miles and here come the Beverly Hillbillies in Reverse and we're coming out here and just the stress of a new place a brand new marriage we knew a friend in town and all of that early hardship that God used like he was using it in this man's life no Titus was a Greek he has a Latin name he came to faith under Paul's ministry at some point we don't know exactly when but in verse 4 of chapter 1 Paul calls him a true son in the faith and his name is mentioned in other parts of the New Testament for instance nine times in second Corinthians Titus is named by Paul so he was a friend to Paul Paul was a mentor to him and then he would send him out on particular journeys let me just read a little text in 2nd Corinthians chapter 7 verse 5 for indeed when we came to Macedonia our bodies had no rest and we were troubled on every side outside were conflicts inside were fierce nevertheless God who comforts the downcast comforted us by the coming of Titus we believe that Titus was one of Paul's very first non-jewish converts one of Paul's first Gentile converts and that Paul brought Titus with him to Jerusalem as Exhibit A here's what a Gentile believer a non-jewish believer in your Messiah looks like here's one his name is Titus you may have missed that when we went through Galatians so let me just read you this passage this is Galatians chapter 2 then after 14 years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas and I also took Titus with me and I went up by revelation and indicated to them that the gospel which I preached among the Gentiles but privately to those who are of reputation lest by any means I might run or had run in vain yet not even Titus who was with me being a greek was compelled to be circumcised his whole point is that salvation comes by grace through faith and here's exhibit a here's a young Greek Gentile who believes in Yeshua and he is saved and he didn't get circumcised or go through any ritual it was just completely by faith so Titus three chapters and these three chapters have three themes chapter one chapter two chapter three chapter one leadership chapter two discipleship and chapter three stewardship chapter one leadership what it means to serve Jesus Christ chapter two discipleship what it means to follow Jesus Christ and then chapter three stewardship what it means to reflect Jesus Christ those are the three big themes in order in the church so look at chapter 1 verse 1 Paul a bondservant there's the leadership chapter Paul a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness in hope of eternal life which God who cannot lie promised before time began but in due time manifested his word through preaching which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior to Titus a true son in our common faith grace mercy and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior now just a little side note only the pastoral epistles Timothy and Titus used that threefold configuration typically it's just Grace and peace be unto you here it's grace mercy and peace and it's an all three pastoral epistles for this reason verse five I left you in Crete that you should set in order the things that are lacking and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you how did a church ever get started on that island called Crete well it could be that Paul and the only visited Crete we know on his forth journey when he was imprisoned by the Roman government and taken on that ship in acts 27 and they landed at a place called fair havens and Crete and stayed a while it could be that he was busy being Paul like Ricci is busy being Ricci telling anybody who will listen about Christ Paul was telling anybody on that island about Jesus and perhaps the church started but probably the best explanation is the day of Pentecost the day of Pentecost people were all gathered together from all parts of the world worshiping in Jerusalem it says in Acts chapter 2 verse 11 among them were cretins and we know that a lot of people that day got touched by the Lord saved and these cretins who are saved probably then went back after Pentecost and it was that group that started the church so there's a church but there's a problem there there's a trouble spot in the church it's out of order they're in a crisis they need strong leadership they need good solid doctrinal teaching and they need just the right person who won't just teach them but lead them and that man according to Paul was Titus there's a great old story about two Greek speakers orators one was named Cicero and they said he had a golden tongue in fact whenever Cicero would give a speech people at the end we go my how he can talk he's marvelous the other guy was de monstah knees and demosthenes whenever he would speak people would say let's follow him let's march with him let's go with it with him well Titus was that kind of a guy he didn't just give messages to people but he helped them forge their way in a time of crisis and that was to set things in order now notice that phrasing in verse five set in order the things that are lacking set in order is one word now let me explain it to you and I think it'll connect epi D or thought oh yeah that really helped you didn't it you're going not epi D or follow there's a word a root word there or thoughts or thoughts we get our term Orthopaedic from it orthodontist from it it means to align or to set something that's crooked and make it straight so an orthodontist takes teeth and straightens them an orthopedist takes bones that are broken and sets them in order so Titus you need to be like a spiritual orthopedist you need to set the spiritual lives and make them straight because they're out of order in this island called Crete how is he to do that by raising up proper leadership verse 5 by confronting false teachers verse 6 through 10 and by giving them good solid Bible teaching and that's chapter 2 and verse 6 of chapter 1 speaks to the first one raising up leadership and here's the qualifications if a man is blameless the husband of one wife having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination these are the elders he's to appoint in their characteristics for a bishop must be blameless as the steward of God not self-willed not quick-tempered not given to wine not violent not greedy for money but hospitable a lover of what is good sober minded just holy self-controlled holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convict those who contradict now what is an elder well an elder that term is often an Old Testament turn S word first developed the elders of Israel and it originally referred to an older more mature gentleman but 29 times in the New Testament it simply refers to a spiritual overseer or a spiritual leader now you should know that elder and Bishop are often used interchangeably in the New Testament and there's three important words that describe this three greek words and we're familiar with them pres botero´s if you're a presbyterian you know what a pres Pateros is that's a bishop the second word is a Pisgah pass and if you're in a piss Cup alien you know what an Episcopal is and that's an overseer or a bishop so you have an elder and then you have a bishop and the third word is poimen toss and there's probably no point of main Ian's in here because there really aren't any at all so point Mahna simply means pastor so you have elder Bishop and pastor those three words are translated and very often they're used to describe the same person the early church government was very simple there were elders spiritual leaders deacons those who help the elders and people and it developed over church history now what I want you to notice in this list is that Paul is calling for integrity integrity in the home verse 6 seems to be the husband of one wife having faithful children he's to have integrity in his heart verse 7 he has to be blameless not self-willed not quick-tempered he has to have integrity in his habits not given to wine not violin not greedy for money hospitable a lover of what is good etc and he has to have integrity in his head and that is verse 9 holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught he has to be able to teach God's truth now what does it mean to be blameless a better translation would be above reproach it means that though he may be accused the accusations can't stick you know Paul was accused of a lot of things by a lot of people and yet Paul was above reproach he had a good conscience before God and man he could sleep well at night because he knew who he was before the Lord so though people leveled accusations and made stuff up it was unsustainable and that's the idea of being blameless unruhe provable UNAC usable and why does paul set so high of a standard because Shepherds influenced sheep that's why sheep look to Shepherds not only listen to shepherds but they watch their choices in their lifestyle and if they're in a restaurant or in public they're looking to see what they find it's called the fishbowl effect and sometimes it's not easy to live in that I can tell you that from firsthand experience just the way it is and so Paul sets this standard the entire New Testament does Charles Haddon Spurgeon put it this way as a result of your own decline he writes to young ministers every one of your hearers will suffer more or less it is with us and our hears as it is with watches and the public clock if our watch is wrong very few will be misled by it but our selves but if the Greenwich Observatory should go amiss half of London would lose its reckoning so it is with the minister he is the parish clock many take their time from him and if he is incorrect they all go wrongly so that's Paul's emphasis to Titus in Chapter one leadership chapter two discipleship what it means to follow Christ and here like in Timothy Paul goes through the different kinds of people that will be in any church old men or I should say older men older women younger men younger women bond servants or slaves and how they're to and here's what's important about all of this it's not only how they're to act in their own little groups like we have the young men's fellowship and the older men's fellowship and the older one it's how they're to interact with each other to me this is vital because I have noticed a tendency over the years in many churches especially in our culture and that is we want special interest Christianity we want to have a group for the young people and a special group for the older people and a special group for the singled or people and single younger people and we want motorcycle single enthusiasts over 40 and we want poetry speaking people under 30 and all of these specialty groups which are fine but we disconnect when we do that too much see I've always thought that married people and single people need to hang out with each other because I often hear people who are single go man life's a drag being single it's so horrible I'm so lonely I need to be married I suggest you hang out with some married people and listen to them and I hear married people complain you know wouldn't easier when I was single you know I got to kind of do what I want I didn't have to like check in with the wife I suggest you hang out with some single people and get a grip reality grip and so here's Paul showing how all of these groups interact with each other but as for you verse one speak to things which are proper for sound doctrine that older men be sober reverend temperate sound in faith and love and patience that older women likewise that they be reverent and behavior not slanderers not given to much wine teachers of good things that they admonish the younger women to love their husbands love their children to be discreet chaste homemakers good obedient to their husbands that the Word of God may not be blasphemed the young men to be sober minded in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works in doctrine showing integrity reverence incorruptibility sound speech that cannot be condemned that one who is an opponent may be ashamed having nothing evil to say of you exhort bondservants those were slaves to be obedient to their own masters to be well pleasing in all things not answering back not answering back underlying fat not pilfering but showing all good fidelity that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things what a concept this is that I by my behavior could adorn God's truth I could decorate God's truth I could be one of the ornaments on his Christmas tree so to speak by my behavior my lifestyle I could actually adorn the truth of God in Christ the summary statement in verse 11 for the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present age looking for the Blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ in Greek it's one article and it's as though the great God and Savior Jesus Christ equating the two together Jesus Christ is our great God he is our Savior and he is the one we're waiting for now why is it called a blessed oh no notice it's called a blessed hope it's not called the irresponsible hope the escape route hope it's called a blessed hope and I'm using those terms because I've heard people say oh you Christians who wait for the coming of Jesus Christ the rapture of the church it's so irresponsible no it is not it's called a blessed hope because believing Jesus could come back at any time keeps you on your toes keeps you pure keeps you purified keeps you living a clean lifestyle listen to what John writes and for John chapter 3 verse 2 and 3 we know that when he appears we will be like him for we will see him just as he is everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure there is always a close relationship between prophecy and holiness godliness because if I believed Jesus could really come back in any minute I'm gonna want to live to please him I'm not gonna want to mess around I'm gonna think okay if I do this and Jesus comes now what will that be like what will I feel like well I go oh oh or can't I'm glad you're here he's waiting for you I remember when I was a little boy I love my parents I honored my father and I love my father but my mom could say something when I was just sort of on the cusp of acting like a total goon in the house and it was the simple words your father will be home soon so all she had to say I knew what that meant I loved him couldn't wait to have him home couldn't wait to hang out with him but it put a holy fear in me and so that's why it's called the Blessed hope because it has this effect in chapter 3 is about stewardship so we have leadership discipleship and now stewardship is what it means to reflect Christ before a world how do we as Christians get out of the four walls of the church and reflect the glory of God when there's an ungodly society or an unfavorable government what kind of attitude are we to have you got to remember that because every Christian is to addresses heaven and earth your citizenship is in heaven guaranteed you've got a home there he has gone to prepare a place for you but you're not there yet so don't live all of your time in that world without being responsible in this world we still have to vote we still have to give our voice we still have to get involved we still have to act responsibly we have to pay the bills we have two addresses verse one remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities to obey and be ready for every good work what does it mean to be subject to rulers very simply I think you understand what it means to be subject to rulers you'd be subject to rulers who Picasso it means to align yourself in proper rank-and-file to us it would mean have the right attitude of respect and responsibility cooperation in this world verse two to speak evil of no one to be peaceable gentle showing all humility to all men and the summary statement of this section is in verse eight this is a faithful saying these things I want to affirm to you constantly those who believe in God should be careful to maintain good works these things are good and profitable to men here's here's the theme in this section because he's talking about good solid doctrine teach them Titus teach them truth love the truth get them to love the truth but the theme here about the good works is that doctrine ought to produce duty good doctrine will produce responsible duty to reflect God as stewart's in this world now he closes with having order for the church because he knows that there's people with ulterior motives that come to church not everybody who comes to church comes to worship not everybody who comes to church comes to grow in their faith some people have ulterior motives they want to get a following or they want to use the church for their own purposes so he addresses that but verse 9 avoid foolish disputes genealogies contentions strivings about the law for they are unprofitable and useless reject get this reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition knowing that such a person is warped and sinning being self-condemned Wow it says to do that to a device of man reject a device of man the word device of man is Huayra t cos we get heretic from it reject a heretic and it simply means one who chooses that's the root word somebody who chooses and the context is they choose to be divisive either by their attitude manner or their doctrine they choose to divide and what does it say how you're to deal with them you reject them that is you warn them first of all you go hey you know what what you're doing is divisive it's wrong you're splitting up this body it's not good it's against the scripture you're wrong in this area that's the first one they do it again you tell them again they do it again three-strikes-you're-out after the second admonition you reject them that's the church discipline for somebody who had divided the body of Christ you confront them if it fails you reject them because better to reject the disease that would prey on the body than to have that disease spread and hurt more people in the body any good surgeon will cut out that which is diseased so any good Church is like any good human body we're called the body of Christ a healthy body can purge out its own disease a healthy Church can purge out its own disease just like if you cut yourself and leukocytes rush to the area to get rid of the bad stuff so it is with the church so a healthy church leadership discipleship stewardship this is a church in order from Paul to Titus I found something I wanted to read to you it's one of my favorite little prayers and actually it's a wish not really a prayer again Charles Spurgeon said if he knew that he could pray one final prayer for the Church of Jesus Christ on earth before he died this is what he would pray ready here goes Lord send to thy church men filled with the Holy Ghost and with fire give to any denomination such men and its progress must be mighty keep back such men send them College gentleman of great refinement and profound learning but of little fire and grace dumb dogs which cannot bark and straightaway that denomination must decline close quote and to that Paul would have said if he would have heard Spurgeon amen to that that's why I'm sending Titus over to Crete that set things in order now we get to the last chapter of our evening which is the book of Philemon this is the shortest book in the New Testament it's the most personal letter in the New Testament and it deals with a controversial subject you know what it was slavery how do you deal with somebody in the church who's a runaway slave and the master happens to be the very guy that everybody in church meets in his house and Paul deals with that now here's something about this letter in almost every letter of Paul Paul doesn't write it by hand he doesn't sit down with a quill and a piece of parchment and start writing words down he he would dictate it he had a secretary or what was called an amanuensis so Paul would say to the church at Rome the guy would to the church at Rome he'd write it down and then at the end of his letter Paul would usually close it with a few handwritten comments and sign it this letter is one that he writes at all it's short so he can manage that he writes it all by hand now I was thinking of this this afternoon can you imagine having an original letter penned by Paul the Apostle and what that would be worth you know I love to collect old books I've told you I have in my office in fact a hand assigned sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon his signature is very rare to find and I I found a sermon that he wrote out by hand and then he signed it so it's framed and I really stoked on it but imagine have one of Paul's letters I heard a story about a man who is um an old book fanatic and he loved old literature and he had a friend an acquaintance who just threw out an old Bible from his family home that had been in the Attic for generations and the guy found out he got rid of it goes I can't believe that thing must be valued at something if it's if it's been in your family for years and and the guy said now that this thing isn't worth much some I couldn't even read it he said somebody named gutten somebody printed this old book and the guy said that wouldn't have been a Gutenberg Bible good that's it Gutenberg and the guy just started breaking out in a sweat do you know what you just did the Gooden Berg Bible is one of the first books it was the really first published book on a printing press a copy sold two weeks ago in New York for over two million dollars and his friend didn't even flinch he said well this thing wouldn't have brought two dollars because somebody named Martin Luther scribbled all over it in German could you imagine having Martin Luther's personal Gutenberg Bible that he wrote in so how Paul's letter would be super cool that is really nothing at all to do with their study tonight Paul a prisoner of Christ Jesus and Timothy our brother to Philemon our beloved friend and fellow laborer to the beloved app via our cheapest our fellow soldier and to the church that is in your house Philemon must have been a prominent church member at colossi so thank allah shion's and the colossi church his church his home is probably big enough he was wealthy enough he had several slaves one of them ran away we find out named onesimus but he probably had a large enough house that the church met in his home or some people actually believe that when he says to the church that is in your home he wasn't referring to the Church of colossi but he is referring here to these two names apphia and ARCHIBUS who were the sons of Philemon so he's saying even in your own home that's your church that's your ministry you know sometimes people will say boy I wish I were in the ministry well you can be starting tonight if you went home to look at your wife and your children as the place where you do ministry you're gonna cultivate that relationship and get them to know the Lord and win them to Christ your house your home is your church you might be listening to this going well I don't really have a family I'm a teenager well if you've got younger brothers or sisters lead them to Christ start young pastor them be an example to them verse 3 grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ I thank my god making mention of you in my prayers now I mentioned that he was a slave owner and you're gonna read about a guy named Onesimus in this story onesimus has been mentioned but here's the long and short of it onesimus who was one of the slaves of Philemon ran away now I mentioned I think last week or the week before that the Roman Empire had sixty million slaves half of the population of the Roman Empire were slaves it wasn't like American slavery you were indebted to a master but you were taken care of and some were very menial tasks some were very wealthy prominent citizens like doctors and tutors and teachers and so when that church came into a town and it brought slave owners and slaves they were commingled they were all equal when you come to church or not a slave owner and this is your slave your brother and brother or brother and sister that's why Paul says to the Galatians there's no Greek no Jew Greek Gentile bond slave male or female we're all one in Christ now the name Onesimus means useful or profitable please keep that in your head because you're gonna see a play on words in just a minute it's believed that onesimus as an unbeliever stole money from Philemon and ran away and he ran away to Rome and he's thinking I'm gonna get lost in this big metropolitan city I'm just gonna blend in well Jesus found him there and somehow he came under the ministry of Paul the Apostle who led him to Christ and found out his story and now Paul wants to send Onesimus back to Philemon even though Paul loved Onesimus and would love to have kept him there he knows that there has to be buy-in from the owner Philemon so he's gonna send him back but Paul also knows you just can't send a slave who's been runaway back to his master here's why in those days a runaway slave if he was found they would brand on the forehead the letter F for fugitive us and if you saw somebody with a brand letter F tattooed on the forehead you could kill him immediately without a trial and there were slave hunters out there sore like bounty hunters who would find these fugitive slaves and make money off of this killing them and bringing the head in or bringing the person back it was dangerous so Paul is Ascend Onesimus back to Philemon a colossi with his good buddy tisha 'kiss who will take the letter back to the Colossians ever say there for I thought I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting yet for love's sake I'd rather appeal to you being such a one as Paul the aged and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ notice that Paul said you know I am an apostle and I could lay down the law and be very authoritative that is my right as the spiritual leader but I won't do that I want to come humbly and ask you this I appeal verse 10 to you for my son onesimus whom I have begotten while in my chains other words I love him to Christ who once was unprofitable to you but now is profitable to you and to me that's a play on his name which means profitable or useful so he's using a play on words I'm sending him back verse 12 you therefore receive him that is my own heart whom I wish I could keep with me that on your behalf he might minister to me and my change for the gospel but without your consent I wanted to do nothing that your good deed night might not be in compulsion but as it were voluntary for perhaps he departed for awhile for this purpose that you might receive him forever that a beautiful principle Paul is saying this temporal breach may have been God allowing it for an eternal benefit you know it's sort of like saying hey Philemon do you really believe in Romans 8:28 that all things work together for good could it be that God allowed this to happen so that he would be one to Christ now he's your brother in Christ forever no longer verse 16 is a slave but more than a slave a beloved brother especially to me but now much more to you both in the flesh and in the Lord he's not saying you have to give him his freedom as a slave but you have to forgive him and receive him as a brother if then you count me as a partner receive him as you would mean I watch this but if he has wronged to you or owes you anything put that on my account I Paul am riding with my own hand I will repay not to mention to you that you owe me even your own life besides that's a powerful statement while saying hey Philemon guess what I know onesimus owes you a material debt but you owe me your life because I won you to Christ you wouldn't be on your way to heaven we wouldn't be having this conversation or not for what I did is your spiritual father so he's using a little bit of leverage here yeah he owes you a big material debt but you owe me a spiritual debt which could not be repaid verse 20 yes brother let me have joy from you and the Lord refresh my heart and the Lord having confidence in your obedience I write to you knowing that you will do even more than I say but meanwhile also prepare a guestroom for me I like Paul inviting himself over for I trust I have friends like that for I trust that through your prayers I shall be granted to you at Patras my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus greets you as do mark Aristarchus demas Luke my fellow labor grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit amen okay that's how I want to end it what Paul tells Philemon to do with Onesimus is exactly what Jesus Christ has done with us he's forgiven us we were slaves of sin we've been set free now here's Paul going look if he owes you anything at all I'll pay for it I love him I love you if if he owes you any material debt put it on my tab I'll figure out a way to pay the bill now that's exactly what God has done for us you know here's Paul loving this slave but love isn't enough to fix the problem love has to pay the bill God so loved the world but love isn't enough to do anything love must pay the bill God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that's how he paid the bill so what own tzimmes the slave was to Paul and Paul stepping in saying all pay for it is exactly what we are like with the Lord Jesus Christ Jesus would say to the Father I know he owes this sinner skip owes you a debt I paid for it put it on my account that's substitution that's atonement second Corinthians 5:21 God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might be the righteousness of God in him can I just say as we close before Ritchie comes back out God loves to restore broken lives you might feel sort of like an Anissa mmus I know I do squandered a life made bad choices beat up scarred you walk around with your head low well you're exactly the kind of case that God is looking for he likes to restore somebody gave me years ago in 1942 Harley Davidson only one problem it had no parts inside the engine it was just a case so I went to work on it and had other people do it and help me and now after several years it's running and there's just something cool about driving around in 1942 anything I mean it's 67 years old it still looks great and there's something about driving something restored that you've worked on rather than just the new model God looks for cases to restore hearts that are broken if you just bring your broken heart to him tonight and let him is the master Potter remould he'll go yes that's what he likes to do let's pray our Heavenly Father we thank you for these great letters in our Bible from 30,000 feet we've been able to go a little bit slower in these letters and other books really get the depth and the meaning and the lessons Lord I pray if anybody's brokenhearted tonight broken by sin maybe choices that they've made they look at their own life like that old motorcycle a basket case a basket of bolts and you would love to be able to get your hands on them and work and restore we pray Lord they would give you that opportunity real quickly before I close this and Richie comes out and sings if you're here tonight you've never given your life to Christ or maybe you've walked away and made all of the wrong choices and all of the wrong moves and turned your life into a real basket case but you want God to restore that tonight and forgive you he'll do it if you want that would you just raise your hand right where you're sitting and I'll pray for you as we close just raise your hand up you're saying yep pray for me god bless you and you and you anybody else yes sir right over here anybody else but up here in the front yes ma'am couple of you right there in the middle I'll bless your father we do pray that the work that you have begun you would continue you said that you would do a full restoration so that we can see what you're going to do with these lives after tonight for your glory in Jesus name Amen

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Keywords: How to study the Bible, How to read the Bible, Jesus, Skip, Skip Heitzig, How to know God, Titus, Philemon, sound doctrine, elements, church order, application, principles, Christian, brotherhood

Id: EPQZF8vNrec

Length: 47min 38sec (2858 seconds)

Published: Mon May 13 2019