"Letters For Leaders" Part 1 - Pastor Raymond Woodward

tonight we start a new series that I'm very excited about and we're calling this letters for leaders this is not just letters to leaders that is it's not just to the people who actually receive these documents 2,000 years ago this series is letters for leaders that is we look at these four books that were going to study over the next several weeks as books with timeless principles letters with powerful truths that were inspired by the Holy Ghost when they were originally written and they still speak to leaders in every generation now your initial impulse might be to say well I'm definitely not a leader I'm not a leader by personality I'm not a leader by position but you would be totally wrong in the biblical sense of leadership because everybody influences somebody else and it has been said many times leadership is influence if you're influencing anybody you are in that sense biblically a leader now you can be a bad influence or you can be a good influence but you are an influence and somebody said it what right they said you know your life is either going to serve as a tremendous example or a terrible warning I want my life to serve as a tremendous example and and so Paul talks about this this whole idea of leadership and influence and here's how he looks at it in the Bible in 1st Corinthians he said you have ten thousand instructors but you don't have many people who are fathers to you that actually invests the time and really really care there's lots of people that can get up and preach a sermon there's lots of people that can get up and teach a class there's lots of people that can tell you what to do but but who's the person that really dares to challenge you and to lift you and to impact you and he said in Jesus Christ he's talking to the Corinthians here he says I'd begotten you through the gospel so I'm really your spiritual dad and then he says this therefore I beseech you be what's the next three words be e followers of me now sometimes we think that sounds arrogant but that's the biblical pattern when new believers come into the church yes they're following God but they want God with skin on to look at and and to say well that's how a Christian acts or that's how a Christian talks or that's how a Christian dresses or that's how a Christian interacts with others or that's how a Christian forgives and so Paul said you follow me and in Philippians he said brethren be followers together of me you can get a whole little group and look at what I do and just do that and and and mark them which walk so mark the people that are walking with God like I walk with God because you have those people as an example and so apologists he doesn't pull any punches he said I want you to be followers of me I want you to be followers together of me and he says it again in 1st Corinthians chapter 11 he repeats himself be he followers of me even as I also am of Christ and so there's one condition there and and that condition is like the emergency lever that you would pull and that's of a leader that you've been following ever walks away from God from the principles of his word from truth then you stop following them but up until that Paul said you follow me because I'm a leader now you may not have a church following you you may not have a class following you but you've got somebody following you you've got somebody looking at your life and they are saying to themselves that's a Christian and you know what folks that's a heavy title to put on yourself not preacher not pastor not evangelist just Christian that's a heavy title in this day and age because that word has been just about ruined in our society but when people meet a real Christian they may not agree with your doctrine but if you're living toward them as a Christian they will love your life even if they don't agree with your doctrine because you're kind to them you're forgiving to them you want what's best for them you love them and you love them unconditionally and that's what Paul's talking about so the four letters we're going to study this series gonna study Philemon and Titus and then two letters to Timothy first and second Timothy they were all written by the Apostle Paul probably most likely we think while he's in prison toward the end of his ministry and these are unique among all the other books in the Bible because they are personal they're not addressed to churches like the church in Thessalonica or the church in Rome or whatever they're addressed to individuals who are in some kind of leadership role they're not addressed to a church as a whole and here's what else is unique Paul has had a mentoring role in the lives of each of these people each of these young leaders that he's writing to to Timothy and Titus and to Philemon so he feels at liberty to speak his mind and to speak freely and so here more than anyplace else in the Bible maybe we see Paul being very transparent about the church about ministry about relationships and about leadership so so Paul's really going to give us some good stuff here now the letter that we're going to start with tonight is the letter to Philemon it's the book in your Bible just before Hebrews and it is the shortest of all Paul's writings in all the New Testament and finally man here's what we know Philemon was a slave owner like most people were slave owners in that day because in the day that Paul's writing one half of the world was enslaved to the other half of the world because of the Roman Empire that's just how they did things now that's not as bad as it might immediately sound some slaves were mistreated yes but others it was like having a job and by the way some of you it felt like you were a slave to your boss so really this is very applicable to us today and and some of these slaves were well treated some of them were allowed to live a very comfortable life with their families but they were technically slaves they were owned by someone else they were more than just their employer they were their slave master and Philemon is a slave master but he's unique he's a Christian and he hosts a church in his home in the first century the church didn't have buildings like we're privileged to have in the first century there they met in homes and there would be many locations in one city like in Colossae or in Thessalonica or in Ephesus there'd be many locations where the church met but it was one Church and so that's why you get all these books that are written to the Ephesians what's that mean it means to all these little groups that were really one Church with one head in one city and so it's not sixteen letters to the Ephesians it's one because it's one Church in the city but they meet in different locations and because they didn't own buildings to meet in they met in homes and and that's called ecclesia or ecclesia and that Greek word we translated as church but really we've done disservice to that word because when we say Church we think this building and church is not a building Church is a relationship church is first a relationship with God and then church is a relationship with each other in the family of God so that's church so if the building god forbid but if the building burned down tomorrow we still have a church because the church isn't this building the church is first our relationship with God and then our relationship with each other that's ecclesia or that's church and so Philemon he's he's one of the hosts of the church the church meets in his home and and we think that it was probably while Paul was in a nearby city Ephesus that he was ministering there that Philemon probably traveled to that city and heard Paul's preaching and became a Christian now here's the story behind this little short letter he has a slave named Anissa mmus and Anissa mas' we think he robbed his master he did something really bad because Paul refers to it and he ran away and he made his way to the biggest city in the world of that time he made his City to Rome he made his way to the city of Rome now we don't know exactly how he came in contact with Paul maybe he knew that Paul had preached and his master Philemon had known Paul so maybe he thought Paul would be a good guy to kind of intervene for him or maybe and I kind of lean this way maybe he just went to Rome and started stealing from other people and got in trouble and laying in prison because that's where Paul is right now Paul's in prison but here's what we do know we know that he came in contact with Paul and through Paul's testimony and his witness and his teaching and preaching Onesimus who's a runaway slave and really a criminal he gets saved he becomes a Christian and he's now coming into the prison every day or maybe he's actually in the prison but he is ministering to Paul he's valuable to Paul now he's he's helping this old apostle and there's just one problem he's still legally the property of Philemon and so Paul writes this short letter to his friend Philemon to smooth the way for an isthmus the runaway slave to go back home and turn himself in to his master both Roman law and Jewish law say that Philemon can punish onesimus severely he ran away he stole stuff he's under the penalty of law both the Roman law and the Jewish law and so Paul does something in this letter that's pretty remarkable he asks Onesimus he asked Philemon to receive this runaway slave he said you receive Onesimus not just as a slave coming home I want you to forgive him and accept him as a brother in Christ because he's now a Christian don't just receive him merely as a slave so here's what he's going to teach us in this letter he's going to teach us how to treat those who are in relationship with us people who work for us people who are accountable to us how to treat them despite their failures now this is going to only be important to you if you've ever failed has anybody ever failed okay you know probably 80% I think and since lion is also a failure it's probably really a hundred percent and so if anybody's ever failed this is how we treat people listen who have failed this is how we're to treat people who have made mistakes and furthermore for us that our leaders we're mature Christians and and other people are looking at us and believe me people are this is how we would intercede with somebody to try to repair a relationship now this one is harder to admit but how many have ever had a real bad relationship problem with somebody somewhere is there anybody that's bold enough to lift up your hand oK you've had so this is going to talk to us about how to deal with relationships that are fractured and they're messed up and that's what that's what he's talking about so let's just dive in it's not very long and so that's a good thing because the preacher can't go way long if the scripture isn't way long so here we go chapter 1 there's only one chapter and verse 1 Paul only 1 chapter isn't that great Romans had like a lot of chapter 16 of them and so we were we were a while so the good news is this is only good one chapter the bad news is there's three other books in this series and they all have more than one chapter okay here we go Paul a prisoner of Jesus Christ and Timothy our brother writing unto Philemon our dearly beloved and fellow laborer and here's a bunch of names that don't mean anything to you and to our beloved Afiya and to our khipus our fellow soldier fellow soldier and to the church in your house see there that is they host the church in their house grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ so the Apostle Paul this is something really important to notice at the beginning of this series and we'll come back to this later Paul made disciple in the next generation his central focus in ministry he made disciple those who would come after the leaders the new converse he made disciple anem his central focus in ministry if you look at the New Testament one third of the New Testament is either written to Timothy first Timothy second Timothy or it's written from Paul and Timothy if you look at the first verse of these books you'll see that it's from Paul and Timothy meaning that Paul is mentoring Timothy Paul is traveling with Timothy Paul is ministering with Timothy and palsey involving Timothy in sending and writing and delivering these letters if you look at second Corinthians if you look at Philippians Colossians first Thessalonians second Thessalonians and this book Philemon you'll see in the first verse of every one of those books that it's from Paul and Timothy he's mentoring Timothy that's his central focus of ministry now there's some people here that you don't know but but let's just kind of summarize the the cast of characters here Philemon is a leader in the church in Colossae the the city where the book of Colossians is written - Paul calls him a fellow laborer and he says the church meets in his house and then there's others mentioned first there's a fire that's his wife in verse 2 and then there's archippus and he's another leader in the church in Colossae and some people think he was maybe their son who's getting in the ministry because and getting into leadership because it says and this church that meets in your house and it says that after it mentions Philemon and his wife aphaia and then archippus so maybe he was their son and then it mentions in verse 23 here a paffrath who's another leader and he was actually sent from the church in Colossae to ministered of Paul so he's important and then of course it mentions onesimus in verse 10 and Anissa misses Philemon slave who wasn't a Christian when he stole stuff and headed out and ran away but now he has become a Christian so paul looks at him as he's now a member of the church that meets in their home even though he's never been there as a christian he was just there as a slave and and all these people are mentioned in the book of Colossians Colossians 4:17 mentions archippus Colossians 4:12 mentions of parson and Colossians 4/9 mentions Onesimus and so all of these people they're mentioned in the book of Colossians because they live in the city of Colossae and that's where their church meets and so this is a personal letter Philemon sent to a guy named Philemon but there's also a letter written to the church that meets in the city the different groups that meet in Colossae and and so both of those letters go to the same place from the apostle now I wanted you to notice that right from the very beginning Paul approaches Philemon on the basis of relationship everybody say relationship he says your dearly beloved and he says you're my fellow laborer he doesn't approach Philemon on the basis of rulership its relationship not rules now John Maxwell who a Wesleyan pastor and speaker to many business groups he's identified in a book you know several years back five levels of leadership and those five levels of leadership are defined and people follow leaders at each level but for different reasons and the lowest level of leadership the very lowest level of leadership is a position just because somebody has a position doesn't mean they have a whole lot of permission to lead you in your life just because somebody has a position that you follow people for different reasons so here's Maxwell starting from the bottom and working to the top here's Maxwell's levels of leadership and I think this is very applicable here in this book of Philemon Paul's ministry by the way encompasses every level of leadership here Paul is a giant of a leader in the 1st century and and especially when it applies to Philemon or Titus or Timothy because he's mentored them and here's Maxwell's levels first level of leadership is position and the key word for the first level of leadership is rights everybody say rights I have rights as a leader because I'm in this position I have rights to demand that people follow me and so at this level of leadership people only follow you because they have to that's a really low level of leadership people follow you because they have to you give them their paycheck so they have to follow you that's the lowest level of leadership then there's permission leadership and permission the key word here is relationships everybody say relationships so the the on the relationship level or on the permission level of leadership people follow not because they have to but because they want to that's better you're all looking like it's not better but it is better if people follow you because they want to not just because they have to and then there's the third level of leadership and that's production this is all John Maxwell stuff production on that level the key word is results and on this level people follow you because of things you have done but it's specifically things you have done for the organization that you're part of well you know he built that building or he started that program or he saved our bacon when we were in financial trouble or whatever and because of things that a leader has done for the group or done for the organization he's had some results and so that's the production leader and people follow because of what you've done for the organization there's a higher level and than that though and that is people development this is something you really see in the Ministry of Paul everybody say reproduction reproduction is the word here it's a leader reproducing leadership in other leaders and on this level people follow because of what you've done but it's not just what you've done for a group or for the organization or for the church it's what you've done for them personally and this is a higher level of leadership people development and when you've put your blood sweat and tears into people and you've developed them and you've reproduced some of what you are in them they follow you because of what you've done for them not just what you've done for the church or what you've done for God or what you've done in your ministry or your leadership but what you've done for them and and I would say to you that if you've ever taught a Bible study and that person has become a Christian if you've ever walked with somebody through a trial and that person has survived it and now they're thriving if you've ever talked somebody down off the ledge of depression or have been with somebody as they weathered a storm and they've come through you've invested in them and and you've reproduced your confidence in them or you've reproduced your endurance in them or you've reproduced your knowledge of God in them and and so Azeri result they follow you because you've helped develop them as a person you've reproduced some of yourself in them that's not just for pastors that's for saints of God who are constantly bringing other people into the kingdom and something you've done for them and then finally Maxwell says the pinnacle level of leadership the highest level of leadership is this word that we say every say respect people follow that kind of leader for a reason that's above every other thing they follow that leader because of who they know that they are and because of what they know that they represent that is the pinnacle of leadership they don't have to do anything for us we just know their character and we know their life and this is what we call in the church an elder when you see elder Saints or elder ministers walk into our presence the reason they're worthy of double honor the Bible says is it's not just about what they do anymore some of them are older and their strength is waning and they can't do much for us or do much for the group or the organization of the church anymore but that's not why we esteem them as a leader we esteem them as a leader because of our respect because of who they are and what their life represents to us now Paul he fulfills every single level of leadership especially in the lives of these three young men that we're going to study about Philemon and Titus and Timothy and he writes personal letters to them because he's more than just a guy that did stuff he's somebody they respect because of who they know he is and what they know his life is all about so he jumps into the letter verse 4 he said I thank my god making mention of the always in my prayers I hear of your love and your faith you have it toward the Lord Jesus but not just toward him you have that love and faith toward all the saints that the communication of thy faith may become effectual or effective by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus for we have great joy and consolation in thy love because the bowels of the Saints are refresh by the brother that's awkward in the 21st century but bowels you can just say heart because that's what it means it's it's deep deep feeling they did it here thank God we do it here okay so deep feeling heart Paul says I thank God that the heart of the Saint you've encouraged people you've blessed people you've helped people the heart of the saints they are refreshed by the brother now Paul is about to do something that's very difficult in relationships you say I thought we were talking about letters for leaders we are but leaders are always dealing with relationships sometimes very badly as saints of God as church members as fellow believers we're always dealing with relationships sometimes very badly so these principles are really important not just if you stand in a pulpit not just if you teach a class but just in everyday life Paul is about to do about the hardest thing that you ever do in a relationship he's going to ask for something that is very hard he's going to ask for something and just by asking he's going to make the conversation difficult just by asking just by letting it come out of his mouth he's going to just kind of suck all the oxygen out of the room and he's going to make it very awkward he's going to actually push a little bit and he's going to depend on the solidity of that relationship he's going to know that when he pushes Philemon is not going to walk away Philemon is going to listen and learn and take a different direction but Paul's about ready to just have you ever been one of those conversations or better yet have you ever had to have one of those conversations and you're dreading that conversation I was talking to a young pastor this week who's having some issues and he he sent me an email and then we talked on the phone for probably the best part of an hour and he's having some problems because he's been put in a position and the person who's putting in the in the position it's kind of like they want him to be a figurehead and they're gonna control him like the puppet master and he's not wanting to be a figurehead if he's going to be the leader he wants to try to really diligently lead and how do I do that and and so he's in the same place and I told him I said you've got to have that difficult conversation you you've got to take the time and make the effort to have that difficult conversation I say this to young leaders all the time this is maybe a word from God for somebody serious the conversation that you most dread having is the conversation that you most need to have well nobody left at least everybody's really quiet but the conversation you most dread having because it's eating you up inside whether you're at fault or whether they're at fault the conversation you most dread having is the conversation you most need to have especially if you're a leader especially if somebody's following your life so Paul's about ready to launch him where angels fear to tread notice what Paul says to Philemon before he makes his tough request every say before he's gonna do this before it might be a good idea to note this cuz you want to pave the way for that difficult conversation before he initiates a difficult awkward conversation he does this verse four he says Philemon I want you to know that I'm praying for you consistently and I thank God for you so he doesn't approach him like just you know listen to me and shape up and smarten up he says I've been praying about this I've been praying for you verse 4 verse 5 he says i I've heard of your love and your faith and so what he says there is you know Philemon I'm not approaching you like you're a mess and you're a disaster I know you're a real Christian and in fact Philemon I've heard this from other people I i-i've heard about your faith and I've heard of your love for God and I've heard of your love for the Saints so I'm approaching you on that basis number one I pray for you Cicely I thank God I make mention of you always in my prayers I didn't approach this conversation without prayer and number two I know you're a real Christian I'm not putting you down I know you're a real Christian and I've heard that from a lot of people verse six he says that the communication here's what I'm praying for you you're a leader I'm praying that the communication of your faith may become effective in other words I'm praying for your soul winning efforts I'm praying that your efforts to leave the church and be a Christian and be a witness I'm praying that they're effective in reaching the loss that's verse six and then he says in verse seven we have great joy and consolation this is the bowels Scripture because the vowels the heart of the Saints are refreshed by you I know you have a very valuable ministry I know you're a blessing to the church now he says all of that positive stuff before he ever goes anywhere near what he needs to talk about and it's not manipulation he's sincere you can't manipulate you know well god bless him I pray for you all the time no he's really been praying all the time for Philemon and and and he really appreciates him and he's heard it and and he wants him to be effective so I would say this that when we have to have difficult conversations as leaders or as fellow Saints or as family members or whatever make sure your spirits right first your words can be right but if your spirits not right your words will mess it all up I think probably let's just speak for me instead of you I think probably I fall down on that one more than anything else get your spirit right and then your words they may still offend they may still mess somebody up but get your spirit right first and then talk you're all really quiet so let me ask a question that will make it worse has anybody ever talked first without your spirit right okay I heard somebody say all the time for real so we need to get our spirit right that's what Paul has done and so he says all this and it's genuine now look at verse eight here's where he starts to dive in wherefore though never say though that's all true and I'm glad about that but wherefore though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient I could demand yet for love's sake I rather instead of demanding instead of commanding I beseech you being such an one as Paul the aged and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ so Paul could command Philemon to do what he wants that's what he means when he says enjoined to command somebody but instead he makes an appeal to Philemon he beseech is him he models for Philemon and he models for us that it's a superior it's better to make an appeal than always make a command that would help some of us in our families that would help some of us in our friendships that would help some of us in our marriages that would certainly help us as we live for God in a church it's better to appeal to ask than it is to command and the reason that is is because these are relationships in the church and the church is governed by only one king and and none of us are him the church is governed by love jot this down if you're writing notes the more relationship you have with somebody the fewer rules you need with somebody if you have less relationship you need more rules if you have more relationship you can have less rules that's true in your family as your kids grow and you have more of a relationship with them and you know them and they know you and you know their likes and they know your likes and dislikes and all of that you have a relationship and if you've got a good relationship you don't need a bunch of rules anymore you have rules when when they're like two and their mode of life is like drooling but when they grow and they're mature and whatever you have less rules please hear me if you're really having a relationship with God you don't need a pastor to crash down on you with rules all the time that's where many people in the church world have got totally off the rails they think well God didn't give me all these rules I don't have to do that if you really have a relationship with God you don't need somebody to tell you the rules you do it because it's in his word and you love him and you got a relationship and so you don't need pastor to crash over your head every time you step out of line you you feel the conviction of the Holy Ghost you've got a relationship with God and the more a relationship you have the less rules you need it's not that you don't keep rules it's that you don't need rules said to you all the time you do them out of love not out of somebody commanding you acting out of freedom from a heart of love is the goal in every relationship acting out of freedom from a heart of love that is the goal in every relationship you want somebody to do it because they love you God wants somebody to do it because they love him there's so many Christians and pastors and churches and denominations and televangelists that are always talking about freedom freedom freedom and then they totally ignore God's Word they totally ignore God's convictions they totally ignore what God wants us to do and look like and live like and they're always talking about freedom and they don't have one Swift clue about freedom because God's goal for his relationship with you is that you would do what he wants you would do what makes him happy and you wouldn't do it because you're afraid of going to hell and you wouldn't do it because you're afraid of getting caught and you wouldn't be doing it because you're afraid of judgment you'd do it out of a heart of free that is a heart based in love and you do it to please God and that's the goal in every relationship and that doesn't just apply to our relationship with God that applies to our relationship with each other to command Paul said would be convenient in verse eight he said it would be convenient that word actually means befitting he said I could I could command you to do what you know you should do but because of my confidence in our relationship I'm not going to command you I'm gonna ask you and I believe that you respect me enough and you love me enough and you're mature enough to do it when I ask without me even commanding it now that being said Paul's a really really smart old guy and so although he's gonna ask he's gonna load up the gun - this is so cool this is good leadership he doesn't make his requests in a vacuum he gently reminds Philemon why he should be listening to Paul and why he should do what Paul's asking him - first of all he said I'm aged verse nine he said I'm the aging apostle I'm an elder I've lived a lot longer than you and I've seen a lot of stuff and so because I'm an elder he doesn't come right out and say listen to me because I'm an elder he just said I'm asking you because I'm Paul V agit and so that's a little bit of push and then he says and now also not only am i agent but I'm a prisoner of Jesus Christ I'm in jail for preaching the gospel so you know if you want to have a little sympathy that would be fine now you say well he's manipulating finally even though he's saying I've given my life for the church I love the church I'm not asking you to do something that's bad I'm asking you to do something that will bless the church that I've given my life for I'm an elder in the church and so he's not trying to manipulate but he is trying to motivate Philemon to do what's right and ladies and gentlemen that principle of honoring our elders people who've walked with God further live for God longer sacrifice for God greater that principle is everywhere in Scripture every time you see a young pastor or leader or saint of God that's cut off all the elders in their life and they're so smart they don't need to listen to anybody you've just seen a fool because they make decisions that take them away from the Word of God who do you respect here's a question for you who do you respect so much that you'll always listen to them and you'll always obey them just because of who they are in God and what they've done for God who is that in your life and if you come up blank on that that there's nobody in your life that without question if they said stop it you'd stop and if they said don't do it you wouldn't do it if there's nobody in your life that fills that role then you my friend are missing an elder in your life and you need elders and I need elders and everybody needs elders to be accountable to and if there's nobody in your life that could ever tell you stop and you stop don't and you don't do and you do if there's nobody in your life like that you've bought into the lie of society that says nobody should have that kind of control over me I'm free I'm an individual I'm a free agent you've bought into the lie of society because the Bible honor and respect for elders is everywhere and we need elders especially if we're in leadership verse 10 Paul says now here's his his request he's working up to the request I beseech thee for my son Anissa mmus this is the runaway slave Philemon I'm begging you I'm asking you on the basis of everything I've just said I'm beseeching you for my son Anissa mmus whom I've begotten in my bonds he became a Christian when I met him here in prison and I was in jail but I witnessed to him I preached him I taught him and now he's a Christian which in time past was to you unprofitable but now there's been a change Philemon he's now profitable to you and he's profitable to me and I've sent him to you see is gonna carry this letter home to his master with trembling hands no doubt I've sent him again to you thou therefore receive him that is mine own bowels remember what that means it's like I've sent you my heart my heart goes with Anisa mmus only after approaching Philemon on the basis of relationship does Paul now make his request he asks Philemon to do something very difficult in fact it may be the most difficult thing that Christians are ever challenged to do that leaders are ever challenged to do that followers are ever challenged to do and that is to forgive to forgive Onesimus who wronged him who may be robbed him who certainly deserted him and Paul now turns the tables and makes a tough request and opens up an awkward request and literally sucks all the oxygen out of the room everybody's like oh my goodness what's gonna happen here Paul says this runaway slave that robbed you and wronged you and deserted you he's my son he says he's one of my converts he was begotten in my bonds I won him to the Lord while I was a prisoner and he says sending him to you it's like trembling and sending my own heart to you it's mine own bowels it's mine own heart that I'm sending to you here's what it says remember Philemon when you deal with this guy you're dealing with one of my sons he's not just a slave he's one of my sons I want him to the Lord do you know if we are engaged in winning people and disciple of the Lord we're a whole lot less offended by little trivia around the church we're a whole lot less worried about all kinds of stuff and we're a whole lot more concerned that we have a move of God in every service and and that nobody you know talks to them or in a bad way or or or gets out in a problem with them we're concerned because they're our sons and daughters in the gospel and Paul said Philemon you're dealing with one of my sons now remember that Philemon considers Paul his father his mentor his leader his apostle his elder so here's what he's really saying you know what guess what Philemon if you're my son then Onesimus is now your brother so you got to deal with them have you ever noticed that God says the same thing to us you may not like what they did you might may not like where they came from you may not like a whole lot of stuff about him at guess what they became part of my church I adopted into them into my family here's what God says to us all the time since they're now my son and my daughter they're your sibling so grow up and deal with it even if you don't like everything they do Oh somebody say thank God and that wasn't very loud God says if I'm your father then they're your brother if I'm your father than they're your sister Philemon if Owen usamos has had a relationship with Jesus Christ that saved him and turned him around then he's now your brother and you got a deal with that now watch what Paul's doing and if you're a leader and you are in some era of area of life notice that leaders always put themselves on the line for people that they believe in even if everybody else can't see their potential a real leader will put themselves on the line for somebody because they see something in them they they look at them with the eyes of God and other people that that they're not really thinking about who grows in God and and who develops in God they don't see it the same way they don't put themselves on the line they don't inconvenience himself Paul is putting his whole heart on the line because he sees potential in this runaway slave now become a Christian and he uses a real cool play on words right here if you look in verse 11 he says in time past Onesimus was to you unprofitable but he's now profitable to thee and to me that's a play on words because onesimus named the slaves name means profitable that's what his name means he says you know I know profit they're your slave profitable he was once unprofitable but now because Jesus came into his life he's finally going to start to live up to his name he's finally going to matter he's finally going to make a difference because Jesus has come into his life and when Jesus comes into anybody's life all of a sudden all that unrealized potential and all those wasted years they all become profitable again so he uses kind of this turn on words mister profitable there he was unprofitable but now he's really going to be profitable he's gonna live up to his name because of Jesus and Paul wants Philemon to learn this how to deal with somebody that's let you down how to deal with somebody that's disappointed you how to deal with somebody that's wrong to you he wants Philemon to learn from his own experience Paul as the elder and and here's the experience that must have come to his mind when he's writin to Philemon about this runaway slave because this has happened to Paul before look at acts 15 Paul and Barnabas working together in ministry and Barnabas decides that he's going to take with them on a journey John whose surname was mark John mark he says hey Paul let's take John Mark and Paul says it's not good to take him with us because he's a mama's boy he departed from us when we were in Pamphylia and he didn't go with us when we were doing the work he got scared he got nervous he turned around he left us and I don't want to take him I don't I can't depend on him and look what happened the contention was so sharp between Paul and Barnabas that they split up and Barnabas took mark that he wanted and and he went one way and Paul took Silas and he went the other way and so now out of a bad situation and even out of contention we ended up with two missionary teams so there was a good outcome but look at Paul in the last book he ever writes to Timothy 2nd Timothy Timothy only Luke is with me watch this take mark everybody say mark same guy take mark and bring him with you because he is profitable to me for the ministry Paul learned something as an elder that we do ourselves a favor of we learn it younger Paul learned something that we say but we really sometimes don't believe Paul learned that people can change somebody say that with me people can change I know that they used to be a waste of your time I know that they used to be on the edge I know that they used to be worldly I know that they used to be uncommitted but ladies and gentlemen brothers and sisters people can change and one of the marks of good leaders is that when people do change we don't hold it against them for the rest of their earthly existence when people change we are mature enough to see them in a different light please hear pastor don't ever imprison somebody in their past mistakes and never let him get out of that little prison because Jesus never did that to you Jesus let you out of your prison of all your mistakes and all your failures and all the times you let him down and he let you out of your prison so it behooves us it's necessary for us in the sight of God that if somebody who let you down disappointed you messed you up had a bad testimony if they change Paul's not talking about being stupid he's talking about being merciful there's a difference and when somebody really changes Paul said don't imprison them in their past because people can change I learned it with Mark there was a time I didn't want mark anywhere near me I thought he was a waste of my time and energy and I didn't even want him on a missionary journey but when I got to the end of my life I learned something you know what mark helped Barnabas a whole lot and Mark is profitable to me in ministry here's what Paul says in another place 2nd Corinthians therefore if any man be in Christ he's a new creature old things are passed away and behold all things have become new he can be just as well write in this to Philemon or any of us and all things are of God watch who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ and now God has given to us the ministry of reconciliation Philemon I want you to reconcile to your runaway slave Onesimus because before I ever asked you to reconcile the somebody that used to be unprofitable God reconciled himself to you Philemon you were unprofitable to God and God let you become a new creature so would you please let onesimus become a new creature and so Paul says in verse 12 watch this he sent onesimus back to Philemon he sent him back why first of all because it was right in the eyes of the law Anisa Mazzone by Philemon secondly because he says I want your decision to be voluntary rather than compulsory I could keep him here in Rome and say you've got to accept him but I'm gonna send them back to you and he's in your hands because I want your decision to be voluntary rather than compulsory but most of all Paul wants to send this runaway slave back so Philemon can see the change in him and accept him not just as a slave but as a brother in Christ and so here's what he says I could have retained him with me I could have kept him right here and in thy stead he's your slave he could have been helping me here he could have been ministering to me he could have been going and getting food for me because in that day if you were in prison you didn't get food if you didn't have friends or family to bring you food they just let you starve to death and thought good riddance and that's why you often see in Paul's epistles about the people that came and visited him or ministered to him because if they hadn't come he would have died long before he did and he says to Philemon you know I could have kept him and just put it on your account yeah Philemon slave is bringing me food and helping me out and he could have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel but without thy mind would I do nothing I wouldn't do that without getting permission from you that your benefit should not be as it were of necessity I'm not looking to compel you to do this but of but willingly I want you to want to do this for perhaps he therefore departed for a season that you should receive him forever not now as a servant but above a servant a brother beloved especially to me but how much more to you both in the flesh and in the Lord now get this this is important Paul didn't make a mistake here of quickly taking Onesimus side Onesimus for all he knew could have been totally wrong and a criminal and and and irreparable it could have been but rather Paul watched this young man this slave he watched him over time he proved him over time and he saw his conversion and then he saw his willingness to help Paul and in fact now Onesimus the the former slave is so valuable to this aging apostle he said in verse 13 I would have loved to have retained him I would have loved to have kept him but Philemon because onesimus is under your authority even though he rebelled against your authority he's under your authority I'm sending him back to you if we had that today in the church that's what we call ministerial ethics today that would honor ministerial ethics he's under your authority so even if he's rebelled against your authority I'm sending him back to you but it's more than that if we operated by that principle it would keep relationship problems from becoming all-out wars in God's family I'm not gonna side with somebody against you I'm gonna send them back to you and you guys work it out oh my goodness that would help it's amazing I feel like Paul just sucking all the oxygen out of the room if we would learn to operate by that principle somebody comes to us and you know what so-and-so did you know let's go talk to them right now you know what normally you know what you get when you say that deer-in-the-headlights look that's what you got because they've talked to everybody in the church except the person that they say they're having the problem with learn to do that it you know what it'll give you a good laugh if nothing else when you look at the absolute sheer terror on their face and you say oh let's go talk to them right now brother Morel Cornwell out in Wichita Kansas he told me one time he was in a meeting where a bunch of people were just like literally ripping the the flesh off somebody gossiping and talking about them and he's just sitting there and he's bold as a lion he just called him on his cell phone people all around him are talking about them gossiping about them he said hey brother so-and-so and every mouth in the room just shut up immediately and he passed the phone to the ringleader he said here I thought you must want to talk to him you've been talking about him for a half an hour try it sometime it's great for comic relief see Onesimus had no right to remove himself from out from under god-given Authority but watch this is important people don't even have a clue about this today even the great Apostle Paul maybe the greatest leader of the New Testament he says I don't have any right to overstep the god-given authority that God put in your life so I'm sending you back to your master and so Paul reminds Philemon he said I've been ethical in this manner I haven't usurped your authority over an isthmus and I refuse to make any decision about him without your permission without thy mind I would do nothing and I want you to make your decision not because I kept him here and I wouldn't let you talk to you I want you to make your decision not at a pressure of necessity I want you to make your decision of your own accord willingly in verse 14 and then Paul says something that's so profound and brilliant he said I just want to remind you Philemon that although he was wrong and although this has been bad and although you were hurt God had a greater purpose even though we couldn't see it and we wouldn't have chosen it but through onesimus failure and through his crime against you and through him wronging you God is so merciful and so redemptive that even when he did something totally wrong even when he rebelled against Authority even when he stole and he ran away and he committed a crime even when he did all of that God still used that bad situation to work his purpose never forget it on Philemon before he ran away in verse 16 before he ran away he was just a servant but when he ran away he rebelled against Authority God was so merciful he saw him in his sin and he got him to me and and we connected and I witness and I baptized him and I prayed him through the Holy Ghost and now he's a brother he was a servant but now he's a brother and watch this he said before he ran away you had a relationship with him but it was just temporal he was for a season your servant eventually you were going to die or he was going to die it was just for a season but now you have an eternal relationship he's your brother in Christ you now have him with you forever he was your servant he was your employee he was your subordinate for a season but now he's your brother forever so can you see how God took a really bad situation that even involves sin and rebellion and all of that stuff and he took that bad situation and our God is so merciful that he took a terrible situation and he brought an incredible blessing out of it and so here's the point Philemon God has totally changed his attitude toward an isthmus so what I'm asking you to do is since God was so merciful that he totally changed his attitude toward an isthmus I'm asking you to be merciful enough to totally change your attitude toward Onesimus ladies and gentlemen brothers and sisters Church family who is that in your life that God has forgiven him but you won't forgive him God let it go but you won't let it go God looks at them different but you don't look at them different who is that in your life Paul said Philemon I'm counting on you I am sending this man back to you and you could beat him up and punish him and throw him in jail and take him to the courts you could do all kinds of stuff you could even have him put to death this is Roman times but I'm counting on you to be a mature believer and a mature leader I'm counting on you that when you see how God has changed his attitude toward this slave you will change your attitude toward this slave I'm almost done would you lift up your hands I just feel a kind of a witness of the Holy Ghost there who is that in your life that that God's forgiven them and God's restored them but you won't forgive them and you won't restore them whoever that is you know what you need to make a choice even in Bible study tonight to just let go with that and let that go and fix that because if God can redeem them then we need to be able to work with them if God can save them we need to be able to embrace them if God can change them we need to be able to bring them into the family and treat them as brothers and sisters I know you're praying but I wish you'd lift up your voice as you pray because God would really like to cement that in somebody's heart tonight if we're going to influence others if we're going to lead others we can't be working and holding grudges and holding stuff in our heart against others we got to learn to let it go if God of the universe can let it go then we can let it go I worship You Jesus god there's conviction of your spirit in this room right now and I thank you for it we don't resist it we receive it we don't resist that we receive it we don't resist it we receive it in the name of Jesus just just just 30 more seconds just just pray if you would church I know this might not be for you but it believe me it is for somebody Perabo Joe Saba a Candela SSI so that about yes so Saba are you talk what are you must say I worship you Jesus I worship you Jesus I worship you Jesus I worship you Jesus Paul says the Onesimus or to Philemon about an isthmus he says to Philemon in verse 16 if you'll just look at him in a different light watch this he'll become much more to you he'll become much more valuable to you he won't just be a servant in the flesh he'll be a fellow servant in the Lord so if you'll just change your attitude I know he did wrong I know he messed up I know he offended you I know he hurt you I know what he did and you're cited in God site was totally wrong but if you'll just change your attitude if you just see him in a different light even though he was the wrong one he'll become more than just your employee more than just your friend more than just your servant he'll become a fellow servant in the Lord and you can work together so now Paul's made his case and he's coming to a close and I am as well and so he makes his request verse 17 I've set the context I've told you that it'll be better if you do this I told you you should do this because I'm an elder and you respect me and I've asked you I haven't commanded you even though I'm an apostle I'm not commanding you I'm asking you and so now here's the bottom line in verse 17 he says if thou count me therefore a partner if you say that I'm your partner and I'm your mentor and I'm your brother and I'm your pastor and I'm whatever then I want you to receive him like you'd receive me if he's wronged you or if he owes you anything you put it on my account now that's that's kind of straightforward because Paul's a prisoner that would be embarrassing you know I'm gonna charge you you're a prisoner but he says I Paul I've written it in my own hand I wrote it down I will repay it albeit however I'm not saying to you how much you owe me I'm just asking to do this I'm just not going to tell you that you owe me your whole life because you wouldn't be a Christian if it had meant for me you wouldn't be serving God if it hadn't been for me but no pressure yeah brother here it is again let me have joy of being the Lord refresh my bowels in the Lord sware and new translations are sometimes valuable Paul said it would bless my heart it would encourage me in this prison if you'd do what I asked now notice how direct he's he is here he says in verse 17 if you see me as your in ministry see some people talk about all this brother and pastor and whatever stuff but they don't really see it biblically they just talk it's just but if you really see me as your partner in ministry also verse 17 I want you to receive him like you'd receive me if you'd welcome me I want you to welcome him if you'd forgive me I want you to forgive him and then he says in verse 18 I'll pay back whatever he owes you and then he says in verse 18 I've committed myself in writing I wrote a letter to you it's an epistle in the Bible I've committed myself I'll pay you back verse 19 you owe me a whole lot more than this Philemon and then he says in verse 20 this will refresh my heart I'm not just asking you to help Onesimus I'm asking you to help me you know when you have a difficult request of somebody it helps if you look at them and you say would you help me not just tell them what to do so we're finishing here Paul says I know Anissa Meserve judgment but I'm asking for mercy I'm not asking as his lawyer or his defense attorney I'm asking as his father and I'm also your father so I'm asking Philemon how do you see me how do you treat me how do you relate to me how do you receive me I'm asking that you treat your former slave and your new brother that way that's how I'm asking you to treat him like you treat me it's amazing you know I sometimes see people you know there'll be a brand new person praying at the altar and they'll knock them down to get to somebody that they want to give a word to that's been in the church for a hundred years and when the person who needs that ministry most is that new believer that struggling believer that that person that's never prayed never been at an altar before and and we get so used to minister in to each other Paul said if you'd receive me that way I want you to receive them that way I want you to receive Onesimus that way here's his conclusion I have confidence in your obedience and because I had that confidence I wrote to you and I know that you'll also more than I even say I'm not just confident that you'll obey I'm confident that you'll joyfully obey now I'm confident that you'll do more than I asked you to and that's the mark of a true mature leader we do more than God asks and we even do more than our leaders asked doing more than the minimum is the hallmark of a mature Christian doing more than the minimum is a necessary quality in any leader he said Philemon I I'd like you to prepare me a room because I'm trusting that if you guys will keep praying I'll get out of here and and I'll come and visit you and and I want you to salute a Paris and Marcus and Aristarchus and Dimas and Lucius I want you to salute all my fellow laborers and grace of the Lord be with you said I have confidence in the prayers of God's people I hope that I'll be released from prison I hope I'll be able to visit you and you can prepare me a room and I'll stay there and it'll be certainly more comfortable than this jail cell but Paul knew that even though he had confidence in the people of God and confidence in prayer and confidence in God he didn't get messed up when his prayers weren't answered he said in the book of Philippians I don't speak in respect of want I've learned in whatever state I'm in therewith to be content and I know how to be abased and I nado abound and in everyone everywhere and in all things I'm instructed God teaches me how to befall how to be hungry how to abound how to suffer need and we always quote this verse out of context then we put it on a fridge magnet but it was written in a prison when everything was going wrong and backwards I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me yeah it's easy to quote that in the good times Paul quoted it in a prison cell in the book of Philippians when he knew he could die and he said I can do this I can get through this I can endure this through Christ which strengthens me and so he closes his letter by mentioning a path for us and Marcus and Aristarchus and others and those names are also mentioned in the last chapter of Colossians it's probable that a guy named tisha 'kiss and an initial mistake carried these two letters to choucas had a letter for the church in Colossae and Onesimus he had a much more difficult letter a personal letter to go to his master and get restore and I'll close just here with this last verse Paul also mentions a guy named Dimas in verse 24 at this point look at it in verse 24 Dimas is a fellow laborer Dimas is on the team Dimas is working with Paul Dimas is working with the church in Colossae but Dimas will later backside and Dimas will later forfeit his ministry and Dimas will later fall into worldliness and let the devil get an advantage and that's a warning to all of us as leaders that's why Paul teaches Philemon before you make this request and before I make this request I want to get my heart right I want to guard my heart guard your ministry guard your leadership guard your influence by guarding your heart because later we read this we read that demas has forsaken me having loved this present world and he left the team he left me Dimas he's on the team right now but later he won't be Paul wants everybody to guard their heart because when you guard your heart you guard your testimony when you guard your heart you guard your leadership when you guard your heart you guard your ministry and when you guard your heart you guard your influence over everybody else that you are leading and yes you are leading somebody would you stand with pastor want to pray with you before we go thank you for your great attentiveness tonight and I pray that something here is a blessing to you and I'm looking forward to heading into the book of Titus next time we're together what would you just lift up your hands and let's pray before we go and let's ask God to take something and teach us not just tonight but teach us tomorrow and teach us on Friday and teach us through next week let's ask God to teach us from what we learned tonight Lord Jesus I thank you for the great saints of God and I thank you for our church thank you for this local family of leavers we're not the whole church but we are a vital part of your church and God there are people in this room that have great giftings and great ministry and great leadership ability and God they have incredible influence and God help us to use our influence to mentor others and to forgive others and to receive others and to love others and to grow others and to never use our influence to tear somebody down or to put somebody in a prison and never let them get over their mistakes god help us to be merciful like you've been merciful to us and God help us to grow people like you've grown us and to forgive others like you've forgiven us God make us in the leaders because we all lead somebody make us in the influencers because we all influence somebody make us into people that are valuable for your kingdom and valuable for your church valuable for evangelism and valuable for disciple another's make us into that kind of people and we pray it over the precious people of God I speak it over every life here I speak it over every home here I speak it over every relationship here god help us to get this right for the glory of God and for the furtherance of your kingdom and we'll give you the praise and the honor because we pray it in Jesus name and we speak it over ourselves in the name of Jesus and everybody said amen amen thank you for being part of Bible study gonna have a great Sunday be faithful to the house of God Saturday prayer and Sunday we'll see you then God bless you for being part of Bible study tonight

Channel: Capital Community Church

Views: 8,642

Rating: 4.852941 out of 5

Keywords: letters, for, leaders, part, one, pastor, raymond, woodward, ccc, fredericton, capital, community, church, bible, study, apostolic, teaching, philemon

Id: kUGztYdR0_Y

Length: 68min 13sec (4093 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 11 2014