All right. Well, good evening. We are a little late. What's going on? Yes. So we're gonna wrap up Paul and his letters tonight. We'll do revelation next week. I think we're gonna potluck. That's kind of how we roll, right? We're gonna face feasting on we're gonna have a Messianic banquet, like we see and read about in Revelation. So y'all plan on bringing something yummy. And we'll do the same thing we'll post some stuff in the app for messaging so that way, we don't have three versions of banana pudding, although no complaints if we have three versions of banana pudding, because all of them are good. But that'll be helpful. All right, so was this a lot of reading my bad
isn't as long as it did last time.
Yeah. Yeah. Seems to be now. Yeah. And then the book of Revelation could be kind of could take you a while. So all right, well, what stood out from you from your Deval Hays chapter or from the text or questions? Insights.
Topics, you know, yeah, yeah.
And to have this focus on knowing that God was really was and even though the circumstances that he faced is still just, I mean, changed. So while I was still praising God, I mean, that is, to me, that's just
Yeah, yeah. The more you hear the story and read the story and see what he went through, and then we get some more of his somewhat reflects on that and some of his letters. You know, I was I was, uh, you know, imprisoned for this and I was in chains and I was beaten, you know, and so, his kind of autobiography sections he does, it's like, Yeah, he definitely went through a lot. And
he was always
invited to update
the sixth question. Yeah. I mean, this week, he's in prison. So these are commonly referred to as the prison letters, their letters he wrote from prison, so it's almost like they have a little bit more umph to him because he's like, I want to come visit you. I can't. So here's my, here's, here's my message. I'll just find a hole punch. If
there wasn't a hole punch.
It just doesn't look like one but yeah, it's in the press. I went to the preschool code work in the preschool. It did. So I didn't go for myself. Yeah, what else stood out. I forgot to tell it to collate.
This was for last week, since we were talking about how to say something last week that it said that everything he was making was either traveling or going to tour in prison
so intense.
Yeah, yeah, they're, you know, they're, they're, I guess traditionally a tentmaker that we've heard of. It's been speculated that he might have been making the tents for the armies. The Roman army. If you picture you know. Yeah, give on to Caesars that kind. of just kind of a I don't know if that's got any umph to it scholarly or historical backing? I don't know if they stayed intense. I don't know. I mean, I guess they did. But you know, that would be kind of interesting. If that was the case. You know, he made a living from Rome. From the army for the military might arome so that he could go out and continue to share the gospel, you know, and that would be speculative, but I like it.
collating you can only use Japanese ink on one of those.
What else anybody else insights or something stood out to you. Just
the fact that he wanted to always travel Go. Go and then ended up as prisoner. Yeah.
Yeah, I mean, he's traveling around doing this thing, right. And then he's like, Well, I'd like to go here. I want to go there. I'm gonna go there and it's like you never think well, what's gonna get into Rome is Yeah, yeah, you're a prisoner. We're gonna go and probably kill you, you know? Yeah. Get me to Rome. And that's kind of an interesting like, we see an x like, the more we try to persecute Christians, it results in a scattering it results in a spreading of the Gospel. And that and Paul's the example of that, you know, it's like we're gonna go to the power center of the world. And he shares the gospel there. You know, we see an x so
it was either he killed in Israel
or right, yeah, consequences in Rome. Yeah, he plays his system when he places his citizenship card, you know? It's like he waited the last minute to thing about wanting to get out of jail free card it was up. I'm going to Rome you know, like, collect my tuner dollars. And I'm gonna keep on going you know.
Barrage, people hate, want to kill him and all that. And then the living story of chapter says we learn from Paul's experience that when life hits rock bottom we can always rely on God's powerful presence with us. Yes, our sins have been forgiven our past and God has promised us that place in the new heaven and the new earth our future, but life can get pretty rough in prison. Yeah, yeah, very rough.
The promise of God's presence even as as hard as it could possibly get. He's promised to never leave us or forsake us. That He will be with us and, and Paul, you'll you kind of see that kind of language in every single letter he writes that his dependence upon Christ you know, so yeah, that's, that's good. What page was that on there? Did you have that?
The western story what I saw is like this transition into what God want him to be, despite what he was an attending, but on a road to Damascus when he was gone, and he can physically see but he could miss his spiritual why's. He was aware and he knew who God was because he knows why you kick against a brick who you're trying to prosecute whatever. And in the midst of everything he was going to he still remain faithful, He will still remain God just like he was trusting the process to go second up to and in the midst of him trusting the process. He was gaining more understanding and more knowledge in light. This is all rounded meetings. Consoli committed to following God and doing what what God wanted him was calling him with the name transition first of all the fall. It just stood out very, very bold Nick because even though he was prosecuted, he started off persecuting the people God, but he eventually okay, I was doing the wrong thing. And he repent and he felt bad for it. So he just like so yes, committed to just you know, being you know, sold out for God and just re preaching the gospel. That is really stood out to me. So no matter what it will still be use the past in spite of what you used to be in. It's not what you used to be is what you are now. Where you go into who your Folk is and things. Yeah,
absolutely. Yeah, that's a good that's a good testimony. I mean, he's, he definitely has an encounter with the Lord and revolutionizes his entire life. And, and, I mean, he lived he actually lived this stuff out and did it so yeah. It's powerful.
Is Jesus focused his ministry on Israel but didn't neglect Gentiles? Paul focuses on Gentiles, but doesn't neglect Jews.
You brought that out I'm so glad. The Gentiles We are glad that especially. Yeah. Yeah, and it is pretty amazing to think about how the gospel has spread. So much so that even to us, somehow, the Gospel continued to spread to whoever it was that shared us shared the gospel with us, and led us to the Lord. And, and again, we're gathering together to read that story and to see what our places in that, you know, just kind of the perspective of that is pretty powerful too. So. Yeah. Good. All right. Well.
We're kind of covering Ephesians and Philippians. First and Second Timothy and Philemon. I think we're the assigned reading myths. But I think what I want to do is just hit on. I initially started doing like little surveys of each book like let's survey Ephesians real quick and look at that and, and I had like, an outline of Ephesians. I'm not a lot of Second Timothy and, but instead, I just want to do I want to cover a little bit of Ephesians, a little bit of Philippians. And then I want us to spend a bigger chunk of our time on file human. And I'll tell you why don't we get there? So, we may not cover much of the Timothy's in the past orals. So, just a heads up the but the firt The first thing I wanted to cover it on your next page that oh, your whatever that footnote, foot footer. I forgot to change that to live in God's Word Church. Prison letters or prison. It still has last week's on there and I don't know why it printed front and back.
I was gonna say I don't think you guys got this because if I wonder if it got him front and back that's a good question. Because I just assumed because you
don't have the life you don't have the back
you don't have the backs Yeah.
Well stink like to back forth. Sorry. It printed. I printed the article that's at the end. I printed it front and back. And then when I went to print the notes, it just kept the same settings, which is frustrating. And I remember clicking it to don't print on the back and then it just still did it. I'm like come on, but take two but yeah, instead of re printing, which I normally would do. I just went and said there'll be okay with front and back. So I just condensed the life of Paul that we had from last week to focusing on Oh, he can kind of see the back as he's as he's heading toward Rome was in prison. We actually don't know where he's in prison. The traditional stance is he's in prison in Rome when he writes these four letters. There's been some more recent idea or thought or kind of adding some umph. To Paul being in prison in emphasis. And I personally prefer him to be in prison in emphasis just in the little hints that we get from different stuff. So you don't have to get bogged down in that. The point is he's in prison, but I started reading some stuff on what was prison like. Back then. Someone read Ephesians four, one through three. Oh, I got a Bible to my iPads in brandies car, and I could have brought it in but I was like, I'll bring this little paper thanks if I still know how to use it. Ephesians four, one through three.
For serving life to worthy. You ever been called by God? Always Be gentle. Be patient with each other. Make an allowance for each other Squawk Box. Make every effort to keep yourself united in the spirit, binding yourself together with peace. There are four There is one body and one Spirit. Just says you have been called to call to one glorious hope for the future.
One Lord one faith one baptism one god is overall in all three. Well I feel like I'm not have preached that passage here. But Ephesians 4123 He says, I therefore the prisoner for the Lord. So even as he's in prison. He views it as I'm in prison for the Lord. Like I'm doing this for Jesus. I'm doing this because that I've been sharing the gospel of Jesus. That's that's why I'm here but it's a real interesting kind of framing or understanding of his imprisonment. You know, he's like, I'm a prisoner for the Lord. You know, and not like I'm a prisoner for Rome, or I'm a prisoner by that, you know, it's like I'm doing this for the Lord. Prisons. We're not necessarily like a punishment. You know, like you go to the judge and you get a sentencing based on your crime. you're found guilty and then you're you go to prison. There's a kind of a punishment. There more like a holding tank. You'd be put into prison before your trial. But you didn't know how long you're gonna be there. And not very many people survived prison. It was dark, not very sanitary, dirty disease. filled. There were torture, psychological trauma. overpopulated, they could not socially distance. They're packed in these small spaces together. Oftentimes, they would chain everybody together. be chained, you know, like a big group. You know, it's easy to chain them all together. They can't get out the door, you know, the closest comparison to prison in other forms of literature is that of Haiti, or did the hard place Paul at any moment the emperor could be condemning him to death in prison. It would be very shameful. If you were in prison, you were shamed. It's almost like you've lost your rights. You lost who you are, and your dignity. You were humiliated in a different way. He doesn't. And then Paul kind of boast in this weakness. Someone found a hole punch. I looked out he did. Roger came to went all the way to the big office for the hole. puncher got don't play around. For Paul, he's a prisoner. For the Lord. In the Lord. He's united with Christ. He's like I may be in prison, but I know who I belong to. I belong to the Lord. He didn't know when He would get out of prison, but he knew exactly where he was. He knew exactly what he was doing. He was a prisoner for the Lord. If If Christ did not die and resurrected and ascended, Paul would not be in prison. Ephesians four, there's a play on words where the word for prison? Like I said, chained together, bound. And then in verse three, make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, that bonding in the bounding of being a prisoner. There's a play on words there. Ephesians four. So he's kind of he's letting them know, Hey, I'm in prison for the Lord. You guys need to stay together and be held together with peace. How about that for an image of what church is? Just as Paul is bound and changed as a prisoner. So we as believers are bound together in peace every time this word bond is used, it's used in a metaphorical sense. By bound together, when I preached this, I said something along the lines we who are captive, have connection. We who are captive have community the bound or bonded be attached or associated. This prisoners have people you know, so trying to play on what Paul's doing in Ephesians with these this wordplay here. It says that, you know, he says I urge you live a life worthy of your calling, for which you've been called so he's like as I'm stuck in here. You go live out there like you're supposed to. Incorrect, incredibly powerful message of Paul as being in prison. Questions on imprisonment, Paul's language, there's bright Ephesians is a great one to look at the Times Paul mentions in Christ or in the Lord or of the Lord. And you see that that that connection there, and we're going to explore that further. You are the best correlator I've ever seen. Oh my
gosh, it's such a hotness.
Yeah right yeah, there was there was some authority maybe not the recordings, but I'll listen to him in class.
I got two of them.
Yeah, yeah. And the reasons was probably circulated, it was probably written to the area around emphasis. So it's almost like I want the church and emphasis to read this. But, you know, if I'm in prison in emphasis, I definitely want that area around it to circulate it to because it doesn't address any specific issue directly. Colossians does, the church of Colossi Ephesians doesn't have any direct issue that Paul's addressing Corinth? Oh, my goodness, yes. You know, Philippians Sure, but that's why it's a little bit more general in town. It's and it's got a lot of parallels between Colossians it's almost like Colossians was the one written to a specific church. And Ephesians was written to the folks around Ephesus, and the churches around there kind of the region and they wanted it to be circulated, you know, which was pretty cool, you know. So. In your notes, I included stuff from the book, that pertained to Ephesians and Philippians because that's where I was going to start and where I was going, but I'm not a good stay on task guy. Sometimes. So let's look at Philippians.
Philippians All right after we let you do what's coming, it's coming. I'm gonna let Lauren read Philippians 253 11 Because you know, she really wanted read last time. Spread it out. Me to page turning is kind of hard when you haven't done in a while. I always get scared because I can never quite click as fast as they're like, open here and then they go and I'm like, I'm not there yet. You know, and I'd be even worse if I had to turn pages there. So that's on page 2247 of my Bible.
Philippians two Beans, two. You've heard this before. There we go to what? Five 311. It's a hymn you can sing it if you want
your relationship with one another have the same mindset as Christ Jesus, who being in very nature. God did not consider equality to his own advantage. Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a service, being made in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a man himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God exalted him, the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow and heaven and earth and under the earth. knowledge that is
so powerful. It's the gospel. So Philippians considered his friendliest letter. He just uses a lot of real intimate terms and Philippians. They clearly were bickering about something that had some unity issues more than likely and Paul's like, here's the attitude. The fro nao that you should have the same as Christ Jesus. Like, and then he goes into and I like the translation you read in verse six. You know, who being exists who being in the form of God, you know, so the NIV has a contrast there sometimes, like although he was God, but there it's a participle that could go either way. And it could be although it could be because so if it's a because it's like, this is how we really know what who God is. And it's in it's in line with who God and how he's operated throughout the story. You know, he's not going to regard himself equal with God as something to be grasped or exploited or abused to his advantage, but instead, he's going to humble himself. Amazing, amazingly powerful. So the next page you may have to turn I think I did it wide on your handouts, the V shaped story of the gospel. One of the key passages is this one out of Philippians these are the on the left side there you have for Matthew Bates, which I've referenced a handful of times. His kind of 10 key elements of the Gospel for Matthew Bates from all the times that the gospel is is shared throughout the book of Acts and also in Paul's letters. God existed Jesus the King pre existed as God the sun, set by the father, although He existed in the form of God, but he took on human flesh, so he he empties himself, taking on the form of a slave by looking like other men, he became a man in fulfillment of God's promise today to David number three. So by God becoming man, it's fulfilling the story of Messiah, King David as King Jesus, so it's tying it all in this gospel ties in to this whole story that we've been going from Genesis to Revelation. died according to ours, died for our sins in accordance with scripture. was buried was raised on the third day. So this is the bottom of the V, you know, the Messiah has died. He's been crucified. He's buried, you know, just dead dead. He's definitely dead, you know, not kind of dead or knocked out. Not just kind of seeing stars. is dead, you know, all the way did yeah. Monty Python references. What brandies Toronto? No, no no. Princess bride. Bride Oh. developed immunity to this drug. God raised him on the third day resurrection Easter we celebrate it and then we start the V shaped the upward God. God highly exalted Him gave him a name that's above every name. If the name of Jesus every knee will bow every tongue confess so it's that you can see that ruling language, that exultation language. He appears to many things he's in thrown at the right hand and God he's the ruling Christ. He sends His Holy Spirit to nine and point 10 He will come again to rule as Judge revelation. You know, we'll get there next week. You know, we've been talking about the Holy Spirit over and over and over, you know, and so, I liked this understanding of Philippians two and seeing how we've got the gospel components to it. This is the story of Christ that put Paul in prison. This is the solution to whatever the Philippians we're dealing with is Jesus Gospel humility, you know pride in the earlier in chapter to make my door completely being the same man, same love you not in the Spirit, one purpose. Don't be motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, but in humility, treat others as more important than yourself. Be concerned not only with your own interest, but the interest of others. Think about other people you need to have the same answer the Christ did as he was concerned about other people and that He died for your sins, you know. So this is this is the core message of what Paul operated out of. So the gospel, the cross, this cruciform at this, this cross shaped living was so entrenched in the way that he operated. He was so united with Christ, that even when he's in a dirty prison, he's like, Hey, I'm a prisoner for the Lord. You know, I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. And then all of those afflictions and all that pain and all the stuff you had to go to, he was like, I'm sharing in the sufferings of Christ. I mean, it was just an amazing perspective, but also that like I said, there was kind of this, like I've been talked I've talked about several times this unity of depending completely on the presence of the Lord as I go through this. Like y'all mentioned earlier, Romans one Yeah, I guess turn there real quick. We didn't read a lot of Romans last week.
This was one the same kind of V shaped gospel message that we see read someone read Romans one one through six.
The servant of Christ Jesus, called me an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God. The Gospel he promised beforehand, through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his son, who is to his human nature was a descendant of David, and food through the Spirit of Holiness was declared the power to be the Son of God of the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. through him and for his namesake. We received grace and the apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.
Yeah. You also are among them called to belong to Christ Jesus. I mean, you see the you see a lot of the same kind of language that intimacy that that you unity that united with Christ, the definitive David language, through the prophets and holy scripture, the Holy Spirit by the resurrection Jesus Christ, we live receive grace, we've got a grace thing that brings about the obedience of our faith. So you got grace. You got faith. You got obedience. You've got the gospel language there. Paul, the the word in verse one is Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, sometimes translated sermon or bondservants, but the word is slave of Christ Jesus. That's how intimately dependent upon the Lord he viewed himself. He could have played his authority card in several places. Like I'm a big deal. I'm Paul, like, I'm an apostle. I'm super important. I'm a big deal, but he's always saying that I'm, I'm not. He's like, it's Christ. You know? And he does this state this this V shaped gospel has so he's he's not just modeled it, but it's just the prison that he views everything about him and what he's doing. And for so I think that's the challenge to us more than anything is the gospel and the grace and the presence of the Lord not just, this is a challenge of how we're supposed to live, but it's so it's so so much of a part of us that that's how we live our lives. And I think that's, that's kind of the the message and the challenge to the church to believers. Who are we in Christ? What does it mean to be created an image of God? What does it mean to bear God's name it with its that we're super connected to Jesus. I don't even have the right language to kind of flesh it out fully, you know. But but you see that it's an intimacy, it's a connection. It's a it's so much of who we are and how we live. And that's exactly how Paul chose to live. So questions on Philippians the gospel, I'm zooming now, y'all. All right. I want to do something a little bit creative. And I hope you all are okay with that. All right. It's kind of like falling human. Everyone, turn Oh, turn to follow him in and don't look at me because it's so small. And grab before Hebrews Philemon. No one can read from palaemon Chapter Two because there isn't one it's only one chapter 16 verses palaemon. It's all the way towards the back. It's like Right, right. So your Hebrews, you've you've probably heard me reference into right before prolific New Testament historian and keep scholar. He's written crazy thick books, right? He wrote a two volume book on Paul. That's just ginormous, this huge chapter one he's like, if you really want to understand Paul, if you really want to get what his message was and how he communicate that message. You need to look at the book of Philemon. I mean, NT, right. He's got a new book out on Romans eight. He's written a commentary on the whole New Testament. He's, he's Pauline scholar, big time, helped us understand Jesus in fresh ways. He's like, in a sense, this is Paul's most important book. Everyone will say it's Romans number. Two is Ephesians. But NT rights like it's Philemon are really see what Paul's really trying to do with all of his letters. So that's why I wanted to rush there. So what we're gonna do is we're gonna read Philemon together. But I want us to try to creatively utilizing our imaginations, to see if we can put ourselves into the church of Colossi. That met in polyamines house and heard this letter delivered to them. So the way I'm going to have to do it is I'm going to have to talk as quickly as I can about slavery. Because we know like even Devall says this is a short letter of a Jewish Christian Apostle Paul writing a wealthy Gentile slave owner, Philemon about his slave Onesimus. united together by their faith in Christ, you know, so we have to understand a little bit about slavery. I'm not going to talk about slavery for hours, but slavery in the ancient world was everywhere. millions of slaves throughout the Roman Empire. 250,000 slaves were sold on a block in Rome. A household is just a house if it has no slaves. Every household had slaves. In order for it to operate. Rome was based on a slave economy. 30% of the people in Rome could have been slaves. The benefit for having slaves went directly to the slave owners. By the time that Holleyman was written, most of the people that were in slavery were born into it. Prior to most of the people were enslaved from military conquest. It was they were conquered and enslaved in order for us to really wrap our minds around first century slavery, we have to set aside our bias concerning slavery, because it was absolutely had nothing to do with race, or skin color at all, so slaves look just like the everyone else. Except for they had no status. Slavery in the first century was all about status. The way the Empire operated was honor and favors and gifts. Quid pro quo just you know, I scratch my back. I scratch your back you scratch mine like you owe me I owe you you know, and that's just that's how and and it was always to try to gain more honor increase your reputation. status was the currency of the day. If you had no status, you had no honor. Slaves were there for at the bottom of the rung. I've actually said they're not even on the rung because they have no status whatsoever. So they were treated like animals. They were viewed as less than human often considered tools. A living tool. Some people have tried to gloss over slavery in ancient world and said, Well, it's just it's similar to having a really bad boss as an employer and it wasn't because there was no benefit to you whatsoever. You were completely dependent upon your master. One scholar says that it was social death. You were alienated from everyone else that had honor another scholar defined slavery is under total authority of another perceived superior human established by power and authority for the sake and and profit of that of the higher of the people with status. And in order to paint it like I'm going to walk down the road in the city. I'm gonna have all my slaves with me look at how many slaves I have. I'm gonna brag about it and they're all gonna be like, Oh, look at this guy. He's so important. You know? Slaves were loyal and obedient. They were very much exploited. They had fake marriages, or like they wanted them to have these kind of connections as if they were a married because then that could use that against them. Like, Hey, you want me to rip you out of this relationship and sell you off? No. So do exactly what I'm telling you to do that they used it as a way of controlling punishment of a runaway slave was death, or a slave branding. They've got slave collars that they found. Slave signs that are basically like, if you find me return me to who I belong to. It's just the way the world operated. Jesus used slave imagery in his parables, like stock images. So it would be kind of similar to if we talked about drug dealers, or prostitutes. Or, you know, you just just kind of like, we know it's bad, but it's so common in our language of how we talk about things. The stuckness of it. So when we get to the book of Philemon, there is some main characters that are mentioned the first we've already talked about as Paul.
He doesn't share the gospel in the letter. He doesn't give us a gospel summary or a gospel sentence, but instead he demonstrates the power of the gospel. It's an embodied gospel. Grace permeates the letter. There's a grace bracket that starts at the beginning of the letter and ends at the letter, this Koinonia this connection, this partnership, this, this, what we refer to as like a community was a Christ shaped grace as a prisoner in a shameful state of imprisonment, Polish sharing a similar status to slaves. bottom of the ladder. Paul in volume is viewed as father. He was probably the spiritual father, father to an SMS. He probably led on SMS to the Lord. And he has an interesting connection with palaemon. So the first we find Lehmann is the second character. He is the potter familia. So he's the one in charge of the family. He's the head of household. He is a slave owner, he is slave. He owned an SMS. There was a church that met and finally men's house in the city of Colossi he has a wife named a philia. Our always at Ellen Mayer because of the song, a filler. She could have been a leader. The letter says our sister is how Paul refers to her could have been falling humans wife. Octopus, also referred to as a fellow soldier and could have been a leader in the church or that could have been Philemon Sutton. Part of finally man's family. Paul led falling into the Lord also. So the two characters on SMS and Philemon, both Paul led to the Lord UNECE summus The slave his name means useful. That will be a great slave neck who would like to buy useful you know? He's useless to Philemon separated is what the letter says did find that did an SMS run away? Did he seek Paul out? Traditional stance was he was a runaway slave. He just says they were separated. Possibly took some money from palaemon to get out of town. Onesimus provides a benefit to Paul. Another character is Tychicus. He was the letter carrier for Tychicus and Onesimus. Come to fall Lehman's house and deliver the letter of Philemon that we know of as Philemon Paki kiss was probably a slave most letter. couriers and letter writers even were also slaves. Tychicus would be tasked with performing letter so when I showed up and knocked on the door, and they let him in, he'd be announced they'd be like, hey, this dude's got a letter from Paul. And they had alternative look at Tychicus and he would perform the letter and deliver it. What we know of is reading it to the church. They're probably coached by Paul has Paul's writing it down. Tychicus is probably they're talking because it could have been the one writing it down and he's today this is what I mean by that he couldn't be adding the commentary to it to explain it so Tychicus could do that when he delivered it which would be kind of cool. He knew when to look at the right people at the right time, and what kind of facial expressions to do to drive home his point which would be pretty powerful. He would know when to speed up when to slow down. What words to emphasize the dramatic pauses you can even see Paul coaching him on Okay, wait, let that sink let that verse sinking a little bit there. You know, when we read it, we just kind of fly through it right. There were probably some other slaves in the House hearing the letter when it was delivered. There were probably other family members in the House hearing the letters delivered. There could have been some members of the church that were not slaves and not family members that were listening to the letter. So here's what I need us to do. We need somebody here to be anonymous
you're in? Is your name placard. Just kind of fold it, hold it. Hold it so we all know who you are. On SMS is in the room the letter is being delivered to the first time he walks in with Tychicus he's there so they all get to look at him two letters been delivered. And that's supposed to the only name slave the New Testament useful was probably a degrading name. A lots of folks. Lots of folks with the name on SMS we're running around
all useful slaves. All right. We need a Philemon Oh God, a trustee of our church. Wait, hold on. I'm gonna get your wife to. I don't want to. I don't want to create any. Oh yeah, I
can't keep the same way.
What's what's her name? She's in here yeah
all right. Yeah, number Katie got everybody
wants to be octopus. I would love to join the Thompson family but he wants I mean, preferably Erica, but let's do it. Let's do a male this is a this is the sun. Alright, stay under the sun. Oh, I'm talking kiss slave Tychicus. I'm here representing Paul. Cookie filled that for me. All right. We need a we need some we need some other slaves in the church. Who would like to be a slave? Obviously. You might else one more slide if you'd like be a slave to all of us here okay slaves guys. All right. Anybody else want to join the palaemon a feeler family here. Octopus family. I don't have genders on these. Sorry, I'm more family members. Join the
passer on UOB.
These lovely ladies, some family members. And who else who would like to join the church of Colossi who wants to be a church member? Who's the church members? Everybody's got playing as a church member. Rhonda will do all right. We got one down there. It's gonna Rhonda really that's everybody else you're a family member or a church member. So I'm looking at the hands are not wanting to play. Let them let them join the church. He wants to be Caesar or somebody or Alexander the Great. I got some blank sheets you just want to be like Mickey Mouse or you might many church members need a church member placard. I did learn a secret if you fall if you fold it in half and fold the corner. It actually stands up better. learn that in school
that's why I got that doctorate. All right.
So anatomist and Tychicus. We got to enter we got to we got someone has to let us into the church so it's gonna be a slave. We're gonna have to open the door and let us in because Okay, all right. regular folk didn't do stuff like that. So yeah, now, we're just gonna come in, come on in. So this here we go. And it's a big deal when we come in because we're you know
you're with he ran away or delivered the letter. We wrote this letter, and now we're coming back. And when we was pretty common, we would come in, we'd be announced, like, here's Tychicus, who has brought a letter from Paul. And Anessa says returned. Yeah. Sorry, I didn't give you a script. You know. I don't know. What do we do? Throw probably. Yeah.
being useful as you hear it, try to feel what you think you would feel in whatever role you're playing. So there's gonna be some booze. There's gonna be some cheering. There's gonna be some glares. There's gonna be some where you been on SMS? Where my money, you know? So respond appropriately to this letter. So Tychicus I'm here on behalf of Paul and I have a letter so here are the words of Paul. Ah, from Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus. The only time Paul begins a letter this way. He identifies himself as with the same status as a Maximus, who just walked into this room with his church. And Timothy, our brother, to Philemon. Now he's, he's, he's named by Lehmann, the head of this church. He's, he's given some honor to follow him and he's kind of kind of stroking his ego a little bit you know. honored as a as a Christian. Now, he's Paul's gonna motivate Ballymena as a Christian too. But at this point, he's like Philemon, I have written you a letter. That's a big deal. So right now for Lehman's feeling. That's right. Okay, you know, maybe the money that was stolen might be worth it. I got a letter from Paul, you know, so big deal, right? Yes. Yes. So, to file Lehman, our dear friend and CO labor say, you know that it's pretty good right? To a fear our sister. Your name too? Yeah. To Archippus our fellow soldier. That is right. fellow soldier over there and Revelation expert. Yeah. So now that the daughter and the son had been included, so I've got wife, daughter or right. I got Wife, Son, right. I don't have daughter, my daughter. Sorry. And to the church that meets in your house. Y'all could probably cheer at that church members. Yeah, I'm not you your slave. Church members. The slaves were church members, the fact the other fan anybody that's meeting in this family like wow. You know, to the church that means Grace and peace to you, from God our Father and the Lord. Jesus Christ. So, this is pretty typical to when letters were written, right. We've if you've read these letters, you've heard something similar, but he does give us a little insight into what he's going to do. Philemon is approved by the Apostle Paul. He's honored. He's probably smiling at this point. I mean, this is a big deal. It's warm hearted. You notice he's talking about our brother and our sister and our fellow soldier. Paul's including himself into this family. This church.
He's reading it. Oh,
he's just he came in with the letter. Tychicus Oh, it's coming.
Yes, yes, yes. Yes. So first, for I always think my god is I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and your love for all holy people, the Saints all I hear of your faith in the Lord. All even the slaves, the church members, the family man, all of you have heard of your faith in the Lord. I hear about your love for all of the holy people all the saints. Philemon, you are a gift from God. We got love and we got faith. mentioned here. The ultimate expression of God's love is the cross faith as allegiance faith as obedient. So we got love and faith up here heard about your faith, and I've heard about your love that you have for each other. This is the Koinonia that I mentioned this act of association mutual participation that's coming. I pray that your faith you share. That's the word that faith you share. The word share is corn and nos. It's a partnership of pray that the faith you share with us may deepen your understanding of every blessing that belongs to you in Christ. So now we've got this identification with one another a relational interchange in a right and relational exchange that we have this faith that we have has brought us together. Even if I'm in prison, there. I'm connected with you guys in Koinonia. It's the word we get for fellowship oftentimes. This is an abstract word. It's got a lot of opening of what Koinonia can mean. It's not clear to follow human maybe but Tychicus and an SMS knew exactly what it means for seven I have had great joy and encouragement because of your love. For the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you brother Philemon has been a loving, welcoming, encouraging God's people affirming kind of people he's a good kind man because of your love the hearts of the saints have been refreshed. Brother, Philemon, you're a refresher of hearts. You're refreshing the hearts of the saints. Now he turns to the congregation. The heat is beginning is going to be turned up on finally men too. So I've I've kind of started it, but it's coming. So although I have quite a lot of confidence in Christ, and could command you to do what is proper. I could play my apostle card here. I could tell you and command you and tell you exactly what I want you to do. I could be bold, but instead I'm going to give you the flexibility to make the right decision. Verse nine I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love. You're loving saints, you're refreshing hearts and so I'm going to appeal to that love that you have in your heart. Ah, Paul, an old man and even now a prisoner for the sake of Christ Jesus. When you feel sorry for me, I'm old. I'm in prison. It stinks here. I'm appealing to you concerning my child. My son whose spiritual father I've become daring my imprisonment that is an SMS an SMS a son and he's in the church is looking at him right now. He's like Paul just called me. You know like right Archippus just heard this. Following him and son just heard me say son ons hummus. I didn't feel about this Archippus
who was formally formally useless to you? But it's now useful to you and me. Oh Ness. summus is an SMS useful, has become useful. is useful for Paul and the gospel is useful for Paul in his ministry. He has become useful even though he used to be our Anessa miss. Not useful. I've sent him who is my very heart. Back to you. You refresh the hearts he is my heart heart refresher. My son or my callsign Paul son in the faith. Yeah. Do you belong to palaemon?
Want to know who wrote this letter?
This is Paul. Paul wrote this letter. But you got to be pretty daring to come and read this. Like I mean, the slightest not have my back. But the rest of the people can be like, ah, you know, you think you are you know, right. So he's used I've sent him who's my very heart back to you. I wanted to keep him for me. So he could serve me in your place during my imprisonment for the sake of the gospel. He's so useful. I wanted to keep him with me. However, without your consent, I did not want to do anything, so that your good deed would not be out of compulsion. But from your own willingness. For perhaps it was for this reason that he was separated for you for a little while, so that you would have him back eternally. Maybe the reason he left was so that you can have him back eternally as a useful for the gospel. Son.
me ask a question right here. When unless it
is telling your name
on this semester. When he ran away he already had an encounter with Paul and fall ready.
I think yes. I think in his running away, which we say running away the Texas says in his separation. He came to Paul Paul that into the Lord. Okay, so he wasn't he didn't know where we don't think so. Yeah, we're, we're that's how I would read it. But you know, you got to look at the text and be like, you probably wouldn't have run away or separated himself. Yeah, maybe God is involved in this whole separation. Maybe this is something God's doing so now you can have him back eternally. There's a eternal perspective. There's some theology here now we're thinking John 316, right. Eternal life, everlasting life, we're putting it in perspective here. Now we're gonna get into some reconciliation. We've got 15. So you'd have been back eternally, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave as a dear brother.
beloved brother, dear brother, mine says beloved, yeah, yeah, but follow even. He can't believe that. He's like, bickering. Right. You know how you've loved here's here's one that is challenged to love this is the most shocking ask Paul's maiden welcome the slave back no longer as a slave, but as a brother. He's part of the church now y'all. How do you think the other slaves felt? Welcome this one back, not as a slave but as a brother. And the rest of the slaves where y'all at?
Miss Jesus. Tell me more. Separate me. We'd have siblings ship over slavery. There would be shock and awe and gasps if nothing else, the slaves would suck the air out of the room. Like, are you kidding me? You know, like, this dude. Ran away could have been killed if you bring him back. And now Paul's like Hey, welcome this back guy. Back not as a slave but as a beer brother. This language elevates slaves from the margins of the family to the family table. He gets to have potluck next week. He doesn't. Y'all get to serve the potluck. Malema and pays for it.
He is expecially. So to me, and even more so to you now both humanly speaking in the Lord. So here's the ask, therefore, if you regard me as a partner, except him as you would me Wow. This is the spot how he responds to an S Mrs. How he responds to Paul, whatever you're going to do with him. You're doing to Paul, your spiritual father, your mentor, your father in the faith, the one who, who shared the gospel with you and allowed you to have a relationship with Christ, whatever you do to him. You're doing to Paul same level slave prisoner brother. If he has the first 18 If he's defraud you of anything or owes you anything, charge it to me. Charge what he owes to me. Send me a bill for whatever thing whatever he took write that up on yellow slip of paper. Oh, that's miss and that's this may have taken some money. We don't know what he took but as we're spending money to get where he's going money just because he wasn't there working. So that cost finally Yeah, to do something. Work. Yeah. Now Paul picks up the pin. So now it's no longer a slave. jotting this down as Paul's dictating it. Paul picks it up himself and says I Paul, have written this letter with my own hand. So he written this this next part, Paul wrote with his handwriting, I will repay it. I could also mention that you owe me you're very self. So go ahead. You wouldn't be anything without me falling human. You owe me. What are you gonna do now? Yeah. Reconciliation is now possible falling human is no longer a master but now, brother. Yes, brother. Let me have some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ. So now Paul's like whatever. You're going to do here part refresher. Refresh my heart in Christ do the right thing. You know you're gonna do the right thing. So it's I'm confident that you would obey obedience to the gospel. He's he's really pushing him now. His hands are sweating. Do you believe the gospel enough to embody it? You know the gospel now live it since I was confident you would obey. I wrote to you because I knew that you would do even more than I'm asking you to do. We have no clue what that means. We got some guesses getting some money. Yeah, like your brother sending you're sending free. He's no longer a slave sending free that sort of thing can turn up the heat even more. At the same time also prepare a place for me to stay for I hope that through your prayers. I will be given back to you. I'll be able to return to you. I'll get out of my shameful prison and be able to come visit you get the room ready. Get the blanket that I like ready. you've prayed for me. I'm coming and I want to see what you did. To our brother Onesimus now Paul's gonna list his best friend's Epaphras my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus greets you, Mark a risk. Tarkus Dimas Luke, y'all been reading his letter of Acts. He's my co laborer. He greets you too. By the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Look at these people that Paul greets and sends honor and welcomes you sit in welcoming you. Now you welcome this Dishonored slave back as a brother reconcile this house and this church back together. This is what the church should do. This is how powerful the gospel is. And that's why Paul's writing this letter, he's demonstrating how powerful the gospel is and what it can do. It can it can bring, you know, slave master and slave together as brothers to where now we're all one in Christ. There is no longer slave nor free. Like he says in Galatians there's a family a sibling ship here. So kind of there's there's kind of a leveling out of those of us that are in Christ. No longer power mongering but now we are one in the Lord. One baptism one faith. That's how powerful this gospel is. All right questions. Where do you come in the store? You got to read Colossians to see Tychicus is mentioned in Colossians. Yes, that's right. Yeah. At the end of Colossians. It's like Tychicus. My the you know, so we're thinking he's the one that probably wrote this probably is in Colossians. Yeah, he's the secretary. He's the one that wrote wrote it down and then would be sent to deliver it. So and there's a reason that it's been said that maybe we have Philemon because of all the connections that has with Colossians that that maybe they kind of went together you know, like, but in talking kisses named and Colossians, so he's not named in Philemon. But but he is in collections.
So did you say described? Yeah,
as a secretary? Yeah. Not ascribe a secretary. Yeah. Yeah, it was. It was very uncommon for Paul as the author to be the writer of the letter. And that would explain the physical writer, they would probably dictate it in a slave would be the ones that would be writing it. The slaves were the ones that were copying early manuscripts of text, so it's just monotonous kind of slow work. So most people aren't going to do that. It would be a slaves. job to do that, you know, so that it was described to me that if you see if you saw anyone in the first century working, they were a slave. So the police were slave, the garbage collectors were slaves, the people any kind of civil work that was being done anything being built they were all slaves. Towns could buy slaves. So now you work for the city of Bryant, you know, and you do whatever the bright people need done and you are their slaves. You know, there were civil slaves. It was it was a completely different world. But yeah, I don't I think that like Paul at one point, say that I'm using these big letters. Off handwriting's was pointless, probably horrible, compared to a scribe who could make it more legible and readable. That's some ancient letter writing stuff there. But if you're says household Slave I really don't want to get fired. From ministry, but making people slaves. I don't want to have to explain myself so feel free to shred that or something. You know, if you're a church member of family, yeah, be like, Oh, I made me a slave in class night. That's not gonna go over well. You know, so help me out there. You know, it would be great. So let me pray and we'll get out of here. We're a little guy but to me, it's like, how would you thank you for how powerful your gospel is, Lord, will you consider Will you continue to reconcile us and give us the strength to be obedient? May we be heart warmers to the people around this? Because of what you've done for us, we price things your name, Amen. Next week
