01.27.2013 Philemon, pt. 1 - The Church is a Family

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As we approach Easter, we’ll do some brief series – starting with Philemon. – It is the shortest letter of Paul.
Lord, thank You for giving us this morning to hear Your word – and to reconnect – with one another and with You. May we be lights when we leave here –walking in fellowship with You. May this be a refreshing time to remind us of all of these things. We want to be taught – take these words and apply them to our hearts. In Your name we pray. Amen
Philemon – the reason for the writing – a very sensitive letter – dealing with a relationship between a slave and his master. Philemon is the master – Onesimus was the slave. Philemon most likely lived in Colossae – as many of those mentioned in Colossians are mentioned in Philemon.
Paul is giving instructions in a sensitive situation – dealing with how a master should treat a slave. Briefly – we will look at the Biblical view of slavery next week – how it related to America 200 years ago – how many of you saw The Abolitionists on PBS? Both sides – slave holders and abolitionists, used the book of Philemon to justify what they were doing. But there is much more in this book than that. This is a difficult issue – there is a whole lot more being communicated.
Philemon 1: Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker— 2 also to Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier—and to the church that meets in your home:
3 Grace and peace to you[a] from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The church is made up of many different types of people – different circumstances in life – and can be best used in diversity – that is how the church is meant to be – and sometimes the church becomes very much the same – but that is not how God wants it – I believe. That is one of the exciting things about the Cleveland church – such great diversity – and not just by race, but in so many ways. Oh, by the way – they wanted me to tell you – well, a couple of things: first – they didn’t laugh at my jokes! I practically had to tell them that I was telling a joke and then they would politely laugh. But the thing they wanted me to tell you – they gave a lot of affirmation while I was preaching – AMEN! PREACH IT! UH HUH! YOU TELL IT! THAT’S RIGHT!
God is creating the new family. This language is not familiar in America – we use words like congregation, assembly, network, volunteers – words that fit in with our consumer oriented way of life. The issue isn’t the words, it is how we view it. Do we view the church as a family?
The issue isn’t the words – you can say, hey brother – or hey sister. I remember when I first joined the church as an 18 year old and an older brother (all of 25!) gave me a ride home – he was talking to my parents – who at that time had little Bible experience – he kept talking about having dinner at the sisters’ house or doing stuff with the sisters – man, they must have thought we were hanging with nuns!
But it is not the words, it is the attitude to think of each other as siblings – a new family –
“Paul - A prisoner of Christ Jesus” – he was imprisoned because he was preaching the gospel. He was engaged in gospel ministry – and he uses that as the foundation for all that he is going to say. He wants them to understand that the reason the church needs to act as a family – there is a mission – a job – that has been given to us – and that is to be engaged in gospel ministry together. When you do that – it forces close family type relationships. When Paul preached the gospel – he was saying that there is a KING and His name is Jesus. There is a savior of the world – and his name is Jesus – there is a kingdom that belongs to Jesus. And those he said that to – were living lives in a kingdom where the emperor proclaimed himself to be god – and when Paul preached that there was one king, and one God – who was not Caesar – and he was calling people to THAT kingdom – that did not make the people in charge happy – because they were to worship Caesar.
We live in a country with religious freedom – the government officials do not tell you to not do that – there is freedom – but there are other kings and lords and gods that people in this country serve – and when we tell them about Christ – we are telling them to forsake those gods and come to a new God. It is not just a change of belief system, but a change of allegiance. Everyone is following some god. They have something that consumes and controls their lives – and we are saying – not that – but Jesus is the only answer – He is the God we must serve.
There are 3 main characters – Paul, Philemon, and Onesimus –
To Philemon also to Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier—and to the church that meets in your home…
He is talking very specifically between Paul and Philemon – but he sends it to the entire church! This says something about relationships – an issue that affected the entire church. So Paul needed to open it up and make it known – kind of the elephant in the room. Let’s have a family discussion.
Co-laborer – Fellow-soldier… Paul is imprisoned for gospel ministry – and in being a co-laborer, you may end up here too.
He uses the word – dear friend – can mean – beloved – it talks about being the object of love. Philemon – the object of my love – and the object of God’s love. Paul is appealing to Philemon for Onesimus – and the appeal is based on God’s and Paul’s love for Philemon. Because you are loved – you need to love – because of the great sacrifice that Christ made for you – and because of the sacrifice that Paul made for you – how can you do anything other than what you ought to do for Onesimus.
We don’t love because it is a nice thing to do – that is not the real motivation. We have been bought and sacrificed for.
1 John 3:16 – we know love by this – that He laid down His life for us – and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.
To the church that meets in your house.
There is a lot there – and it tells a lot about this story – understand that churches in the New Testament met in homes. Philemon, most likely, almost for certain – was wealthy – he was wealthy because he had slaves – and because they could meet in his house – and only wealthy people had big enough homes to do that.
Paul is identifying – wealthy Philemon – and slaves were the poorest in the society. It is a letter that separates – but he is going to bring them together.
The second thing – they met in houses because they had no other options. Early on, they met in synagogues, but before long – they were not allowed to meet there anymore – so they met in houses – today we meet in buildings – because that fits in well with our culture – but we need to understand – just because a group meets in a house does not mean it is not a church – it is a matter of circumstances and culture.
4 I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, 5 because I hear of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. 6 I pray that the faith you share with us may deepen your understanding of every blessing that belongs to you in Christ. 7 I have had great joy and encouragement because of your love, for the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.
Paul begins his appeal with compliments – great praise – and it is not backhanded – he really means it. Philemon is doing an incredible job in serving this church –
Paul emphasizes love – and relationship. Being understanding. Understanding that both people in the marriage are people of good-will – the spouse is not out to get you. Paul understands that Philemon wants to do the right thing.
We need to go with a positive attitude when we approach someone – in faith and confidence and trust.
. 7 I have had great joy and encouragement because of your love, for the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.
This is one of my favorite verses – the hearts are refreshed because of your love. You encourage people because you love them – your love is obvious. Is your love for people made obvious? Is that what is said about you? Is that what is said about us?
That is Paul’s barometer for how you are doing – Jesus’ too. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples – IF YOU HAVE LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER.
How do we do this? Paul starts off – how do you create these relationships? First, these relationships come out of being committed to the mission – being engaged in gospel ministry. In one sense – if we lose our mission to communicate the love of God to the world, why create loving communities? Paul would have never been thrown in jail had he not been preaching a new kingdom.
Last week – Jeff talked about “Just sow it” – and Ed sent me a list of things their small group is starting to do to bring the gospel into their community.
We all have opportunities.
I was discouraged yesterday – I work at a church – I’m not around unbelievers a lot.
I was at the Nat yesterday - I started a conversation with one of those guys who goes in cages to fight. I was very nice to him. At least I was aware of it – once I started the conversation – a bunch of people came in – but at least I was aware of it. It may come to you – as you think about how to serve others and to proclaim Him.
Be creative.
We need to have a transformed view of the church – in how we view relationships.
The Bible calls for that. To view the church as family.
When people walk into a church they want it to be friendly, hospitable, and welcoming – not overbearing.
I get two responses – many people say to me – people are so friendly – I was welcomed – and kept for a long time afterward – that’s what I like and what drew me. Then there is a second group – that says the church is cliquey. It seems to be opposite – sorry if I am being up-front here – but it happens all the time.
When people leave our church – that is the number one thing I hear. It is almost a paradox – here is what I would say – True relationships – welcoming/hospitality – require time outside of Sunday morning. Yes, be friendly on Sunday morning – but really – for someone to feel connected – requires more than that. Deeper relationships, more connection – require more time.
That is the first thing
And so – a lot of that – take initiative in relationships. Some of you are excellent at that. Taking initiative so that you can be more connected – and on the other hand – taking initiative so that others can be more connected. As we develop close relationships, we need to learn to not be exclusive in those relationships. The tendency – as we get close to someone in the church – we don’t even mean to do it – but we act in a way to exclude others. I say that because that is kind of the way things are – but we need to be careful of that and to recognize that.
I encourage you – especially on Sunday morning – once/month, let’s say – connect with someone you don’t know well. Look for someone out there – someone in the family that you haven’t talked to in two years – call great Aunt Martha and connect! Let’s pray.