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106.
And.
Our godfather, we thank thee for thy love and thy care to us. We thank thee for giving thy Son the Lord Jesus and we just thank thee too for thy word. And we just thank thee that we can be gathered here. It's uh with joy that we are here to uh, look into it. We just pray for a blessing on our time. We just pray for help by thy spirit. We know that umm, you anti people to uh, be encouraged and to be corrected and to be comforted.
And we just, uh, would, uh, ask for help as we, uh, open the word. We just, uh, would pray too, for those on the road too, give them, uh, safe travels. And, uh, we just, uh, look to thee for a blessing, our God and Father with Thanksgiving and ask these things in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen. Amen.
I wanted to be profitable for us to.
Consider, uh, another servant in the, uh, New Testament in the Book of Philemon.
Under this, uh, that would be OK for us to consider this afternoon.
Philemon.
Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother unde Philemon, our dearly beloved and fellow laborer, and to our beloved atheist and archipelas our fellow soldier, to the church in thy house.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God making mention of the always in my prayers hearing of Thy love and faith which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus and toward All Saints.
That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you, in Christ Jesus. For we have great joy and consolation in my love, because the bowels of the Saints are refreshed by thee, Brother. Wherefore, though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient, yet for Love's sake I rather beseech thee, being such and one as Paul the agent, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
00:05:31
I beseech thee for my son Anesthesus, whom I have begotten in my bonds, which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me whom I have sent again. Thou therefore receive him, that is.
My known vowels.
Whom I would have retained with me, that in my stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel. But without thy mind would I do nothing, that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly. For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldst receive him forever, not now as a servant, but above a servant, a beloved, a brother beloved specially to me.
But how much more unto thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord, if thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself, if he hath wronged thee or oweth thee aught, put that on mine account. I, Paul, have written it with mine own hand.
I will repay it, albeit I do not say to thee how thou oest unto me, even thine own self besides. Yay, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord. Refresh my bowels in the Lord. Having confidence in thy obedience, I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou will also do more than I say. But with all, prepare me also a lodging, for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you.
Their salute the Epiphros, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus. Marcus Aristarchus Dimas Lucas, my fellow laborers, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
Philemon had a servant named an estimates as we get in this book, and he wasn't a very good servant. He wasn't very profitable. Sounds like just from, from, uh, what's intimated here. He was some real trouble to file Lehman and no doubt he had cost Philemon some expense and, uh, just like, uh, in any place you get an employee and you spent put time in them training them and.
Directing them and getting them fitted for the job and and this, this, uh, man seemed to just.
Pose a problem and finally he runs away and there goes Philemon's efforts and all his energies and, uh, his labor, so to speak, and his money and off it, it's gone and now he's got to go in and he's got to fill that place and whatever duties need to be done around the house and a very aggravating situation.
And this man, this slave onesimus, uh.
Comes in contact with Paul, whether he was captured as a slave, I don't know, but in some way, uh, he comes in contact with Paul and he's saved And now Paul, uh, finds an estimates a very useful servant, very useful, helpful serving in the ministry of the gospel and uh, he's about to, to write, he's writing back to Philemon and.
He's, he's cognizant of the fact that, that he's, he's entering into a really touchy situation, very difficult and, and circumstances that, uh.
Are liable to stir up the flesh and and even though an estimates got saved, maybe they're liable that there there might not be much affection towards an estimates and and Paul writes in such a way in a spirit of grace.
And in the spirit of Christ, and in that love that works by faith.
Uh, that, uh, works by the spirit, he, he writes back and he seeks to, to, uh, warm Philemon's affections up in a right way and the careful way, umm, without treading on, uh, Philemon's, uh.
00:10:05
I want to, I want to use the right word. I say right, But I, I don't know if that's exactly the right word, but, but an estimates belong to Philemon and, and Paul's recognizing what was properly Philemon's, uh, responsibility and, and ownership and all the while looking for an estimates blessing. You know, situations can come into an assembly and, uh, it's like taking a dog by the ears. Sometimes you just, no matter what way you go, it seems like you're going to get bit. And here's one of those situations.
And the, the, uh, the Spirit of God is giving us an example and this inspired epistle. And it's not just to find Lehman, but to the whole assembly because it's too, uh, that assembly in this house to address the situation that is we had in the previous meeting could have erupted into something that really could have disturbed the whole assembly and could have come in between the apostle and those that he loved and, and had labored amongst and, umm.
In that little assembly in Philemon's home.
Says on the bottom of my Bible here, written from wrong to file even by anesthesia servant. I believe that's the same person.
The Apostle Paul saying one of those other other pencils that after anesthesia was.
Say, umm, he thought of all diligently.
I think that was on a symphonis.
Second Timothy 1:00 They have similar names.
But you have it's it is a beautiful epistle of it's been called a Christian courtesy. And we have the great truths of the gospel exemplified and displayed in the life of the Saints. We see that there was a master Philemon who had been wronged by his servant Onesimus, and there was a mediator that brought them together. And so as the Sinner has wronged God and outraged God because of his sins, so the.
Bless the Lord Jesus is that one mediator between God and men and has brought us to God on a righteous basis.
And it's beautiful to see the way in which Paul approaches this matter, uh, between two now brethren, Philemon or, uh, was not saved when he left and he defrauded his master, but he was saved when he came back. And just so as we have the great truths of the gospel of reconciliation.
Between God and man, God reconciling sinners to himself. So here we see brotherly reconciliation and how Paul, as you brought up brother Steve, so carefully and diplomatically, if we can use the term in the correct sense, brought him back into fellowship with the one that he had wronged.
I rather enjoy the way he starts this epistle. You know, when he Rosatitis and when he wrote to Timothy, when he wrote to umm, the difficulty that there was in Corinth, when he addressed the difficulty in Galatia and he wrote as an apostle.
But he doesn't do that here. He addresses himself here as a prisoner of Jesus Christ. You know, he could have used his apostleship and said, you know, you need to take back this servant. But he didn't do that. He recognized that working already in the heart.
Was the Spirit of Christ. And so as we see later, we see the bowels of the Saints are refreshed by his brother. And so he makes the plea on that which is already operative in the heart of this dear man, and he presents himself not as an apostle, but as a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
This is sometimes spoken of as a pastoral epistle and.
That's one of the reasons is you mentioned, brother Dave, is because Paul's apostleship was not the point here. If Paul was addressing the assemblies in Galatia and the evil doctrine that had come in there, he insists on his apostleship and he, uh, he clearly shows it was not a buyer through man. He addresses to the assembly of Corinth and the many issues there. Again, he emphasizes his apostleship. That's what we find later in the second epistle. They were seeking to discredit because he had authority from God.
But this matter was not a matter that where authority was required as you bring out the thought of a prisoner would be calculated to stir their affections. And he also says down in verse nine, such in one as Paul, the agent here was an older brother that was seeking to appeal to them.
And we find that the affection how he could speak of Philemon in such glowing terms, the bowels of the Saints are refreshed by the brother. He was not a man that was short on compliments. And again I used that in the right sense to his brethren.
00:15:13
His beloved atheist, perhaps that was his wife. And to archipelas, our fellow soldier into the church in thy house. I just thought of that expression in two ways. Literally. I suppose it means they broke bread in the house. The assembly meetings were in the House of Philemon. But you know I would like to visit practical word in this day when it seems the work of the enemy is to crowd the assembly out of our house.
So there's time for everything but the assembly, and the assembly gets pushed to the back burner, so to speak. And it is not, does not hold a preeminent place in our lives. Well, here the church was in their house. They had room in their house for the assembly.
And another thing I believe it brings out is there was there was a moral correspondence with their house to that of the assembly.
And we know that holiness becometh by house, O Lord, forever we go back to Leviticus 23. This the thought just comes to mind.
Leviticus, chapter 23.
Where we have the feast of Jehovah.
And after the feast of first roots, again a type of the resurrection of Christ. And verse 16, it says even unto the Morrow, after the 7th Sabbath shall ye #50 days. And she shall offer a new meat or meal offering, so that it's the Pentecost, the 50th day that leads us to the thought of the formation of the Assembly of God on earth. But verse 17 says ye shall bring out of your habitations to wave lows of 2/10 DLS. They shall be a fine flower.
They shall be bacon with leaven. They are the first fruits unto the Lord. So there is not a type of Christ because there is leaven, but it is vacant. So the leaven is ********. It is not active working. But yet what they would bring are these two wave loads out of their habitation. And so that's really the assembly in a practical sense is composed of, isn't it? It's, it's our homes. And so the, this man here, uh, had the assembly in his house, not only in the fact that they had assembly meetings there, but I believe it brings out that there was a moral correspondence with his home with what God desires for the Assembly of God.
Good pattern for us in verse 4I Thank my God making mention of thee always.
In my prayers.
And you need to thank the Lord for our brethren, especially those that are of particular help to us, but all of them. And then the 5th 1St hearing of thy love and faith which thou hast.
Toward the Lord Jesus and toward All Saints.
Umm, we love the Lord, we love the Lord's people and uh, just, uh, there's a verse in first John 314 that says we know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren.
Had a very interesting experience a few months ago when I went to a Bible conference and uh, I was talking to an older brother, just went up and said hi to him and he, uh, he said hi to me and then he said, I pray for you every day and.
I just enjoyed the verse verse 4 here in connection with the apostle praying for Philemon and his family.
And, uh, it was such an encouragement to me.
To hear this from an older brother who lived thousands of miles away from here, but he cared enough for me to pray for me every day. It was a great encouragement to me.
We find in, uh, the epistles of John that if we, if we love him who has begotten, then we'll love those that are begotten of him. And we know that in a practical way, if we have a, we have love for our brother and sister, we're going to love their children. Doesn't mean their children might not be rascals. Doesn't mean they might not, doesn't mean they might not do or do everything. That's just how we think it ought to be done.
00:20:09
And so on. But we love those children because we love the ones that are their parents. And so this love and faith towards the Lord Jesus results in the love towards all the Saints, as our brother mentioned, that confirms back to us our own place in Christ. But, uh, it's a love as a consequence that doesn't require something in its object because it's focused and center is on the begetter.
Rather than the begotten.
And so it's a love that first is towards the Lord and then goes out towards all the Saints and, uh, and its result. I have a little question on verse six, perhaps the question and I thought together, but uh, Mr. Darby translates the end of verse 6. Umm, well, I'll just read the, the whole verse and new translation.
And in such sort that thy participation in the faith should become operative in the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in US, not in you, but in US towards Christ Jesus. Now there's a similar expression in the book, the Epistle to the Philippians in, uh, chapter one.
And uh.
Verse Well, I'll read verse six and verse seven, being confident of this very thing that he which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. And verse seven we get the grounds of that confidence, even as it is meat for me to think this of you all, because not I have you in my heart, but because you have me in your heart.
His ground of confidence in the that good work going on to the end, salvation being viewed at the end of the pathway in Philippians is that they had Paul in their heart. And really they had embraced what Paul had brought in the gospel and in Paul's doctrine in that little assembly had been established there in Philippi through the apostles labor. And they had him in their heart and certainly the truth that he brought. And so here in our chapter.
He says acknowledging of every good thing which is in US. Is that the same thought or is there something else here?
My brother and I are turning some pages. I'll just add this little thought with it, Paul says later to Philemon.
And they request that he prepare for him a lodging.
Paul had a place in Philemon's home and certainly in Philemon's heart.
Doesn't it say in first John, I don't put my finger on the verse, but he that is of God heareth us that the, uh, the mark of that renewed life is that he hears the apostles word and doctrine. And here there's a very practical effect in, in, in the life as you bring out this confidence that Paul had in Philemon, you know, that's had that confidence is sadly lacking. Another epistles, for instance, there in Galatia, he says, I'm afraid of you. He observed days and, uh.
And, and, and, and all that type of thing that would belong to Judaism. He was afraid of them. He did not have confidence in them. And Corinthians as well as they sought to, uh, they undermine his apostleship. But here the practical operation of Christianity is not only here in the apostle, but receiving him. And I'm thinking of the verse in 2nd Corinthians 8, little different context, but it has to do with the matter of giving.
OK, and the 10th verse.
Can I give my advice? For this is expedient for you who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago now. Therefore perform the doing of it, that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which he have. For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to the man half, and not according to that he hath not. Well, we desire to have a willing mind, that's what comes first. But God wants us to get beyond a willing mind.
00:25:29
He wants us to perform to the performance of a thing. An older brother said to me, he said his father told him years ago, there's many brethren that have a good wishbone but don't have much of A backbone. And so we need not only that desire, but to become operative in the faith that there's a performance of these things. And here it's the reception of Paul's, uh, Paul's letter and Paul's require, uh, his, his request.
At some point made to, uh, to read of the spirit that we have in Philemon here in the fifth verse, Umm, it's uh, much different than what I find in my own heart. Sometimes we read here hearing of thy love and faith which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus and toward some of the faint, but we know that's not the way it reads. And, uh, often that's what I find in my own heart that there is a real, umm, a real, a real joy and a real love towards some of the Saints. But what we have here is the Philemon had a real love in his heart for all the things.
Beautiful to see Paul's different characterizations of his brethren, whether you look at the end of Romans chapter 16 or umm.
Colossians 4 here in this chapter to see how free he was with the accommodations that he gave to his brother. And such a commendable thing when we speak well of our brethren. And I find here the characterization of Philemon. He wasn't an austere man. He wasn't a harsh master from all we can tell. And what characterized him, The bowels of the Saints, that would be their, their innermost thoughts and feelings. They were refreshed. He says they're refreshed by thee, brother, but he takes up on that.
Finishes his request of him in the 20th verse. Let me have joy of thee and the Lord. Refresh my bowels in the Lord. That was Philemon's character, and now he brings that to bear on a very specific matter.
He says now you refresh my vows as you have done to all the Saints. Now there is something I am asking of you and as as he brings out how uh that Philemon as well as on estimates have been brought in the blessing to the ministry of Paul.
The request being made by Paul.
Philemon would have been a challenge to him.
As long Asimus was a servant.
Phone Lima and at the time that he was a servant, I.
I believe I'm correct that he would not have been saved then. He wasn't. He wasn't the same, that he was simply a servant. He was not a good servant. He apparently even stole from Philemon.
And umm, so Paul is now beseeching him. Maybe if we can just go to Galatians. Galatians 3.
28 Paul has pointed out to us.
In this in this verse, there is neither Jew nor Greek. And here's the uh.
The phrase that I was thinking of there is neither bonds nor free, there is neither male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. So this is a real vivid picture of putting that into.
An application.
To Philemon, who had been.
On this investors master to accept him now as a St. as a brother.
It makes me think, and I don't mean to to be offensive, but.
The gospel is open to all in the truth of gathering is open to all.
And it just strikes my heart sometimes that are we really?
00:30:00
Encouraging. Just picking up on what Brother Dave had said. Do we really love All Saints or do we just love particular Saints? Do we sometimes struggle with our ability to introduce the truth of gathering to those others that are not gathered the way we are, and are we concerned about whether they would fit in perhaps with our own individual or local assembly?
And you know, my heart is encouraged.
A number of the young people.
Who strikes me that they really do have a heart for going out and for sharing the truth of gathering and our pleas to bring others in.
And I just want you to be aware of how much of an encouragement that is to us all. It really speaks to my heart and it's something that I know that it would be pleasing to the Lord that even in this late day, there's.
A real effort to bring others into the truth of gathering. I just wonder if that's a piece of what, of why we have this book of Philemon as part of God's word to us.
There's so many scriptures that would be profitable in connection with that brother Terry just, but it starts with this love really to all the Saints.
And then each, each case, as we meet a brother or sister in Christ, there's a, there's an opportunity at times that the Lord opens up to, to, uh, share with them what the Lord has made good to us. There were two brothers no longer with us in Vestal. One most know here, Charles Little, another probably only local brother. No, that was Ed Kaczynski and Charlie used to love to tell the story.
About how Ed just seemed to know people all in the hills around this area and down into Pennsylvania. And he would Charlie go visit on Lord's Day afternoon or even other times. And and he said that would find people in just the oddest places and connections he had. And he'd say to CC, they're not all going to be gathered to the Lord's name, But he said we can feed him with Christ. And so he would go and whatever liberty that the Spirit of God gave, he would share.
Some of that truth that he had been brought into, that recovered truth that had been made good in his own soul. And every case was different as to how far it could go. And there's a beautiful principle that we can draw from the Old Testament where if an Israelite lost his ox or his *** and another found it, he was to take that animal and he was to keep it and take care of it until the rightful owner was found. And when the rightful owner was found, he was to restore it. And you know the truth.
The truth was recovered in the early 1800s for all the Saints. Not all are enjoying it, not all of want it, not all have entered into it, but it was lost and it was recovered. And we have the precious privilege and responsibilities that were to lay it up and keep it and take care of it and nourish it like an Israelite, if I can put it that way, would that lost animal. And when the opportunity comes to restore it and its rightful owners, that where it comes along and the truth belongs to all the Saints, but the Lord opens the opportunity.
Then we can give them back that which they've lost. We all have lost it, so to speak. So it's been recovered by the grace of God. So there's there's principles in Scripture. Another one was would be that we're not to receive to doubtful disputation. Maybe we come across a believer and it seems the Lord opens up opportunity to share some of the precious things that we've come to know and there seems to be an antagonistic spirit.
Well, I might be hesitant then to invite them out to meeting because I wouldn't want to introduce something into the assembly that would disturb the assembly. So every case really has to take wisdom from the Lord. But I think the underlying thing is love for all the Saints and the truth was recovered for all the Saints. And then each individual case we'd have to be on our knees before the Lord. But I have found that at work. Pardon the personal example, but you know, as I've met different brothers at work.
Not so many sisters, we just the way the interaction is or is proper, but brothers and, and, uh, they'll, they'll wanna tell me, you know, I want to promise keepers. And we had five bus loads of guys and, and you know, we got this big stage production going on. We're doing this play and I'm down in the pit playing such and such an instrument. Why don't you come on out And you know, they're really enthusiastic with what they are doing or feel they're doing for the Lord or something they're sharing.
00:35:20
Uh, it's a joy to me just to.
Kind of smile and nod and then say, you know what I was enjoying the other day from the word and just bring out and especially bring out some little Old Testament type of Christ. You know, I'm going to tell you our brethren in the camp, the Old Testament, a closed book. It's a closed book to them. And I have seen so many faces just look at me, not so many, a few to share a little something like that with them. And they just I never heard anything like that. Never heard anything like that.
And you're feeding them with Christ. And if the Spirit of God is working, you know what brother Kaczynski said this, he says it's like chickens, Charlie. He said you take a little crumbs and you throw it on the ground. They come and pack it up and you take a few steps, you throw some more and they come and pick that up. And he says pretty soon you lead them into the assembly and, and uh, you know, that's how it, how it needs to, needs to be. So there has to be wisdom as to how we apply these things. But I agree with you if that truth was recovered for all the Saints.
Grace runs throughout this epistle. We think of that passage, I believe, and look where it says when we have done all that was commanded us to do.
We will say we are unprofitable servants. We have done what is our duty to do so even if we did everything as we should do it and do it right as we should do, we're unprofitable servants. That's the bare minimum, the requirement. So you say, well, how do we ever get to be a point of a profitable servant? Because we find here Onesimus is spoken of as profitable. Verse 11, which in time past was to the unprofitable, but now profitable to thee, that is to an estimates as a servant and to me.
We can find some other profitable servant and that would be John Mark In two Timothy 4, Paul tells Timothy and bring Mark with the for he is profitable. Isn't that remarkable? The two men, the two servants inscription that are scripture.
That are spoken of as profitable. The one had a beginning of robbing his master. The second one abandoned Paul and Barnabas in the work of the Lord. Yet grace comes in and these two are spoken of is profitable.
Just imagine if this had been.
A conversation, so to speak, rather than a letter.
How it might have gone. I don't wanna, I don't wanna inject something that shouldn't be there. But I think this gives a sense. Perhaps think of the apostles speaking to Philemon and bringing before him an SMS and his conversion. And oh, I thought I might be much bold in Christ to join thee. Yet for Love's sake I rather beseech thee. Being such a one as Paul, the age of Paul. I'll be glad to take him back.
He doesn't stop there, and he keeps talking.
I beseech me now for my I'll take him back, Paul. And he keeps going and he says receive him as my own. But I will. I will, you know. And he just keeps going. But without thy mind I would do nothing. He could have ministered in your set, Paul. I just, I'm so happy to take him back and he just keeps going. And by the time he's done, I think by the time Philemon got to the Ennis letter, he just been melted in a puddle. You know, he just.
Overwhelmed.
By the expressions of affection and his affections would have been warmed towards, towards an estimates. And, uh, the apostle just seems to go, uh, one thing after another through this epistle is he seeks to reach Philemon's heart and he knows that the brother brought out he's working where love was already operative.
1St 21 There's Steve having confidence, and I have obedience. I wrote unto thee having, knowing that thou will do more than I say.
00:40:02
Yeah, just like to look at, umm, a portion over in the second Timothy.
Second Timothy, chapter 2.
On the first verse we read them.
Oh, read the 1St 2 verses. How therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the thing to tell us heard of me among many witnesses the same commits out of faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also, and then over in the book of Titus.
The apostle address is just a pistol to Titus we read in the in the fourth verse to Titus, my known son, after the common faith, and so on.
Well, we often take up this little epistle from the viewpoint of the Apostle Paul, the right to Philemon. Can we take it up too, from the viewpoint of the impossible of Philemon as he received this letter from the apostle?
But to look at it from on estimates is.
Viewpoint we find here's a man who is offended his master. He's coming to communication with the apostle. He's been saved and now he's about to go back to his master. I'm sure there would be some trepidation there as to how he would be received.
But I just thought of the way that the Apostle Umm speaks upon him and.
And I just wondered if if.
Often the truth is perhaps presented.
From the viewpoint of a father to a son.
That it would be perhaps received in a much different way. And so we find here in the 10th verse as he speaks to finding and he says I could see for my son on SMS whom I have begotten in my bond. There would have been that relationship that unless misspelled.
That he could go with confidence to back to his master, knowing he had that feeling of the apostle, that one who was umm, who had yearned over him and uh, spent that time with him as a father would to a son.
It's nice to parallel the spouses with Luke 15. You have the runaway boy and you have the runaway servant. Both were brought back. The prodigal in Luke 15 to think back with the light of his father's house and say of his servants, they have bread enough and despair. Oh, I perish with hunger. I'll arise and go to my father and so on. And he says, I will say, make me as one of the hired servants. I would have satisfied the prodigal's heart. He would have gotten back home and he would have been fed.
Security as a servant, but it would never, never satisfy the heart of his father. His father wanted him back as a son. And you see that with the heart of God, that he doesn't want simply us there as, uh, as servants, but to bring us into sonship. And so is Philemon, as Paul says, not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother, especially to me. But how much more unto thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord. I take it not now and simply a natural relationship as master servant, but now a new relationship in the Lord.
For God's thoughts go beyond our feeble thoughts. And again we see in this illustration of the gospel. But there's one other point I would like to bring out because this is indeed a wonderful chapter of reconciliation between brethren and restoration of, uh, Philemon. And while Paul does not insist upon anything, even saying the Philemon, I know you'll do more than I say. It's the spirit of grace that works. But he does say in the 18th verse if, which is curious, when he knew good and well he had.
If you have wrong thee, or oh, if the ought put that on mine account, I, Paul, have written it with my own hand, I will repay it, albeit I do not say to thee how thou hast sent to me even thine own self besides. And I believe there is a matter of, in this, in a situation like this, not only of, of, of restoration, of reconciliation, but that of restitution. I take it here. The largesse of, of, of Philemon's heart was grace, and this matter was forgiven. This was death. But Paul doesn't skirt the issue. He doesn't go around it. He acknowledges a wrong was done.
And Paul could say there he said, I have defrauded no man. And you have that the same thing with Samuel said before the people of God as they were departing from the Lord, blaming Sam because his boys weren't going on right. And he said, who's ox have I taken? Whose *** have I taken?
00:45:04
I've not deprived any of you and he put them in a relationship to the Lord. And so Paul had that same, that same spirit, but here in a very delicate way, he addresses this if he's wrong thee, I understand Philemon, that this has been a financial loss to you an estimates. Uh, it harmed you. Well, he knew Philemon or anesthesis Conte. He said, put that on my account. And in light of the gospel, how we can say we could never pay the debt we owed And the Lord Jesus said, put that on my account.
He paid in full what we could never pay, and the forgiveness and grace and love of God have flowed forth, flowed forth to us as a result of that finished work. But yet in practical matters, I think that point of restitution is a, is a point to consider even under the law. And the trespass offering, if one man wronged another, he was to restore the principal part and add a fifth part there too, 20% more than what he had taken. And so we don't want to ignore that side of things as well. And yet it's couched in this epistle in such a beautiful way.
It is, it is hardly even noticed. And again I take it that Philemon, in the largesse of grace, would forgive all and receive him back with blessing.
We see that same principle in Luke 10. We could turn there for a moment.
Connection with the man that fell among thieves.
In Luke 10, in verse 33 we have what a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and he went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beef.
And brought him to an end, and took care of him. And on the Morrow when he departed, he took out two pens and gave them to the host, and stood unto him. Take care of him, and whatsoever thou send us more when I come, I will obey thee.
I remember before I picked up a hammer, before I was married, I, uh, I did some accounting and I worked for a company and, uh, one of the responsibilities of our department was to, umm, was to, uh, take care of the budgeting for the, for the, uh, for the coming year.
And umm, these budgets would be set out and umm, there would be a meeting, umm, where the, umm, the various officials of the company would, uh, would get together and they review this budget. And it was, umm, it was amazing how very, very careful they were as to where their money went. Umm, they were very, very fussy about these budgets. This kind of care where the Samaritan says, whatever it costs, just I'll pay it doesn't matter what it is, I'll pay it. And we have that same spirit.
In connection with the Apostle addressing this with Philemon.
Now, whatever you'll, I'll look after it. What kind of care do we have as brethren for those of us, umm, who come in contact with, with, with brethren, uh, ourselves and our own local assemblies, What kind of care do we have? Is it this kind of care that says doesn't matter what it costs?
Whatever it is, I'll look after it. Just really impressed by the Samaritan doing that, the certain Samaritans and also here the apostles saying that to Philemon about.
I remember her brother saying that Paul is willing to spend and be spent for his brethren and I'm wondering too, and I'm not sure exactly where it is, where he speaks prophetically of the Lord Jesus Christ, where he restored that they took none away. Would that not be the same? Same idea?
Yes it is. It is the same thought I believe brother, and I enjoy what uh to think of the Lord Jesus. They're crucified between 2 Thieves and the one in the middle is the one that restored that which he took not away.
Well, can we read? Will a man rob God? And ye have robbed me. So man has robbed God of His glory by his sin and that sense, and an insult against His Majesty and His Holiness. And all that he is, is God and light. And the Lord Jesus restored that which man had taken away, that which He Himself took not away. And He gave glory to God that the 1St man really never could. But I like how Brother Lundeen put it. He added the 5th part there too.
Two things I've enjoyed with this one is that it's not that he just restored things back to their pristine condition in the garden, but He brought glory to God. That 10,000 thousand atoms that never sinned in the Garden of Eden in 1000 thousand worlds could have never brought to God. Christ brought to God in Calvary's cross, but he's also bringing many sons to glory. He's adding a fifth part there too.
00:50:43
With matters that come up or our brethren, if, if something happens and uh, Shem, Ham and Japheth, umm, we have Ham in, in Genesis 9, Noah had come out of the ark and he had gotten drunk. He had done something he shouldn't have done. And Ham looked at his father's nakedness. But umm, it says in that Shem and Japheth, because his arm is laid it upon their shoulders and went backward and covered the naked nakedness of the father.
So how? How is it with us?
Umm, something happened, someone does something to us. What is our response? Do we get on the phone and say, hey, Can you believe what Scott said to me that he did this and did that and oh, that's terrible. I can't, I can't believe that. Umm, or do we, uh, take it, umm, and, and try to cover that offense that, that our brother or sister maybe did to us? These things are real and they get.
They tend to grow roots and they grow roots quickly. And umm, it's interesting that umm, there's so much care given in this little matter. Like our brother was saying, why didn't he just, umm, you know, have a conversation And I'm sure there was many. Obviously it was, it's for our benefit and those, umm, down the ages reading the scripture, but there were certainly many. I'm sure that we're watching, uh, there, there were going to watch.
What would Philemon do? What would he do? This guy is stolen his money. This guy has treated him wrong. What, what was he going to do? Was he going to forgive him? And we too, we have people watching us, uh, as those in responsibility, uh, those who have the truth of God delivered to them. They're, if you're a young person, you have kids at school, they're watching you. They'll watch what you do. They'll watch how you treat a matter. If someone treats you the right way or the wrong way, they want to see the world wants to see how you'll react.
We as fathers or mothers, we have our children watching us.
We have people in the assembly watching those of you who are older, you'll, you have the assembly looking to you, older, older, uh, men, older women in the assembly. Uh, you have those watching and we're looking to see what, what you will do. Do you cover it up? Uh, I'm not talking serious matters that need to be dealt with, but personal offenses. Do we have the spirit of Ham that we want to uncover things and we want to, uh, talk about them or do we have a spirit of, uh.
Jim and Japheth that we want to uh, uh.
Cover something that may be of offense and, and uh, may, umm, may be beneficial to our brother. And if it was just umm, covered and forgotten about that.
138 one 3/8.
00:55:03
Regions bleeding, fleeing on the train. The roads came in front. Raised by the Rainbow King and your friends.