Amen. Well, the context of this letter is that Philemon here, he is a Christian master in the town of Colossae, and he had a slave called Onesimus. And that slave ran away from him, possibly stealing something, he's not sure, he's not certain, but it seems by those who know a bit more and other writings, he ran away and stole from him. And Onesimus ended up in prison in Rome, the very prison where Paul the Apostle was. And here, presto, he was converted under Paul, and that's why we have in verse 10, my child, Onesimus, my spiritual child. So that's what he's meaning there. He became my child in my imprisonment, verse 10. Now Paul, in this letter, is appealing to Philemon to take Onesimus back into his home after he's released from prison. Take him back, please. It's my heart's desire that you do this. So let's look at eight points, eight points that I have here to try and learn lessons from it. First of all, first, Paul perceives that every Christian All Christians are workers for Christ. He calls them workers, that's the bottom line. We all work for Christ. Philemon's a fellow worker. Not a minister, but he's a fellow worker for Christ. That's one. But so is Mark. So is Aristarchus. So is Demas. So is, look, my fellow workers, verse 24. And so is Onesimus. Now he's converted. He's a worker too. Do you conceive, perceive yourself as a worker for Christ? You should. You should be serving them. You are a worker. If you're in Christ, you're a worker for Christ. The question, of course, is, are you a good one or a bad one? But you're making some kind of testimony about Christ in all that you do and say. And I'm the same, of course. Paul, in writing Romans chapter 16, the last chapter, he commends all those who were fellow workers. And most of them were women. You don't have to be in the ministry to work for Jesus. Just do your job as it should be done to the glory of God. Help those women, Paul says in Philippians, this book, help those women who have labored side by side with me in the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers. Chapter four, verse three, whose names are in the book of life. Philippians four, three. Everyone's a worker for Christ. If you're in Christ, you're serving them. Every Christian is of use. Whatever you are, whatever station you're in, whatever occupation you have, you can serve Christ in it. In that chapter 16 of Romans, Paul says that Phebe is a servant of the Lord. We, as Christians, are all servants of the Lord. Have you noticed in the Old Testament, it struck me even when I was quite young, how often God's people, when they came to pray, there's Hannah bowing down, mistaken by the elder for being drunk. She says, you servant. How many of the Old Testament saints, in prayer to God, call themselves your servants? And that's what we all are, friends. Servants of Jesus Christ. What a privilege to be a child of God. That's lesson number one. Lesson number two, which you might not something that we noticed before. But Paul is considered in many, especially intellectual societies, I think. So I understand it from that it was a cold fish. People considered Paul to be hard hearted, hard hitting, full of theology, full of doctrine, but no warmth. That's what Psalm said in reading his epistles. Full of doctrine, full of teaching. This is what you should do. This is what you must do. Some of you deserve to die if you carry on living like that. Paul is not a cold fish. This letter itself is really a pastor's letter. It's a pastor's letter trying to look after someone who's going to be put out of jail when his time is served. He's going to need somewhere to go, somewhere to work. Have you ever thought, where do the prisoners go when they They're given the handshake to leave the prison. Where do they go? Where do they stay? Who have they got? They need somewhere. And Paul is very much aware of that. Paul's a compassionate man with warmth. He's concerned about an SMS. Who's going to employ him when he gets out of prison? Paul's planning for his future. And this is the point. If we've got the right doctrine, If we've got Christ and Christ's teaching, we'll be caring for other people. We'll be sorry for other people. Our hearts will be moved. My very heart, my very heart. Refresh my heart in Christ, verse 20. Paul's heart is for the needy, the poor, the unfortunate. So should every Christian's heart. Christian doctrine should make us compassionate and caring because that's the image of Christ. That's the way Christ was. That's the way Christ lived. Compassionate. That should be the identifying mark of us. Because as believers, as being those who've been plucked as branch from the burning, Soon we know what it's like to be lost and found. Found by the Lord. Paul lacking love? How on earth could he write 1 Corinthians 13 if he didn't experience it and know it for himself? He knew it. He was filled. with the love of Christ. And so I would contact with people, oh, to have that warmth that Paul had, but that Jesus had, in order to be like him and to walk with him. Point number three. Paul's constraint of love. We're going on about it again. We're not finished really with his care and love. Paul's constraint of love. What do I mean? Paul's an apostle. He's got authority. He has authority in the church to command people Do this and do that. It's the authority of Christ. It's the authority of Christ in organizing the church. We have that in verses 8 and 9. I'm bold enough in Christ to command you. Verse 8. And yet, I'm not going to. I'm not going to command you Philemon. to do what you should do. But for love's sake, I prefer to appeal to you. I'm not going to tell you to do it. I'm going to let you see how the love of Christ is in you. If the love of Christ is in you or not. I'm going to appeal to you for love's sake. He's appealing to him for the love of Christ towards sinners. And Paul is really saying to Philemon, Philemon, didn't Jesus take you back from whatever it was you were crowning sin or sins? Well, take Onesimus back. Take him back. Christ took you back. Show you have the spirit of Christ. Prove it. The love of Christ constrains us. So it should be in our lives, friends, how we feel, how I feel. The constraint of love. The love of Christ controls us, the love of life, the love of Christ compels us to do many things just for Christ's sake. He's worth it, isn't he? Christ's worth doing anything for, isn't he? Philemon, as Christ received you back, please take our nemesis back. Receive him as you'd receive me. And here's the motivating factor for all of us. Christ's love and example toward us. Paul says three times, we've got an obligation. And he's referring to our obligation to Christ. Well, that's the third lesson. The constraint of love. We ought to do things just out of love to Christ and following his example. Four. We better deal with this big issue which may have struck you. The issue of slavery. The issue of slavery. How could Paul send Onesimus back to be a slave? Well, the answer, of course, is that slavery in the Bible is not the slavery that most of us imagine in our minds when we think of slavery. Our concept of slavery is not the bear-backed oarsman in chains on the lower deck of a galleon ship being whipped by an unreasonable master to roll faster and stronger. No, no, no. That's miles away from the slavery of the Hebrew slavery, miles away. It's nothing to do with the African Negro slavery situation. The word is for bond servant, dulas. It's a word for a bond, being a bond servant. The technical term, and there is a technical term in Hebrew, it means indentured servitude. But we today, we call this a contract of employment. When Nesemith was under a contract of employment, we don't know exactly the details, but he would have been, because that was the way things were. It was the social structure. And in that contract, the maximum time you could serve was six years. You couldn't have a slave for longer than six years. In Hebrew, slavery. Exodus chapter 21. The first six verses. Exodus chapter 21. The first six verses. The first two read this. Now, says Moses writing to them. These are the rules that you shall set before them. When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years. And in the seventh, he shall go out free for nothing. free for nothing. Exodus 21 verses 1 and 2. The maximum would be a six year term. Now you became a bond servant because you got into debt some way, you get into debt Or you needed a loan, maybe some disaster happened to you. You didn't have the money and you got a loan and you would get service and you'd sell yourself, your service to someone. And there were certain conditions. I've got a big thick book that could give you all the regulations. It's pretty tedious, but it's there. And it was what they kept to. Weather damage or anything, people would have to keep the law. So why send Anonymous back? Because he hadn't fulfilled his terms of contract with Philemon. He hadn't fulfilled the terms of contract. And Paul, he had more to serve Philemon. And Paul didn't want to keep him. Paul wanted to keep Onesimus. He was a new creature in Christ. He was talented and gifted, it would seem. And Paul wanted to keep him. He said that. He wanted to keep him. But I couldn't keep him. It wouldn't be morally right. It wouldn't be morally right. Without your consent, I couldn't do it without your consent. Verses 13 and 14. I would have been glad to keep him with me in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel. But I prefer to do nothing without your consent in order that you goodness might not be by compulsion that I would force this on you, but of your own accord. your own accord. So I'm contacting you now, Philemon. I'll keep him if you want, he's got time to serve, but he's yours really. He belongs to you when he's out of prison. So that's why I sent him back. And you'll notice of course here, and it's helpful for us to publicist abroad when we're discussing it with people. Christianity does not negate our responsibilities to the community. Christianity does not negate our responsibilities to mankind, to society. We must fulfill our obligations, our contracts, our commitments, and be an example to the world, even to our heart, even to our heart. Keep the terms. that we agreed on. Must be honest and responsible. Christianity helps us to face and overcome our past, not to escape it. Christianity is not a quick dodge to avoid difficult circumstances. Christianity is the way that we should live and for prosperity. Christianity helps The Ten Commandments are good for society. Christianity is good principles for the building up of society, good for business, good for government, especially needed in the Western world as we forsaken principles and are filled in all areas of society with dishonesty and deceitfulness and greed. and so on. So that's one of these. There's other things that could be said about slavery, which we don't have time for. But anyway, that's the fourth matter that we can learn that slavery is not slavery as we know it today. And just to fulfill our obligations to mankind, The fifth lesson here is that it's Paul's conviction of an overruling providence in all human affairs. The details as well as the big things. An overruling providence. God's there. God's controlling things. God's glorified. God's good to us. Paul's conviction of an overruling providence in all human affairs. Verse 15, for this, this situation of being sent back to you, this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, so that he could be converted, that you might have him back forever. Not, you see, one of the conditions, as you would see if you read, when you read Exodus 21. After the six years, if that master, if that slave wanted to stay, oh it's good here, good terms, he's kind, he's thoughtful, he's helpful. He could stay. He could stay. If the slave wanted it. If the slave wanted it. And he can stay forever. And what Paul is saying here is he's a convert now. And he'll be living under a Christian's rule and regulations. And he'll be happy to stay and you'll be happy to have him. And your business will grow. And you'll have him forever. Maybe this was God's providence. Remember how upset you were, Philemon, when he left you. Oh, why has God allowed this to happen? The best fellow I had. And he's robbed me and he's gone away with things. But look now, it's all for good. And is it not true to you, for you? It's true for me. I can look back at the biggest problems, the problems I thought were insurmountable, maybe. How did I get it all for good? In the long run, in the long run, God has an overruling providence, a purpose in everything. I'm sure all of you can look over in some instant in your life. You thought it was adverse, but it was actually for your good. God does that a lot. And you know, sometimes we're blind. Sometimes we forget the things that we cried about and found out afterwards they were tears of joy in the end. That's the fifth. The sixth thing is the psychology of Paul. He was a psychologist. He actually puts a bit of pressure, no one perfect. Paul put a wee bit of pressure, I think, on Philemon to take him back. in three different ways. He said in verse 21, he says, I'm confident of your obedience, knowing that you'll do even more than I say. I know you have all, you're a great guy, you always do what I say, and I'm very confident you'll obey me, and you'll give me, you'll go the extra mile. pressure, psychological pressure there. He's expecting me. And that's the second point. Verse 22, prepare a guest room for me. You can't just send me a letter and say it's not convenient or whatever. I'm coming to see you and you have to meet me face to face. I know you'll be praying for me, won't you? Verse 22. And by your prayers, I'll come and see you. We'll be meeting together. And the third bit of pressure, I think. Epaphras, by the way, Epaphras and Mark and Aristarchus and Demas and Luke, they're sending their greetings to you. Oh, they know about this. They know about this and they're expecting you to comply. as well. And they approve of this request that I'm making. So there's Paul, that's the sixth point. The seventh point. Paul put his money where his mouth was. Paul put his money where his mouth was. We've all heard the phrase. Come on. Verses 18 and 19. If he has wronged you, if Onesimus has wronged you at all, or if he owes you anything, charge that to my account. I will repay it. I will repay it. How wonderful. A great test to me to see a Christian up and willing to meet all expenses, ensuring that no one loses out on his ministry. He's willing to go guarantor. I'll go guarantor for ministers. If he turns out, if I'm wrong, he's not a true convert. And he doesn't turn out a good servant. I'll go guarantor. I'll see you won't lose. That's good. That's lovely isn't it? Paul believes Onesimus is a true convert. He's a new creature in Christ and he expects Onesimus to pay his own debts probably, no doubt rather. But if not, he would ensure Philemon would not lose out in Well, eighth, and finally, this whole letter, this whole chapter, this whole portion of the Bible is a microcosm. It's a picture of the glorious gospel. This whole thing is a picture, is a microcosm of the glorious gospel. We have an earnest appeal to God to take his runaway children back into his kingdom. Here's Paul asking Philemon, take this runaway wicked person, take him back, he's changed. On the one side of this we have the father, God the father. Philemon finding it in his heart to forgive and receive Onesimus back. And not just receiving him back, welcoming him back. Now gradually welcomed him back as if nothing had happened between them. As if nothing had happened. That was the call that Philemon had. to deal with Onesimus. That's what he was called to do and you and I too will find in life. I've certainly found in life a call to forgive someone, to forget the past, to deal graciously and mercifully with them or her. How willing are you, how willing am I to give full rights back to someone who doesn't deserve it, to someone who has wronged you badly. How willing are you? Refresh my heart in Christ. He pleads for a fine layman. Demonstrate your love to someone who doesn't deserve it. God received us back, so we should be willing to do the same and to copy him. On the other side, we have the sinner, Onesimus, having to admit, to confess his sin and go back, actually go back. The embarrassment of going back. How willing, I wonder, was he? I don't think I know. Did he go back? How willing was he? Did he argue with Paul? Do I have to? Do I need to now? I mean, I'm converted. Yes, but you've got your contract to fill. You have to offer it to him anyway. Whatever. He needed humility. And there's times when you and I will need that humility. to confess our sin, to admit we were wrong. We did wrong. To admit it openly and honestly, not hiding, not covering up. When they submitted to humanity, so did Philemon, he did it too. It was difficult for them both, but with God's grace, they could do it. And that's it. That's it. God's grace. It's only by God's grace. It's only God that could forgive you and me. Only God with his grace that can forgive you and me. And I have forgiven him. What he's done in order that we can be received back into his kingdom with all the benefits that are there. God's grace in you and God's grace in me. We need the kind of grace that God has, unique. You don't get it in the world. You get it in Christianity. You get it from the Lord. And you and I, we are called to reflect Christ in all our human relationships, whether we're masters or servants, the challenges of life, Follow Christ. Obey Christ. He's the best witness you can possibly have. Live as Christ lived. Be different from the way the world lives. Well, there it is. I'm sending them back to you. Sending my very heart. May God bless his truth to us. Let's pray.