Well, I do perceive it is easier to approach current events that may not affect us directly. Those types of events are easy to talk about and they're easier to live with, to deal with, to cope with. Not necessarily with ease, but they're not as pressing as matters that we may experience personally. I think that whenever we have these types of discussion about the issues in society, but more so what God has to say about it because that's central to us, we must always take that into consideration. When we are approaching circumstances that we have yet to go through personally, it may be easier for us to discuss them if we have not lived through them. Over the years, I have observed that those who grieve They have accused well-wishers of using untimely words, words that were not very helpful, well-intended, but not useful. I think we also need to take that into consideration that when those are suffering, they have done so most likely in a way that we do not identify with directly because we have yet to go through it. In those moments, it is fitting to pray for them, because that is their greatest need. Now, in saying this, I am not saying that we are prohibited from going to God's Word for insights to what God has to say. To put it another way, if you were going through a hard time in life, That is what you need is God's Word, but it comes as no surprise that God's Word may not be the first recourse for you. Now, this is not casting doubt on anyone's spirituality. It only draws out a common weakness that is a part of our human nature. Scripture is not always the first thing that comes to our minds when we're faced with adversity. When you think about Job, that is actually one of the remarkable realities in Job's life. At the heels of disaster, it says that he worshiped God. But then you think about the great prophet Elijah, he actually did the opposite. So the point is, even when men and women say that they are people of Scripture, they're not always inclined to go there first. And then on the flip side, sadly, when they do, they are not always reasoning using sound study habits to get to the real meaning of the text. Instead, in order to soothe or to comfort themselves or to find solace, they impose a meaning that fits their current narrative, that fits their experience and not necessarily what the scripture is saying. Well, there is a letter that we are looking at, a very small one in comparison to others, But it contains a powerful message for us today as it did in the first century. And turn with me to Philemon. This letter, I believe, would have rocked the entire structure of its time. For it is calling for one man and for others, the believers, at his home to be willing to suffer loss for the sake of Christ and his people. To be willing to suffer loss to reconcile, to forgive, and to receive a man who may have robbed One of their favorite church attendees, as I have mentioned before, the purpose in this letter is outlined within this prayer in verses four through seven. And there are several words that will be repeated throughout the letter that points us back to verses four through seven of this letter. where the apostle begins by thanking God always when he remembers Philemon in his prayers. He says, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you. There are words like fellowship, for example, which will be repeated. The ESV says in verse 6, it is the sharing of the faith that comes from the root word fellowship. And that is one of the prominent points in this letter, that the fellowship in a local church, it pictures the ability of all people to share this life together. To share this life together, and remember this, without our social structure or society's labors altering the unity that we share together. The unity that we all share equally in Christ Jesus. And so this sharing involves God's people equally participating in the vibrant, vital union and the fruit that this union in Christ produces as we share in this fellowship of faith together. There's great unity in what Paul is saying here. And this is going to be repeated because it has to be applied to every Christian. Every believer who walks into the door of the fellowship in Philemon's home must be received with the same equality, the same unanimity in Christ Jesus. But you also have other themes in this such as salvation and love. You also have the grace of sharing spiritual gifts to all without bias. What you find here is you find a transforming of God's grace in Christ Jesus in this prayer. And the appeal will be made that this prayer will be fulfilled according to the will of God in transforming Philemon's state of mind concerning Onesimus, but also the local church's thinking concerning Onesimus. For if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature in Christ Jesus. And all believers are called to see this man or woman in Christ as a new creature in Christ Jesus. The old is gone, beloved, and the new has come, and the new is in the person of Christ. And how that is applied in our lives. I want you to take note, as I said before, that this prayer Particularly in verse 6 that we'll look at next week, I do believe, it is in accordance to God's will. It is in accordance to God's will. You want to see God's will? See it in this prayer. Paul is writing out an inspired text. The Spirit is guiding him. Therefore, the Spirit, as we know, intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words, but he also intercedes according to the will of God. So the will of God is accomplished, beloved. Now we don't look for 100% participation. We look for participation and there's where we find the Christian. We find the Christian in their participation. We find them, the evidence of saving faith in their participation according to the will of God. Are we ever concerned when so-called believers push back? Yes. But we appeal to them, as Paul does to Philemon, to submit to the will of God. For this is the prayer. It is according to God's will. And beloved, without question, God's will is always accomplished. Never think for one moment God is in heaven. It just didn't work out. Wow, what people they are! What saints we have! No, God's will is accomplished when His Word by His Spirit appeals to the mind and the conscience of His people. Without fail, God's will is accomplished as His Word is declared. So this is true for the church in whom His Son has sacrificed His life for. has sacrificed his life for so beloved. We're not overwhelmed with social issues in this world. We just want to know what can God do not to transform the issue but transform His people through the issue from His Word. We're not concerned about the problems in the society to the point where we lose our focus that God is still at work. We go to God's Word to find out what is He saying here for us. That is why I apply the statement of confidence in the proposition. While you can be confident that Christ transforms social issues, He does so by transforming us because salvation is the foundation and saints are the focus. We are never distracted with the issue. The first thing the pastor should be concerned about, the preacher should be concerned about, the church should be concerned about is how Are we responding to the problem that has now entered into the gates of the church? What does God have to say to us about these things? So when they affect the church, we don't respond like the world. The fact of the matter is we have not been called by God and we have not been taught, we're not being taught to respond like the world. We're called to see how we can be like our Savior in this world. So salvation is the foundation. Saints are the focus. I want to take your attention, though, before we look further into the Solfific portion of this in verses 5 and 7. Verse 4 begins with thanksgiving to God. Paul, of course, makes it very personal. He says, I thank my God in verse 4 when I remember you in my prayers. And I think we need to draw some significant implications and some meanings here from this verse. For to remember here is is to make mention of someone to God. So the Apostle Paul is pouring himself out before God in thanksgiving. So you also know that he's pouring himself out before God in interceding for Philemon and the church. And here, this is a prayer of thanksgiving, but not to be excluded as a prayer of intercession. So this note of thanksgiving is, first of all, to God on the behalf of Philemon. That God will continue in Philemon what he has begun. But this continuation involves a man who has wronged him greatly. So when Philemon is on Apostle's mind, he's in his prayers, and because he's in his prayers, he's in his prayers of thanksgiving, and he's asking God to respond graciously to the church he prays for, or in this case, Philemon being the focus he wants God's will to be done in Philemon's life. So this becomes very challenging for Philemon, apart from the grace of God to aid him. Because Onesimus, as we will imagine, is standing before him as this epistle is being read, as this letter is unfolding. Philemon is in the midst. The church is there gathering. Someone is most likely reading this epistle. And this is a public letter about a private matter to a man. Now, I mentioned this before. that this is what sharing in the fellowship means. It means that we're able to work through these challenges in a public manner for the edification of the entire body of believers because this has ramifications throughout the whole church. But what is the reason for this thanksgiving? That is where we turn our attention to in verse 5, where the salvation Philemon's salvation is a foundation of this transformation. Paul begins by outlining this in verse 5. He says, Because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints. Don't miss a single word. We'll do our best to work through this prayerfully and carefully because it's significant. He says that you have this toward the Lord Jesus and you have it for all the saints. Let me just present a helpful summary for you. Because we must always see how Christ transforms the ills and the challenges in this society that comes into the fellowship, and how he uses it to either reveal true saving faith or expose counterfeit Christians. Well, Christ transforms social issues when sinners turn to him by faith and are brought into the fellowship with other believers. When you're brought into the fellowship, it's a change of priority. Everything starts with the glory of Christ, and then it moves forward. It starts upward, then it moves outward. Above, and then it moves on before. It never starts before us. And then we try to work our way up. That's building a tower to heaven. That's false worship. That's Genesis 11. That's the Tower of Babel. That's not Christianity. We start above. We start where Christ is. We begin with what He has to say. And so when they're brought into fellowship with others, This is the next summary point. This then becomes the place where disciples live out the love of Christ. This is the place where we live out the love of Christ. And we do so by caring for one another. But when this care is genuine, those who observe this genuine love, They too profit from it. So here's the love of Christ, the love for Christ, and then the love for others. So this is so important for us to understand. And when it comes to salvation, it's reconciliation between God and man, and then the working out of that reconciliation between God's redeemed people and those who come to saving faith. We cannot reconcile with the world until they have been reconciled to God. There is no peace for the ungodly until they turn to the Prince of Peace. So true reconciliation is from God to His redeemed and then between His fellow believers who live out this reconciliation. Not only that, we also live out the implications of redemption. And beloved, redemption is the redeeming of people, not systems. We don't redeem systems. We are called to implore as ambassadors for Christ and calling upon sinners to be reconciled to God and find redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ. We don't redeem systems. Systems are dependent upon the people who are in charge. If we want a system to change, Christ changes people. And then the people involved in that system can be instrumental for those changes that we seek after. But they are secondary to their need for salvation. Here's where the Christian's priority is seen. It is, what does Christ have to say about this issue for my sanctification and the good of my fellow brother and sister in Christ? Not only that, Salvation being the foundation, Saints are the focus. Some of the most important evidences of change for the Christian is the work of God's Spirit in godliness and also the love that we have for one another. Why do I say this? Because I say this, we are overly concerned with people who don't love like they should when they most likely do not know of the love of Christ. That is central to being able to love others. I'm not concerned, as I said before, about those who mistreated others, those who mistreated people of color. And believe you me, I know what I look like. I have a mirror. I know what I look like. I'm speaking objectively here because it's the truth I'm presenting. I'm not necessarily concerned about that. What my concern, I want to be very clear, is that Christ changes how we view other people. And as the Word of God is preached objectively, God does His work, and then the subjective reality and seeing the evidence of it, which is subjective, is seen as Christ works in the heart. I am not worried about the work of God in salvation. I'm concerned about the counterfeit Christianity that I see today. True, genuine, saving faith produces a love for Christ and others. It needs to be cultivated, but it is there. To say that someone is a follower of Christ, and first of all, cannot care for men and women created in God's image, and certainly is not showing the Christian in Christ, has yet to come to true saving faith. Because what comes with this is the love of God has been poured out in our hearts in abundance through Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit, and it just doesn't stop. The outpouring is so tremendous that it gives us a love for fellow believers and a love to see sinners come to saving faith. That is why our confidence is rooted in what God does in the heart of His saints as Paul's confidence is rooted in what God has done in Christ. We can't be shaken because a few professed people didn't do what Scripture clearly says to do. Nor should we be judges over them. Because as I said before, what are we doing now as Christians? Do we really love the brethren and are we really pursuing them? So as the Apostle Paul, as we get back to this text and look at the implications here, how you interact with the local fellowship are based on how you think about each other in Christ. And that will be a part of the apostle's work in the rest of this letter. Onesimus' life in Christ means that Philemon, he too must have a change of mind concerning him. He's now in Christ. I must see him as a brother in Christ. He's a part of this family. And so Paul, gives reason for his thanksgiving because salvation is the foundation in verses 5 and 7. Saints are the focus in verses 5 and 7. This is evident in your life, he says, Onesimus. There is evident fruit of salvation. And the fruit is shown towards the believers there. This is Nothing more than the fruit of genuine salvation. For saving faith, if I can use this analogy, becomes the soil for the harvest of loving deeds before others. True saving faith works in us and cultivates in us This aspiration to do good deeds, not to be, but because we are in Christ. It is a response. We see Christ in others, the hope of their glory, the hope of our glory, and that moves us toward it. But notice what he says here. You have love and faith. Love and faith. And if you notice here, it's towards Christ. Paul mentions the Lord Jesus first, meaning that it is upward first. A love that is upward, that looks to Christ, that loves Christ. Then secondly, it is toward the saints. So it's very clear, beloved, that affections that are focused above produces affections toward others on this earth. When our affections are from above, and our affections are toward Christ, who is seated at the right hand of the Father, it produces, it generates affection towards others. There is no such thing as true, genuine conversion without true, genuine conduct seen in how we relate, how we react and interrelate to one another. Beloved, you find this to where the Lord Jesus Christ and then it flows to the saints. Mind you, once again, Paul said in Philippians chapter 1 that I'm loving you with the affections, the very deepest part of my being. The deepest parts, the most tenderest of my bowels of affection, I'm loving you with the love of Christ. It flows toward the saints when it is the love of Christ. The apostle is saying this, I am hearing of your loving of the faith. Which means, in Philemon's case, that he was truly born from above. He was truly born from above. He displayed fruit of salvation. He had love and faith. He exemplified love and faith. A very important question we need to ask here is this faith that is mentioned in this verse concerning the saints' faith toward the saints. and the Lord, or could this be a reference to maybe faithfulness toward the saints, where such faithfulness is typical of someone whose faith is in Christ, someone who lives out such faithfulness toward the disciples of Christ Jesus? Or would it be better to say that Philemon, Paul is saying, Philemon, you're displaying faith in Christ, And this faith is an ongoing testament of true saving faith because you love the saints. Of course, it has been suggested that the love here is toward all the Lord's people. And this faith is in the Lord Jesus Christ and it would be appropriate. For example, you'll find in Ephesians chapter 1 verses 15 and 16. This is a prayer by the apostle and it reads, for this reason, because I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints. I do not cease to give thanks for your remembering you in my prayers. Or in Colossians 1, 3 through 5, we always thank God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ when we pray for you since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints. And you find that in Colossians, Ephesians both are prison epistles written around the same time he would have written Philemon. And so like those passages, a Philemon apostle could be saying this is faith that you have in Christ. And the faith that you have in Christ is made visible for the love you have toward the saints. Or we may surmise that your trust in Christ, your faith in Christ, overflows toward faithfulness that is seen toward the believers. So your faith in Christ is visible, is evident in your faithfulness toward the fellow followers of Christ. Of course, that could underscore the close nature of faith that truly works. If we were to take that approach, we would say that faithfulness would be the fruit of the genuine gift of faith. Faithfulness is the fruit of genuine saving faith. And faithfulness as a fruit would be the gift that God grants for those who truly believe. So we can say that true saving faith then exudes the aroma of faithfulness toward others. You're faithful in serving them, faithful in meeting their needs, faithful in caring for them. But you know what, beloved? Whether verse five speaks of faith alone in Christ or faithfulness toward the church, the results are the same. The benefits of saving faith are not merely personal. Faith in salvation is not alone. You appropriate your faith in Christ alone. Yes, that is true. But the outworkings of faith are never alone. Notice what the Apostle Paul says in Galatians 5, verse 6, For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. This is what Dr. Thomas Schreiner said in his Galatians commentary, and I think this insight is helpful. He says, faith looks entirely away from oneself and grasps Christ for righteousness. Faith, of course, is not nullity. And I gather that to mean it is not alone. He goes on to say it is living and active and powerful. It expresses itself in love. So that, and hear this carefully, faith is the root and love is the fruit. So in this case, love is the fruit of faith. This is very helpful. We can gather from this statement in Galatians and what you find in Philemon. that what is indicated in this passage is that the true sign of this genuine faith in Christ is there. And the twin reality to this faith in Christ Jesus is the love that you have for the saints. But also, at the same token, your faithfulness is seen in how this love is carried out. It is consistent. It is persistent. never-ending, it is impartial. And that is the work of the Spirit. That is the work of the Spirit. Look, we can all do enough, but very few of us can go above and beyond. In fact, we can't do it in a way that is dynamically God-given. We don't have the capability to go out of our way, out of our inconveniences, to serve others. It is usually, can I do this first before I do that? I don't know if you've ever done that as a young person. If you have children, you ask them to do something. Seems like what they're doing now is more important. Can I do this before I do that? And that is almost what the Christian life is all about for us. Can I do this before I do that? If you were like us, you'd be like, well, can I vent first, Paul? Can I give him a piece of my mind? That is a part of my mental treatment, the psychologist says, Paul. I've got a vent. I need a punching bag. I need someone I can bounce my anger off of. Can I do that first, Paul, before I hug this brother? Paul, I have a room that I can scream and yell, and it is soundproof. Can I go in the back of my room and chew out Onesimus and walk out with a smile, Paul? That's not faithfulness here, beloved. It is the denial of every part of your natural being and your desires. You have this toward all the saints, the ones who make it easy for you, and you know the rest. It doesn't matter. Beloved, this is the love of Christ. Not talking about some love that is of a temperate nature. This is intemperate, this permanent, this lasting, this enduring love. That is a fruit of saving faith. Beloved, that is true salvation. What the Apostle Paul hears about Philemon appeals to him because this love is here. And the greatest of these, out of faith, hope, and love, the one that will last eternally, you will always love. You know that? You will love into glory. You will love in glory. You will not have faith in glory. You will not need faith in glory. Faith will become sight in glory. You hope now for what you do not see. But in glory, you don't need hope. You will see what you have been hoping for. What outlasts all is love, is love for the brethren. That is why Jesus said, I'm going to give you this new commandment. And in this new commandment will revolve everything that you will become as a Christian. Love one another even as I have loved you. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, Jesus, did you have to put the word even in there? Isn't that a bit of a hyperbole, Christ? I mean, just say love and work your way up? No, it is a lifelong pursuit of loving one another unconditionally. But beloved, it is an upward love that becomes an outward love. It is an inward love that becomes an expressed love because you have been loved and you are being loved. Beloved, wherever there is love for Christ and his people, it comes because of his overflowing and abundant love for us. The more the reality of this truth overflows experientially in our lives, the more your generosity will overflow to others. Remember, in this instant here, Paul says, I hear of your love and faith. This is not conceptual. This is actual. This is visible. That you have toward the saints. And why is this statement so important? near the end of verse 5 because they're the general outline for his appeal. And this statement of love will be one of the basic premises. True saving faith and love, Philemon. That is how you're able to love the brethren and even someone who has mistreated you, as Onesimus has. And even for you to forgive him. People are arguing, well, did Apostle Paul call for him to free Philemon as a slave, beloved? Let me just make this clear that the Christians who express the love of Christ will do what is best for another believer. He's going to look out for the interests of Onesimus. We're quickly worried about a physical liberation when God is worried about spiritual liberation. You can be free to be what you want to be now on your way to hell. That's not the most important freedom. For the greatest bondage is for men and women to be held captive by their sin and stand guilty before a just, a righteous, and a holy God. Back to this love. This love is experiential here. It's subjective, but it is also a barometer. It helps Paul and the believers see the genuineness, and note this, of his love for Christ. Someone could say, I love the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, how I love Jesus, they used to say. You know the rest of the song? Because he first loved me. To me, he is so wonderful. Let me revise that song. Oh, how I love Christ. Because He first loved them. That's the message. Is this love true of you when you sing it? Now, I know we don't love God to the extent that we should, but there should be some love there nonetheless. To say we have none is to not realize, forensically, but also In reality, experientially, what this love is, that's contrary to what it means to be saved. It is a lavishing love, beloved. It is an experiential one. It is not just this objective, theological, conceptual love. It is a real experiential love. It is based on a theology, but it doesn't just stop there. If that is all it was, then that's not enough. It is something to be realized, something to experience, but it is to be distributed throughout the whole church. So if someone says, I love the Lord Jesus Christ, but it is his saints that I can't stand, that is simply not the love of Christ. And I see in this section there is The twin realities, you have two sides of the same coin. Where there is faith, there is love. Where there is true, genuine love, we can suppose that it was generated, created, birthed by faith in Christ Jesus. Appropriating your faith in Christ laying a hold of God's promises in Christ is to receive all of the blessings, including this love. So where there is faith, there is love. You cannot have the absence of love in the presence of true saving faith. It must be cultivated. It must be stirred. It must be appealed to. Because the world system, as it did with Philemon, it corrupts the way we think at times. It is amazing. It's happening even now. People will open up the Bible, and they will quote a scripture. And it says, it's true. This is what you did to me. You need to stop it. That's not what the text is saying at all. It says, love the brethren. You've been doing it. Why is this so important? Fervent love for the fellowship makes visible your fervent love for Christ. Fervent love for the fellowship makes visible your fervent love for Christ. They become the eyes of your fervent love for Christ. We see your love for the people, we see your love for Christ. If you say you have a love for Christ and not the people, that's not consistent with the Word of God. Can you love the people in one sense and not love Christ? Yes. But you cannot say you love Christ and not love the people. It's different for the follower of Christ. They both come together. So you know what this does in this text. This sets Philemon up for what will come. Philemon, such love, loyalty, care, affection, zeal, unrelenting, For the church, it must be transferred with equality to Onesimus. Who has wronged you, Philemon? The text in this prayer is part of the foundation It's moving forward to this. Philemon, you must show the same fruit of genuine saving faith to Onesimus so that the ongoing manifestation of this fruit will be evident. Philemon, this will verify that your fruit was not manufactured in a warehouse, but by the Spirit of God working in you. So, beloved, here comes a social problem. And it will demand your willingness to forgive and restore a man. And don't always see who has the disadvantage, who has the advantage. All the parties involved. I love what one commentator said. He said that Paul is drawing a circle. And it's not a kumbaya circle. The kumbaya is already here. Come, my Lord. He has already come. in the person of Christ. Now we need to see what this kumbaya looks like. And in this circle, there's Paul, there's Philemon, there's Onesimus, and the church. And the only way that circle is broken is to deny what Christ has done. You say, well, you know, that's a very unfair illustration. No, I don't think we go far enough. We love to be judged over our responses based on other people, but this is the absolute authority of Scripture. If I exclude a brother or sister in Christ who has genuinely come to save me in faith, I don't care what error it was, I am breaking ranks with my Savior. For failure to love them is failure to truly love Him. Here comes a social problem, Philemon, and I know what the world says, but you must forgive and restore him. It's as if the text is saying, Philemon, I'm getting ready to mention another saint, another saint by God's effectual call to which your genuine love will be called upon to share with him unequal terms as you do with me and other believers in your home. Beloved, it's a transforming of a man Philemon's thinking, Onesimus' thinking. For is it not easy for Onesimus to say, Paul, I've been unfairly treated? This system, Paul, is stacked against me. Is God not just, Paul? These are Onesimus' words. I'm just theorizing this for your sanctified imagination. That's not in the text. But just imagine what we would do if we weren't in this position. We'd say, well, Paul, don't you know that slavery is bad? You ought not to send me back to this guy. You know, that's why I'm here with you. I really didn't come to be converted. That was not my initial desire. The gospel is transforming, but no, Onesimus submits to the word of God. According to the Roman law, punishment And the severity of that punishment could be anywhere from deprivation of material things, and in some cases could have involved death, depending on what the crime was or what Onesimus committed. Now you say, well, Philemon ought not to do that. Remember how easy it is for the things of this world to get into the church. If we ever sit here as judges over, well, Paul didn't call for the abolition of slavery. Look, the Bible calls for a lot of things that we don't do, and we read it, we still don't do it. We seem to be so unmerciful without realizing, once again, this is about heart changes. God wants men to have a change of mind and heart concerning what they do, and not laws of the land imposing upon them or justifying what they do. There's a new order, there's a new rule, and it is the love of Christ that we share amongst each other. So beloved, social issues are best resolved on the cross, but we're not here to transform issues. We're here to see how the gospel transforms us when we evaluate these social issues. We're in the world, we'll never escape the problems in it. In fact, much of it comes with us. But when sinners are reconciled first to their God through Christ Jesus, those who have been reconciled live out all its implications. Remember, we respond in love. We don't react according to the world's initiatives. All the stuff they're doing, you know, for the glory of God, you can do whatever you want, but those hashtags, oh. And if you remove them from your social site, you'll do well. Let me make this clear. We all have decisions we make, but you are sending a false message when you're hashtagging certain lives matter above others. Whatever you did, hashtag it was not too long ago pastors for Trump, for example. I think that was an atrocity. It was a misrepresentation, as I said before, the office of a minister. My point is those issues are in the church. And please don't tell me about your conservative position. Theologically, we have a biblical conviction, but pastors have no role and imposing upon anyone to vote for someone because anytime he does so, he too has a social agenda. So you may say, well, you know, you have a social agenda, my agenda is the gospel. All right, you say that on one end. So this person said, well, you know, we're being mistreated, we're being shot by cops. On the other end, you say, well, we have a social problem, you know, we gotta vote for this guy, give it over for this guy, I don't know what's gonna happen to my future generation. Now listen, beloved, that's a social issue. Both are social issues. It's in the church. So we all have them. We gotta get back to what the Word of God says. It's between me and you, my brothers and sisters in Christ. It's between me and you. It's not Trump, it's not your boss, it's between me and you and Christ. Are we practicing this godly reconciliation? Well, why is this so important? Verse seven. This is where the joy and the comfort comes from, beloved. This is where our joy and comfort comes, and Paul says this as an example, for I have derived in verse 7, much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you. There is no greater agenda, beloved, than the refreshing of the saints in our hostile society. I would say that if we're all about the business of this ministry as we find Philemon, we don't have time to be following what these people are doing in the world. Well, you know, we got to keep up with the news. Okay, well, are you temperate when you're done? How's your blood pressure? How's your confidence in Christ and God's will? How's your confidence in the future? Are you at peace now because North and South Korea signed on a piece of paper with faded ink? You think that might last? Are you in fear because Iran is threatening us and you're up at night? Are you building a bunker? Are you trusting in God? The social problems of this world, it's here. But that doesn't distract God's people. He says, I have gained much joy. Well, why is this so? The people of God experienced this warning, this loving ministry from Philemon. Beloved, if you and I are engaging in this, we simply don't have enough time for what the world is doing. That's why I have to ask. I love you dearly, this church. It's a very loving church and a caring church. But as you know, I don't really stroke egos. I don't sit here and I don't say, well, we're doing fine. Look at you happy Christians. We're the best church in Long Beach. I don't go there. I encourage you. I am encouraged. I hope you realize that, right? I'm encouraged. But let's not be deceived for one moment. Asking those questions, if anyone is offended by it, it is because there's pride involved in the process of them thinking through these questions. I'm merely asking from this angle, all right? All in this text, beloved, speaks of every person that he's able to pursue. That means it's all. Are you pursuing everyone? You know, the time that you spend reading the news, watching the news, stewing over the news, stewing over the new elections coming up in the state, be informed, yes, but our Source, information, and truth is the transforming Word of God. The news doesn't transform us. It confuses us. It frustrates us. And we bring that into the fellowship. Some of us might be consumed by it now, so we can't really pursue our brothers in Christ. Are you pursuing all? Is your love for all the saints. And listen, you can't say yes if they haven't in some way gotten in contact with this love. This love is rubbing shoulders with them, right? This love is seeking them out, is it not? I said it's active. Hey, I love you, brother. And he's like on the other side of the building. I love you, sister. And that's all they heard of you in like three weeks, is the active involvement in their lives. Paul says, this is so warm. It refreshes me. It comforts me. So we're not to be overcome by the challenges in this world when it comes to relationship, reconciliation, forgiveness. We go the route of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And we show heartfelt care. of a genuine kind, Christ-like compassion and love to one another. I'll ask you again. Do you love Christ? And if you do, is that seen in your love for the brethren, all of them? We tackle issues in this life by loving one another equally and letting the world see the community needs to see a church that's loving and caring for each other, not on social media attacking each other. We address our problems behind closed doors. We reconcile in a local fellowship. A preacher of the gospel is not called for global reconciliation when he can't even get his local fellowship to do what they're supposed to do. We have more than enough work in our local churches. My appeal is to you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, for those of you who do not know him, my prayers for your salvation. If you need someone to pray about your material success, I'm not the one. Concern about your soul. I will pray for God's provision for you, but that God will use those provisions for the gospel as happened in Philemon's case where God was able to use his resources for the edification of God's people, not here for any other means. Let me just say very clearly, I have not been called by God to resolve the problems in the community. But that does not exclude me from reaching out and loving the community and participating in ways that I can. But my sole ministry, my single ministry, is to the ministry of the souls of God's people and appealing to sinners to be reconciled to God. men such as King and so-called Reverend Jackson, but you know who I'm talking about, Jesse Jackson and Sharpton. I'm calling these men as an illustration. I don't see them as preachers at all. Whether they're Christians, that's up to God as judge. I already told you that Martin Luther King's messages, his theology, and his preaching leaves him outside of what we'd consider as Christian doctrine, which means that he gave the impression that he was an unbeliever, using the gospel to gain some success and remove the attrition that he saw in society. So these men are marginal at best. They don't represent the gospel. They don't represent the authentic gospel. But let us spread it broader. Any human being who stands on the pulpit and he's willing to proclaim anything else but Jesus Christ and him crucified, he too is not a preacher of the gospel. We have one person to declare. We have one person that we call all believers to. He loved us so much. Beloved, do you love the brethren? All of them. As I said before, we can look at the social structure and we can look at the problem outside of us, but no, I'm talking about the problem in us. of truly, fervently, prayerfully, and passionately loving the brethren. Do you know the brethren in this fellowship? Do you pray for them? That's the text here. I'm not making this up. That's the passage here. This is a man who knew the people. Now he's calling to know a man that needs to be forgiven and reconciled. But he knows the people in the church. He loves them. He cares for them. And on that basis, When that is true, we can appeal to those who live out this love to pursue it even more on a higher level. But those who don't, it's hard. They find it very difficult to forgive and to love because they have not practiced it on this basic level, practice on the people who are easy to love. so that your love grows and it develops and you begin to see this is the love of Christ. Then when it's time to practice on people who are hard to love, you're already in the practice and the habit of love and you love it so much and you enjoy it so much to see men and women confident that you cannot do anything else but even love the unlovable. but how much more forgiving those who have wronged you. That's the remedy for our society. Not some global reconciliation, not more houses, not more lands, not a home and institution, none of that, not better jobs. Men's need is Christ and for that love to be on display through his church begins here, begins with us, begins with us in Christ's name. Stand with me. Father in heaven, we pray that by your divine spirit and according to the truth that you move upon everyone here in this room, that we will love one another and that it will not be to the exclusion of any. That we, even as we gather, will not commune as a segregated body in the same building, but a united body of love, friendship, that we know one another well spiritually, and we know each other's needs materially, that we'll give of ourselves in their interest because of our interest to please our Savior. In your great, glorious, and mighty name, I pray. May the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good, that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. God's people say amen.