Well, good morning, everyone. It is wonderful to be here to worship our great God and King. And I trust that you carry with you the joy of the Lord. We have that wherever we go, whatever we do, even in the sorrows of life, which are often many. But it is a great joy to be here and to worship together. I want to invite you to turn to Philippians Philippians Philemon. You were wondering. Philemon, we're going to be looking at verse 20 to 25. So basically, we're going to finish off this little letter, fantastic letter. So that will be our focus, verses 20 to 25, but actually we're going to read The whole letter. I like to do that. I think I've done that most of these. This is the fifth message, fifth sermon in this letter. But we're just going to read all 25 verses. And the title for the sermon is The Motives of One Who Forgives. The Motives of One Who Forgives. The words of the Apostle Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy, our brother. To Philemon, our beloved friend and fellow laborer. To the beloved Aphia, archipus, our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, hearing of your love and faith, which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgement of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. For we have great joy and consolation in your love because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother. Therefore though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting yet for love's sake I rather appeal to you being such a one as Paul the aged and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ. I appeal to you for my son Onesimus whom I have begotten while in my chains who once was unprofitable to you but now is profitable to you and to me. I'm sending him back. You therefore receive him that is my own heart whom I wish to keep with me that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel. But without your consent I wanted to do nothing. That your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary, for perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but now much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. If then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me. But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account. I, Paul, am writing with my own hand. I will repay, not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides. Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in the Lord. Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you. knowing that you will do even more than I say. But meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for I trust that through your prayers, I shall be granted to you. Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you. As do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. Great God and Heavenly Father, we thank you once again that we can gather here in your house to worship you. What an unspeakable privilege. Lord, thank you for all the freedoms that we have and we thank you for the freedom in Christ. We thank you for the salvation that is ours by grace. And Lord, we just pray that as we open up this text of scripture and look at this specific passage, Lord, that you would just illuminate our hearts, that you would give us eyes to see, that you would give us ears to hear. and hearts to comprehend. Lord, we thank you that even though we're not what we ought to be yet, this side of heaven, we thank you that your grace abounds and that we are loved by God. So fill our hearts with joy and bless this time in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, just a few years ago, there was a story of forgiveness that really captured national attention. It was at the height of the whole George Floyd saga. That's when, as you remember, it's just four years ago, race relations were tight and really the nation was on edge. That was kind of at the start of COVID and it was just a really tense time. But there was this story that was kind of a breath of fresh air. And there was this courtroom scene that really went viral. Dallas police officer Amber Geiger was sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing, I think his name was Bethan Botham Jean. Well, before the end of the trial, I'm not sure how long it took, but over the course of the trial, Botham's younger brother, Brant Jean, he took the stand and he was given opportunity to testify. And he said many things, but really the heart of what he said was at the very end, and he said to Amber, he said, I forgive you. He said, I love you. And he said one more thing, I want the best for you. I forgive you, I love you, and I want the best for you." And this was to his brother's killer. And then he did something even more remarkable, even more shocking. He asked the judge if he could go and hug Amber, if he could hug his brother's killer. And the judge allowed it, and it was just this powerful, powerful scene. I don't think there was a dry eye in the whole courtroom. It was amazing. Well, today, instead of hearing about forgiveness, we hear a lot about justice. We hear a lot about reparations and repayment for past wrongs. That kind of dominates. But we don't hear much about Forgiveness. Well, as you know, when we open up the pages of Scripture, we see a book that's filled with teaching that has to do with forgiveness. In fact, forgiveness is really at the heart of the gospel. The Bible is clear, Jesus is clear, you must forgive your brother from the heart. Why is that? Because of the gospel, that's what is modeled in the Lord Jesus Christ. So why should we forgive? What are the motives of the forgiver? That's what we're going to look at today. But it all starts with an understanding of the gospel. And if you go back two weeks, we looked at verses 17 to 19. That's what we talked about. Paul told Philemon, I will repay. I will repay. I will repay whatever debt is owed. I'll assume that debt, I'll take it upon myself. And and that's what we see in the Lord Jesus Christ in the gospel. He takes upon himself all our sins, our iniquities. And he gives us his righteousness. So that's where it starts. But there are further reasons. There are further motivations for the one who forgives. And that's what we want to look at today. I want to give you five further motivations. So look at verse 20. Paul writes, Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in the Lord. So number one, the joy it brings to other saints, the joy it brings. Now, just to give a little refresher, Paul is writing to Philemon, and he's got one main agenda, just like all the other letters that he writes or any of the other letters. In the New Testament, there's several things that are covered, even in short little letters like this. But for Paul, he has one main agenda. And he's basically saying, receive back Onesimus, your runaway slave. However, he's wronged you, forgive him. If he's stolen anything from you, we'll put that on my account. But now he says this in verse 20. Let me have joy from you in the Lord. Let me have joy from you. Refresh my heart. Now, this actually takes us back to to verse seven. Let me read verse seven once again to you, because it ties in with this. If I can find it in my Bible. For we have great joy, there's that word again, and consolation in your love because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother. So time and time again, Philemon had refreshed the saints. He had encouraged them. His words and his actions had lifted them and strengthened the body of believers. And so now Paul is essentially saying, You've done this for the saints many times, many ways. But now I want you to do this for me. I mean, could he do any less for the apostle Paul? Refresh my heart. Now, this word joy in verse 20, it could also be translated as benefit or even useful. We've encountered it already in this letter. And Paul is essentially saying, If you forgive this man from the heart. It's going to greatly encourage me, it really will. I've invested so much in you. And if you do this, it's going to thrill my heart. Now, it's not like he's trying to coax him. Into doing this. But he is trying to persuade. And I guess there's maybe there's a fine line between the two here. But that's what he's saying, if you forgive him from the heart, you're going to encourage me. It's going to excite me and it will bring me great joy. Think of what it says in John's third letter. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. No greater joy. Now, there's a lot of things that bring us joy as Christians. There's a lot of things that excite us, that encourage us. But for John, the Apostle John, there was nothing greater than knowing that his children and that was his spiritual children were walking in truth. And, you know, for me, the older I get and the more that I grow in the Lord, The thing that brings me the greatest joy is to see God's people walking in truth. To see them grow in the Lord and to experience sanctification. So it's not so much leisure or it's not so much worldly things that bring me joy anymore. It's seeing God's people grow. So go back to verse 20 in our letter. Let me have joy from you in the Lord. Let me have joy in the Lord. So as we walk in truth and as we apply the teaching of scripture to our lives and we do these things that are hard, because as we've talked about many times already, forgiveness is hard. This can be a blessing to the whole body of Christ. This can, as you see brothers and sisters walking in truth, that should bring you joy. And as you see the gospel applied and you see the power of reconciliation, when you see two parties or two individuals who are at odds, but then they come together in love, and you see a relationship restored, that should bring you joy. That should thrill your heart. And that's what's going on here. That's the joy that comes from seeing brothers and sisters walk in truth and brothers and sisters being reconciled. Well, let's look at number two. The second motivation. for the one who forgives. And that is the necessity of obedience. Look at verse 21, having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. So all along throughout this letter, Paul, he hasn't taken the posture of commanding Philemon. He hasn't done that. Rather, he's appealing to him. He's saying, I want you to receive Onesimus. I want you to take back in your slave. So he's not commanding, he's stopping short of that, but he is doing all that he can to persuade. And like I said before, it's kind of a fine line here. But in verse 21, he uses the language of obedience. Obedience, having confidence in your obedience. I believe that you're going to follow through on this and you'll do even more than I say. I was kind of wondering, what's the more? What would be the more? And I've, in one of the commentaries that I was reading, Whoever the commentator was, I can't remember, was suggesting maybe it's he'll release him. He'll no longer, he'll be free. And that's very possible. We don't know for sure. But the main thing here is that Philemon will obey. He will receive Onesimus back, not just as in terms of his as a fellow worker in the Lord, but also he'll receive him as a brother. Now, when we read the New Testament, as I've said this already, and I'll say it again today, one of the themes that just kind of jumps off, jumps out to us is the theme of forgiveness. It's such a huge theme in the New Testament. And I want to draw your attention to a couple passages. And the first one is the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter 6. Verses 5 to 15, the second one is Matthew chapter 18. And you know that forgiveness is a command. But there's a lot of things that we know. There's a lot of things that we just kind of assume and maybe we even take it for granted. And I think we need to go back again and again. And we need to review these teachings that we find in the Bible. And so in Matthew 6, starting in verse 5, this whole section is the Lord's Prayer. And I'm going to read it to you again. Here we go. This is another familiar teaching. But what I really want to focus on is the last two verses there, verses 14 and 15. But just for the sake of context, Jesus said, When you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your father who is in the secret place. And your father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore, do not be like them, for your father knows the things you have need of, before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray, Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. And then listen to verses 14 and 15. For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Now, I find this very interesting. Here we have this model prayer, the Lord's Prayer, as it's often called. And there is so much that's touched on. And there's a great economy of words. I mean, it's so short, but yet it's so filled with truth. And there's so many different things that Jesus covers here, including forgiveness. So we have this model prayer, but then at the very end, as Jesus continues to teach, to this massive crowd, there's only one subject, really, that he provides more commentary on, and that is forgiveness. If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. If you forgive, God the Father will forgive. But if you choose not to forgive, then neither will God the Father forgive you. That is why this is so important. That is why forgiveness is so central and really at the heart of Christianity. And then when we turn to Matthew, chapter 18, many other places we could go, but Matthew, chapter 18, remember last week or I guess two weeks ago now, we looked at the parable of the unforgiving servant. And I'm not going to read the whole thing again, but look at the first two verses. Matthew 18, verse 21, Peter came to him and said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times? As many as seven times, Lord? Jesus said to him, I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to 70 times seven. And basically what he's saying there is you can't put a number to it. That's 490 for all you mathematicians out there. But really, you can't put a number to this. There's no limit to our forgiveness. So this central teaching that really is unescapable, it's a teaching that we cannot get around. It's a hard teaching. It's very hard. Now, yesterday, during our time of family worship, we were in Luke chapter 14. And that's where Jesus says, take up your cross and follow me, you must be willing to renounce everything in order to follow me. That's a hard teaching. That's why there's within that passage, Jesus says basically that you must hate your family. if you're going to be my disciple. You must love them in such a way that it's so minute compared to the supreme love that you should have for me, that it's kind of like hate. That's a hard teaching, and there's many hard teachings. Now it's one thing when there's this minor offense that's been committed against you. That's one thing, but what happens when it's something really big and something costly and something deeply hurtful to you? That's where it's really hard. That's where the application of this principle of this teaching is so hard. But scripture never qualifies. We're never told, well, in this case, because it's so hard and because it was It would be so impossible to forgive. You don't have to. There's never that sense that we're let off the hook. So obedience means, in this case, forgiveness. That is the motive for the one who forgives. Let's look at the third motive. And it has to do with accountability, the reminder of accountability from verse 22. Meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for I trust that through your prayers I shall be granted to you. Well, this is one of the prison epistles, you know that, and as we read through the letter, like I just did a few moments ago, Paul doesn't shy away from this. He mentioned several times. that he's in prison. So we're aware of that. We're aware of his chains, but he was expecting something. Maybe he was just a little on the optimistic side, but he was expecting that he would be soon released. And so he writes, meanwhile, prepare a guest room for me. The only way that that would be possible was if Paul was released from prison. And he's essentially saying, keep on praying because through your prayers, I believe I'll soon be granted to you. Now, just imagine for a moment that this all happened according to plan, that Philemon kept on praying and the people of God kept on praying and God heard their prayers and Paul was released. And so the first thing he does is to go and visit Philemon. Then they start to talk and they start to visit and there's joy and excitement. Paul's probably going to ask about Onesimus. Where is he? How's he doing? How's the relationship? Is Philemon really going to want to say, well, he showed up about six months ago. He showed up and I just kind of blew him off. And Paul, I just couldn't forgive him. Couldn't do it. That crossed the line for me. Do you really think that Philemon is going to want to say that? I don't think so. That would be awkward to say the least. So yet again, this is Paul's gentle way of saying, hey, I'm coming. I really believe that I'm going to be released, that God is going to hear the prayers of his people and I'm going to come visit you. So get that guest room ready. Put some new sheets on there, make sure it's fresh and ready for me because I'm coming back. And don't you think that Philemon is going to want to be ready in the sense of the relationship being restored, these two brothers coming together once again? Of course he is. And friends, this is yet another reminder that we need the body of Christ and we need accountability. There's this notion that is so common these days that we can follow Jesus, we can be his disciples, and we can just kind of do it on our own, in our own way, without leadership, without accountability. without brothers and sisters who know us and love us. Well, that's just a myth and we don't find that anywhere in Scripture. We need one another. We desperately need one another and we need to be challenged. So this is, again, this is another reminder that not only was Philemon accountable to God, but he was accountable to Paul. And for us, I don't know where you're at, but maybe you need a brother or sister to come alongside you and ask those hard questions. Hey, I know you got this thing with so-and-so. Have you forgiven them? Have you approached them? Have you reached out to them? Have you totally forgiven them? That's why we need accountability. We'll look at number four. We'll call this the importance of maintaining fellowship. Maintaining fellowship. This is verse 23. Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you as do Mark, Arstarcus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers. So as Paul brings this letter to a close, he mentioned several other men by name. And these are brothers in the Lord. In fact, two of them, this is kind of cool, two of them are gospel writers, Mark and Luke. So there was this fellowship, there was this partnership. We talked about this back in the very first week that we were in Philemon and he mentions them. And of course, this was not uncommon for Paul to do so. You might remember back in Colossians. At the end of Colossians in chapter 4, he mentions all of these men. He also mentions Jesus, who's called Justice. Actually, let me go ahead and read this for you. This is interesting. Colossians chapter 4, starting in verse 10, all five of these men are mentioned. Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you with Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, about whom you received instructions. If he comes to you, welcome him. And Jesus who is called justice, these are my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are of the circumcision. They have proved to be a comfort to me. Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you always laboring fervently for you in prayers that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has a great zeal for you. and those who are in Laodicea and those in Hierapolis. Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas greet you. So these five verses here, all five of these men are mentioned with the addition of one. And we could get into the details about these men and what's significant about them and elsewhere where they're mentioned. We're not gonna do that. But I will say that there are several scholars who feel that Colossians and Philemon were to be delivered at the same time by Onesimus. And there's good reason for that. One of them being that the same are mentioned, the same five men here are mentioned. So the gospel is a partnership. We're not in this alone. We don't serve Christ alone. Sometimes it feels that way. Sometimes we do feel very alone. You might remember that's how Elijah felt after he took on the prophets of Baal. He was exhausted. You can just imagine how he felt. But there's always a remnant. There was a remnant back then. There's a remnant today, God has millions and millions of people all over the world. But there is this mutual accountability and as much as possible, we need to come together, we need to gather. And in the same way that Paul would hold Philemon accountable, so too would these brothers. These, as he calls them, fellow laborers. Now, I mentioned that I'm not going to, I wasn't going to talk about any of these men. Well, that's not entirely true. That's not true because I want to mention, I want to highlight Demas. Demas. In 2 Timothy, at the end of 2 Timothy, we read at the end of Colossians, but at the end of 2 Timothy, chapter 4 and verse 10, it says that Demas was in love with the world. And Demas departed, he left Paul. And it's such a sad legacy. At this time, when he was writing Philemon, when he was writing Colossians, Demas was still faithful. He was still part of the group. But the man was in love with the world. And we have every reason to believe that when he left Paul, he left the Christian faith altogether. I mean, I can't tell you that for sure, but it's likely. So this is a warning to us. This is a reminder, number one, that we shouldn't cozy up to the world with all its allurements, with all its seductiveness. This world is not our home. We're just passing through. We're citizens of another world. And of course, that's heaven. But we need to be careful that we're not prideful. The Bible says, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he falls. That could be you, that could be me. And it's another reminder that we need that mutual accountability. We need to maintain fellowship. Rather than leaving Paul, Demas should have remained. But there's a further one. A fifth and final motive, and that is the power of God's grace. And this comes from verse 25, the very last verse, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. So we have this fantastic little letter. And there's a sense in which it ends where it begins or where it began, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. The grace of God in Christ Jesus, so you can't forgive in your own strength. You can't. Especially those times where you've been wronged greatly, you need God's grace and not just in this one instance, we need God's grace to live the whole of the Christian life. We need God's grace and the good news, it's there, it's available for the child of God. So the power of God's grace is available to you. It's available in every sense, in every need. God will meet you exactly where you're at. And really, it's the first word of the gospel. You can't save yourself. You're weak, you're dead in your trespasses and sins. But God. But God intervened and God saves and God delivers and God will give you the grace that you need. Let me invite you to turn to one more passage. It's Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4 verses 29 to 32. So much of what we find. In Paul's letters and really in the whole New Testament has to do with how we relate to one another. How we relate to one another, listen to what he says here, Ephesians 4.29, let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification that it may impart grace to the hearers. It's a great reminder when we speak. Most of the time we speak in the presence of others. And Paul is saying, don't let corrupting words come out of your mouth. Use words that build up, that edify, that impart grace. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted. Forgiving one another, even as God and Christ forgave you. So that's what it comes comes down to. We are going to sin against one another. We are going to hurt one another. And there will be a need for forgiveness and reconciliation. But here's where it's commanded, forgive one another, and here's where it's modeled as God in Christ. Forgave you. So the Lord Jesus, our precious Savior. Our King. He has set the example. And the grace of God has appeared, how? In the Lord Jesus Christ, bringing salvation for all men, bringing salvation for all people. It's the Lord Jesus. So don't try and live the Christian life in your own strength. Lean into God's amazing grace. Where you are weak, he is strong. Well, brothers and sisters, as we conclude, let me just review what we've covered. Let me review the motives of the one who forgives. And there are five. Number one, the joy it brings to other saints. It lifts the whole body of Christ, it brings joy. Number two, the necessity of obedience, forgiveness is commanded. Number three, the reminder of accountability. We're not alone. The importance of maintaining fellowship. There are brothers and sisters in Christ that God has placed in our lives and we need them. And lastly, the power of God's amazing grace. So we have this beautiful letter. It's short and sweet, and boy, does it ever pack a powerful punch. And let me just tell you, it's been more than a little convicting for me. Maybe that's been your experience as we've worked through this letter. How many times should we forgive one another? There's no limit. No limit at all. As we've worked through the letter, we've encountered this theme of forgiveness. We can't get away from it. And I don't know where you're at with this. I really don't know. That's between you and God. Maybe there is someone in your life that you're struggling to forgive. It's so hard, maybe not. But I do know that this letter, this teaching is relevant to you no matter what. And that scripture, it's all relevant. It's so powerful. And if you are struggling to forgive, the Bible is clear, it's crystal clear, release them. Let it go, forgive them from the heart. And what's so interesting, and this is the power of the gospel, as you release them, there's a sense in which you release yourself, you're set free. You see, when we live in bitterness and unforgiveness of heart, it weighs on us, it becomes this tremendous burden. But when we release that and we just Let God take care of it. We end up freeing ourselves. And that freedom is glorious. The Bible says, don't let the sun go down in your anger. So don't put this off, be reconciled to one another. As Christ has forgiven us, so we must forgive one another. That is the power of the gospel. Amen. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word, your wonderful word. And indeed, your word is so challenging at times. But we thank you that you have equipped us with all that we need for life and godliness. And I just pray, I pray for this church family, Lord, that you would continue to unite them to bring them together in the bond of peace. Lord, I pray that if there is a need for reconciliation, that both parties would seek that out. I pray that if it has to do with someone outside the church, Lord, that we would do everything in our power to live in obedience to your word and to seek out brothers and sisters and to forgive from the heart. We thank you for the cross. We thank you that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. What an amazing love, an unfathomable love. And so we worship you, Lord Jesus. We worship you, God the Father. We worship you, Holy Spirit. Help us to apply this to our lives and to our hearts to the glory of your great name. Amen.