pray and we'll ask the Lord to help us. Help us this morning to hear what he has to say to us. Alrighty, Philemon, chapter one, verse 10. I hope you're there. Let's pray. Let's ask the Lord to help us this morning. Heavenly Father, Lord, you are almighty God. Lord, we thank you that in your goodness and kindness to us, you sent your son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you, Lord, that in him there is rest, in him there is peace, there is hope, there is forgiveness and salvation. because of his death, burial and resurrection. Lord, we thank you and praise you for that. And Lord, we thank you for your holy word you've given us. Lord, we thank you that through it we can learn of you. We can learn of our need for you. We can learn, Lord, how you'd have us live here on this earth. Lord, I thank you for the gift of your Holy Ghost. And Lord, this morning I pray that you'd move in us and through us, through your Holy Ghost, Lord, that you would draw us nearer to you. As we sang this morning, Lord, our desire is to be nearer to you. So Lord, I pray you'd draw us near, ever so near to you. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alrighty, Philemon chapter one, verse 10 through to 19. If you're able to stand this morning for the reading of the scripture, that'd be good as we just read this short passage here this morning. The Bible says, I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, 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, mine own bowels, whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel. But without thy mind would I do nothing, that thy benefits should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly. For perhaps he therefore departed for a season that thou shouldest remain forever, not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, especially 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 oath thee ought, 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 owest unto me even thine own self besides. And we'll leave the reading there, you may be seated. This book of Philemon is a letter written by the Apostle Paul unto a man named Philemon and it's primarily dealing with the other man that we read about, Onesimus. And this morning, I believe the Lord just have us look at this short passage here and hopefully it encourages and challenge us through it this morning. So as I said, Paul wrote this book at the beginning of the book, chapter one, verse one, Paul says, Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ and Timothy, our brother unto Philemon, our dearly beloved and fellow laborer. As Paul wrote this, he was a prisoner. He did not have liberty and freedom to move around about howsoever he would choose. Just to give some context, let's turn to the book of Acts chapter 28. Now I mentioned Paul was a prisoner, but he was not a prisoner as we might picture necessarily in our mind at this point in time. Acts 28, verse 16, we'll just read this verse and then we'll jump to the end of the book Acts chapter 28 verse 16, when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard, but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him. Then turn the page, or if you need to, verse 30, and Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house and received all that came in done to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no man forbidding him. All right, so Paul, as he wrote this letter, this is the situation he was in. He was a prisoner, but he was under house arrest. He wasn't stuck in some filthy dungeon somewhere, as he was at other times in his life. He was in Rome, he was waiting to see the emperor, waiting to see the Roman emperor. He'd appealed under Caesar. That's what I was looking for, Caesar. He'd appealed under Caesar. And he found himself in Rome under house arrest, waiting to see Caesar. And it's interesting here, as Paul was there, he was not just idly whiling his time away. The Bible says, Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house and received all that came in unto him. He had the freedom to have people come in unto him. He had people come and see him. And when people came to see him, it's interesting to see what he did in verse 31. People came in unto him, and this is what Paul did. He was preaching the kingdom of God and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no man forbidding him. Paul was not just idly biding his time, waiting to see Caesar. just whiling away the time. People come to see him, he didn't just want to chat about the weather, you know, is it going to rain today, what's happening outside. He didn't just want to catch up on the latest chariot racing results or whatsoever people might have done in those times. You know, they didn't talk about the footy or the fishing, well maybe some people did, but you know, this is what Paul talked about. He talked about preaching, he talked about God. He was preaching, preaching to people who come to see him. He had a heart, to see people saved. He had a heart to see people know the truth of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. He was preaching and teaching. And this is how Paul come across this man Onesimus. Onesimus somehow come across paths with Paul whilst he was in Rome and Onesimus came in under Paul and Paul didn't just chat to him about what was going on but he preached Jesus. Paul preached Jesus. And Paul was a man who practiced what he preached. Let's jump over to Ephesians chapter 5. In Ephesians chapter 5, once again another letter written to the church in Ephesus by the Apostle Paul under inspiration of the Holy Ghost. Ephesians chapter 5 verse 14. The Bible says, see then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit. And it goes on, speaking to yourselves in psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. giving thanks always for all things under God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And he goes on about how we ought to conduct ourselves in amongst the home and in amongst the church of God. But here at the beginning of that passage in verse 16, Paul says, redeeming the time because the days are evil. The days are evil back in Paul's day, the days are evil in our day today. We need to redeem the time. We need to make the most of the time God's given us. Our souls are dying on a daily basis. Our loved ones, our friends, our neighbors, people we don't know, they're all dying. And unless they have the Lord Jesus Christ, they're on a one-way track. to hell and so Paul says walk circumspectly not as fools but as wise make the most of the time you got we don't need to waste our time carrying on about all other things and Paul as he was in prison in Rome you know he was people were coming to see him and so he was giving him the gospel he was preaching Jesus he wanted to see him saved he was making the most of his time The Lord Jesus Christ, and Luke touched on this a few weeks ago, at the age of 12, in the book of Luke chapter 2 verse 49, Jesus said, I must be busy about my father's business. And how are we going with that? We're saved this morning, those of us who are saved, we're children of God, our heavenly father, are we busy about his business? Do we have a heart for the lost? Are we redeeming the time and preaching the gospel and preaching and teaching the Lord Jesus Christ to those who need to hear the good news? Are we making the most of our time? Paul was stuck under house arrest, but that didn't stop him from preaching the gospel. We have different circumstances in life, each and every one of us. Some are able to get around more freely than others, some have more responsibility than others, but each one of us who is a child of God has a responsibility to preach and teach the gospel, especially to our loved ones, to those we have contact with on a regular basis. All righty, let's go back to Philemon. We'll be going, just keep your bookmark there, we'll be in and out of there all morning. It's a hard book to find, so it'd be good if you mark it. All right, this morning we notice in this passage One thing that stands out is Paul's love and his heart for Onesimus. Paul is writing this letter to Philemon, beseeching him. He says in verse 10, where we started the passage, I beseech thee for my son Onesimus whom I have begotten in my bonds. And we see in this passage, the heart that he has for Onesimus and his desire to see Philemon accept him. Now Onesimus, for those who aren't familiar, he was a slave of Philemon, see that's his position in society, he's a slave. But he was in Rome, he found himself in Rome because he was a runaway slave, all right. He had the Bible doesn't tell us exactly what, but he'd been defrauded or stolen or done ill by his master Philemon and taken off to Rome and through the grace and mercy of God in Rome he came across Paul, he heard the preaching and teaching of Paul, he received the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ and And now Paul is sending him back to his master with this request of Philemon. And he says in verse 17, therefore a partner, receive him, talking about Onesimus, receive him as myself, if he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee, or put that on mine account. I, Paul, have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it. All right, Paul says to Philemon, I know this man has done wrong by you, you know, he's not fulfilling his duty as he ought to do, he's done whatever he did, he owes, Onesimus owes a debt to Philemon. He owes a debt to Philemon, and Paul says, I beseech you, receive him, and whatever he owes you, I will pay it. I will pay his debt for him. I tell you what, isn't that what the Lord Jesus Christ did for us? We've got a sin debt, you and I, as human beings, as sinners, have a sin debt that we cannot repay. We owe our very soul for the sins we have committed. The wages of sin is death. that is what we owe, that is what we have earned, that is what we deserve. Damnation in the lake of fire for all eternity but the Lord Jesus Christ came to redeem us. He came and he lived the perfect life and he paid the sacrifice for our sins, he paid the price that we could never pay, that you and I could not hope to pay in all of eternity. The Lord Jesus Christ paid that debt for us And Paul understood that. Paul understood the debt that he owed and he understood the debt that Jesus Christ had paid to him. And Paul understood the commandment that the Lord Jesus Christ gave in John chapter 13. So let's turn there quickly. John, the Gospel of John, chapter 13. And as I said earlier, we see here this morning in this account We see Paul living the Christian life. We see Paul putting into practice the things that Jesus has commanded. John chapter 13 verse 34 and 35, the Lord Jesus Christ whilst he was on earth speaking with his disciples said, A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. Jesus said to his disciples, this is a commandment I'm giving you. Don't love other people as you love yourself. Love others as I have loved you. That's the commandment Jesus Christ gave to his disciples. That's the commandment Jesus Christ has given to you and I, if we are his children this morning, is to love one another as he loved us. And how did Christ show his love for us? That whilst we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He died for you and I. He laid his life down for us. And we often talk about as Christians wanting to have a good testimony. We pray, Lord, help us to have a good testimony in this world and let the light of Christ shine through us. Jesus goes on to say in verse 35, by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples if ye have love one to another. That love, that sacrificial love of laying down our lives for one another as Christ laid down his life for us, that's how others will know that we truly are God's children, that we are his disciples. Turn over to a couple of pages, John chapter 15 verse 12 and verse 13. This is obviously important. Jesus must have been writing to thick-headed people like me. He said, this is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. Just a little while down the track, Jesus repeats himself. He says, this is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. How important is it that we love one another with a Christ-like love, the same way that he loved us? Verse 13, Jesus explains that even more greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. There is no greater way that we can show love than by laying down our life. for those that we love. We say we love somebody, we're going to lay our life down for them. Notice Jesus doesn't say, greater love hath no man than this that a man die for his friends. He says lay down his life. Sometimes in laying down our life, we don't necessarily need to die. We need to die to self, we need to die to our own wants and desires, we need to push aside the things that we want, what's easier for us, what's more comfortable for us. lay down our life for the benefit of others, to be a blessing to others, to show that love for those around us. 1st John, the letter 1st John chapter 3 verse 16 1 John 3 and verse 16, hereby perceive we the love of God because he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. We ought to, not it'd be nice if we do, we don't really have to but it'd be a nice thing to do. No, it says we ought to, that's what we ought to do. If I tell my children they ought to do something, they better do it or there's going to be consequences. They don't do what I tell them to do as consequences. If I say, well, you can do that if you want to or would you like to do that, then they've got a choice. The Lord Jesus Christ is not, God is not giving us a choice here. It says, I lost my spot, what verse we're in? 16. Because, because he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. We see Paul putting this into practice in his letter to Philemon. He writes to Philemon and says, I'm sending Onesimus back to you, I want you to receive him and whatever he owes you, I'm gonna pay it. I'm gonna lay down my life for Onesimus. I'm gonna take money out of my pocket to pay the debt that Onesimus owes you. That's Paul putting into practice his love, showing his love for Onesimus, that he loves him and he is willing to pay his debt that he has earned. That Paul, Paul had nothing to do with it. Paul didn't, you know, he doesn't deserve to pay it but he's willing to pay it for Onesimus because he loves him and he wants to see that relationship restored with Philemon. Let's go back to Philemon now. Verse 12, Paul speaking once again about Onesimus, whom I have sent again. Thou therefore receive him that is mine own bowels, whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel. But without thy mind would I do nothing, that thy benefits should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly. For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him forever. Paul said, I'm sending him back to you, but he said, really, I'd like to keep him here with me. I don't really want to send him back to you. What I'd really like to do is keep him here with me because he's useful to me. He says in verse 10, I would have retained with me that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of gospel. He said, I would have liked to keep Onesimus here with me so he could help me out in the ministry of the gospel. Paul is sending Onesimus back to Philemon because Onesimus is Philemon's servant. Onesimus belongs to Philemon. He doesn't belong to Paul. He belongs to Philemon. So Paul's doing what is the right thing to do and sending him back. Paul is also doing the right thing because Onesimus has to go and make amends with Philemon. Onesimus needs to go to the one he's offended and he needs to repent and get right with him, seek his forgiveness. And as I think about this, and I think about Onesimus, and Onesimus is, you know, he's been born again, he's been saved by the grace of God, he's received salvation, he's received eternal life. Seems as though he's been given a gift to work, a spiritual gift to work in the ministry with Paul. But he knows that he's done wrong by Philemon. He knows he's done wrong and Paul's sending him back there. I can't help but imagine that Onesimus must have a sense of nervousness about the situation heading back and I imagine quite possibly that Paul understands this and as Paul writes this letter, I believe it's quite, this is some things that would have been on Paul's mind, is Paul's attitude about himself and his understanding of his own sin. And we see this, the heart of Paul in 1st Timothy 1, 15 and 16. Paul says, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. Now, Paul understands Onesimus is not the only sinner in the world. Paul understands I'm a sinner, he says Christ Jesus came to save sinners of whom I am chief. Paul recognizes his sin and he says how verse 16 he goes on, how be it for this cause I obtained the mercy that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. I believe Paul is trying to encourage Onesimus and yeah I had a situation like this. Paul had a very similar situation to Onesimus. Onesimus is going back to face the music, so to speak. He's going back to see Philemon, his master, whom he defrauded, he did wrong by him, he ran away. You know, Paul had a somewhat similar situation in the book of Acts, chapter 9. Let's turn to the book of Acts, chapter 9. We'll read a few verses here. Acts chapter 9 verse 17 is where we'll start. But just for a background, for those who may not be familiar, Paul, before he became the apostle Paul, he was Saul of Tarsus. He was the great persecutor of the church in the early days. And he had men and women thrown in jail. He had them killed. He was there when they stoned Stephen. Paul was not mucking around when he said, I'm the chief of sinners. He'd committed great sin and great wickedness, and he knew that. He understood that. But he had received mercy and grace and salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. But nonetheless, Paul had a situation after he got saved. And let's just read now from verse 17. We'll just touch on... this here, Ananias, this is after Saul saw the vision of the Lord Jesus Christ, he was struck down blind and God sent this man Ananias to see Saul and he went his way and entered into the house and putting his hands on him he said, brother Saul, the Lord even Jesus that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest has sent me that thou mightest receive thy sight and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales, and he received sight forthwith, and arose and was baptized. And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus." So there we see Paul, he received salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ, he was baptized, you know, he believed his baptism, he was saved and he was baptized. Then he received meat, he was strengthened, and this is verse 20 now, and straightway he preached Christ. Paul was saved, he was baptized, and he was hanging out with the other Christians in Damascus, and straightaway he started preaching Christ. He started preaching the gospel. He said straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the son of God. See Saul, I mean there's a million messages there, Saul had just gone from getting Christians, arresting them, throwing them in jail, having them stoned and killed and all sorts of horrible persecution that he was one of the ringleaders towards the church. Then the Lord Jesus Christ enters in and he's a changed man. Suddenly he starts preaching the very things that he was persecuting. Verse 21 says, but all that heard him were amazed and said, is not this he that destroyed them which called on his name in Jerusalem and came hither for that intent that he might bring them down unto the chief priest? Everybody knows who he is. It's not some just random Joe Blow coming into Damascus. This is Saul of Tarsus. They all know who he is. All the Christians, they know who he is. They know what he came there for. And the Jews, they know what he came there for. They're like waiting for Paul to start rounding him up and throwing, what's going on here? What's he doing? Why is Paul suddenly preaching the very thing that he was persecuting? Verse 22, but Saul increased the Moor in strength and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ. Now, how important is it to know your Bible? How important is it to teach our young children the scriptures? You know, young children learning the Scripture and doing Scripture memory doesn't save them. But I tell you what, Saul, as a young man, learnt more Scriptures than probably all of us in this room put together. He knew the Old Testament law, and so when he got saved, he could start preaching because he knew what the Bible said. He knew it. You know, I got saved at 27, but praise God, I had parents who taught me the Bible when I was young, and I had somewhat of an understanding of the scriptures, and it was easier for me to learn certain things. I know other people who've been saved at the same age as me, never heard the Bible, you know, at all growing up, and it's such a struggle, and it takes them longer to learn. Saul of Tarsus, he was there proving that Jesus is very Christ. He was preaching the Bible. He knew the Bible, he was preaching it, he was confounding the Jews, so much so that after, verse 23, after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him. They wanted to kill him. The very people who he was working with, his co-workers, suddenly they turned on him and they wanted to kill him. But verse 24, their laying awake was known as Saul, and they watched the gates day and night to kill him. Then the disciples took him by night and led him down by the wall in a basket. And here's where we're getting to for the context this morning. Verse 26, when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he has said to join himself to the disciples, but they were all afraid of him and believed not that he was a disciple. The Saul had been in Damascus. He'd been preaching in the synagogues, confounding the Jews, so much so the Jews wanted to kill him. The disciples in Damascus helped him to escape and he went back to Jerusalem and he wanted to join in with the disciples there, but they were afraid of him. They knew who he was. No mate, you're not joining in with us. We know who you are. We're not stupid. We know what you want to do. verse 27, but Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way and that he had spoken to him and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. Tell you what, I bet you Paul was pretty grateful for Barnabas. He was pretty thankful for Barnabas. He was there, he was saved, and he was in Jerusalem trying to join with the disciples there, and they didn't want anything to do with him because they were scared. And Barnabas said, hey, this guy's for real. He's one of us now. He was our enemy, but now he's one of us. He's a saved, born again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so in the book of Philemon, Paul is writing to Philemon saying Onesimus, he was your enemy. He was supposed to be your slave, he ran away, he defrauded you, he did whatever, but now he's one of us. He's a saved, born again believer. Paul is writing to Philemon to encourage him to accept Onesimus much as Barnabas was encouraged the disciples to accept Paul back in Jerusalem. In Philemon he says, Paul says, Paul requests Philemon to receive him, verse 16, not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord. See, Paul's sending Onesimus back because he's still Philemon's servant, that's his position. In society, that's his role, he's a servant, he belongs to Philemon. But Paul says to Philemon, don't just receive him as a servant only, receive him as a brother. He's a child of God. He's one of your brothers. He's a brother in Christ. 1 Corinthians chapter 7 verse 20. This is interesting here, let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called up. They are called being a servant, care not for it, but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. For he that is called in the Lord being a servant is the Lord's freeman. Likewise, also, he that is called being free is Christ's servant. See, I bought with a price, be not ye the servants of men. Paul is reminding Philemon of this very truth and Onesimus as well, you are called as a servant, you belong to Philemon, you're his servant, go back and serve him and he's saying do Philemon receive him not only as a servant but as a brother in Christ. Ephesians 6, 5 to 9, Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as unto Christ, not with eye service, as men pleases, but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. With good will doing service as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. And ye masters do the same things unto them forbearing threatening, knowing that your master also is in heaven, neither is there respect of persons with him. And also Galatians 3, 26 to 28. For ye are all the children of God, by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. Paul here is encouraging Philemon that yes, in an earthly sense, that Onesimus is your servant, you're his master, you're his servant, but spiritually speaking, you're brothers in Christ. there is neither bond nor free, there is neither Jew nor Greek, we are all one in Christ Jesus. So receive him as a brother. receive him as a brother and treat him spiritually as a brother. Yes, he's your servant. If he's got work to do, put him to work. I just started a new job this week and I'm working for a brother in Christ and I turn up to work and he's my boss and he tells me what to do and I go and do it. That's my job. You go to work, you got a job, your boss tells you to do something, unless it's something unethical or immoral, do what your boss tells you. Do what you're told because he's the boss and you're the servant. But spiritually speaking, Paul's saying here, Philemon, receive him as a brother. He's your brother now. Spiritually, he's the same as you. He's in Christ Jesus just as you and I are. We touched on this a little bit earlier and Paul, back in Philemon now, Paul said, In verse 13, I would like to keep Onesimus here with me, he's useful to me, but I'm sending him back to you. And it's interesting in verse 11, this is Paul's description of Onesimus. He says, which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me. Onesimus as a lost unsaved man, he was discontented with being a servant, he obviously had a rebellious streak in him, he didn't want to serve his master, he wanted to do wrong, he wanted to look after himself, do what he wanted to do, do what was best, what he thought was best for him and he wasn't much use to his master, he was unprofitable. but now he's a changed man. He's not the same man he used to be. Someone gets saved, they're a changed person. They're a different person. They're not the same as what they used to be and Onesimus was living proof of that and Paul said to Philemon, he used to be unprofitable but now he's profitable not only to you but to me. That's why I want to keep him here. I want to keep him here with me because he's helpful, he's useful, he's profitable, he's beneficial to me in the ministry here in Rome. But I'm sending him back to you and now he's coming back to you and don't think he's the same man he used to be. He's not the same man he used to be. He's not that discontented, unruly, thieving, runaway slave that he used to be. He's now a child of God and he's profitable to you. This morning, it'd be good for us to consider Not only are we saved, are those of us who are saved, are we profitable or are we unprofitable? Are we profitable in our service? Galatians 5.13. Galatians 5.13. The Bible says, For brethren, you have been called unto liberty, only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. The liberty we have in Christ is not a liberty, not a freedom just to live for ourselves and do as we please and think about, you know, me, me, me, me, me, but in love serve one another. How's our service? How's our love for one another? Mark 10, Mark chapter 10 verse 42, the Lord Jesus, even the Lord Jesus Christ, God in the flesh. If anybody had a right to walk around thinking everybody else was here to serve them, it's the Lord Jesus Christ. In Mark chapter 10 verse 42 to 45, Jesus called them to him and saith unto them, you know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and their great ones exercise authority upon them, but so it shall not be among you. Whosoever will be great among you shall be your minister, and whosoever of you will be the chiefest shall be servant of all. For even the son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. Lord Jesus Christ, he says even me, even I came to this earth not to be ministered unto, I didn't come here for everyone to run around after me, I came here to minister, to serve and to give my life as a ransom for many. The Lord Jesus Christ came to give his life as a ransom for you and I, to pay that price You know, that ransom money, you know, you might read in Australia it doesn't happen too much, but I know in other countries, in parts of South America and Mexico and Africa and places like that, they have kidnappings and sometimes it's not just kids, they go and they take people who have money and criminals go and take them and send a ransom note and say, hey, you want to see this person alive again, you've got to pay us some money. I know nowadays they do it with those, what do they call those, cyber attacks where, you know, they break into different companies' systems and say, you pay us some money or we're going to shut your system down and all this sort of stuff, it's a ransom, alright? And you and I and every human being on the face of the earth has a ransom on their head, otherwise they're going to hell. That ransom is the Lord Jesus Christ gave his life to pay that ransom, to pay that price. so that we need not face eternity in hell. Mark chapter 8, the Lord Jesus Christ says in Mark chapter 8 verse 36, what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? We live in a world, we live in a society where it's all about gain. Gain, gain, gain, get, work, earn more, get more, buy more, have more, do more. You know, everybody, we want to own a bigger and better house, a bigger and better car. That's what's pushed on us in our society we live in. And people are considered successful by how much they own, how much stuff they have. That's the norm in our society. That's what it's considered to be a successful life is to have a lot. The Lord Jesus Christ says, what shall it profit a man even if he should gain the whole world and lose his own soul? And the next verse says, what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? There's nothing you and I can give in exchange for our soul, nothing. The Lord Jesus Christ came to give his life as a ransom for many. He gave his life in exchange for our soul. And you and I can either receive that by faith, that we are sinners who need to cry out to God with a heart of repentance and fall on our knees before him and say, Lord, I believe. I acknowledge my sin and I want to receive Christ. because there's nothing that you and I can give in exchange for our soul. I just want to show two quick accounts before we close this morning. In Luke chapter 23, the Lord Jesus Christ is hanging on the cross. He is giving his life for our sin. And in verse 39 of Luke chapter 23, there's a couple of criminals hanging on either side of him. Jesus is hanging on the cross, his hands have been pierced, he's been nailed to the cross, he's had nails through his feet, he's hanging there gasping for breath, his back is just screaming out in agony. His back is all busted up and got lacerations all over his body. He's got a crown of thorns shoved in his head. He's got people's spit dribbling down his face from when they've been spitting on him. He's been punched. He's been absolutely persecuted worse than probably any of us could even imagine. And he's hanging there on this cross and he's got a couple of criminals on either side of him and they're hanging there In verse 39 of Luke 23 says, one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, if thou be Christ, save thyself and us. Lord Jesus Christ is hanging there in agony for you and for me. That's the reason why he's there, is because of his love for us, because he's laying down his life for us. And whilst he's hanging there in physical agony and turmoil and anguish, this other guy has the cheek to say, if you be the Son of God, save thyself and us. then the guy on the other side verse 40 but the other answering rebuked him saying dost thou not fear God seeing thou art in the same condemnation and we indeed justly for we receive the due reward of our deeds but this man hath done nothing amiss so you know what so amazing about the Lord Jesus Christ is he'd done nothing amiss. He didn't deserve to be hanging there. He didn't deserve any sort of any form of punishment or correction or discipline because he had lived the perfect life. He is the perfect Lamb of God without spot and without blemish that taketh away the sin of the world. But the two criminals on either side, they're just like you and I. They're sinners. They're born into sin. They're sinful by nature. They're sinful by deed. They've committed sins. And some of us might think, oh, they've done worse, more horrible things than us. I've never stolen off anybody. But have you really? Have you really never stolen? I know I have. I know all my kids have. They've taken things without permission. You know, that's stealing. Taking something that's not yours without permission is stealing. Whether it be a biscuit out of the biscuit tin or money out of someone's bank account or someone's car, it's stealing. Stealing is stealing. Now, you and I are guilty. We deserve to be hanging there on that cross. And this one, this one criminal, he realized that and he said, we deserve to be here, Jesus doesn't. You and I deserve to be hanging here, but he doesn't. Don't you fear God? Don't you have a fear of God? And then that man, that same man, verse 42, he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, verily I say unto thee, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. This man hanging on the cross, he recognised his sin, he recognised it for what it was, and a fear of God came across him, and he recognised where he was about to be, he was about to die. And he realised that in a few moments, however long it was until he died, he wrote, soon I'm going to be in hell. Soon I'm going to leave this earth and because of my sin, because I've offended God, I'm going to be in hell. And that woke him up. And he had a fear of God come across him and he said, Lord, remember me. He repented and he believed. He showed a heart of repentance. He recognised his sin. He acknowledged that he deserved that punishment. But he showed a heart of belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, you've done nothing wrong. You don't deserve to be here. He said, Lord, remember me. One last passage here and then we'll close. Luke chapter 16. Luke chapter 16 verse 19, there was a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fed sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus which was laid at his gate full of sores and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. We got a rich man who had nice clothes, he had a nice place to live, he had all the food he could want, he had the best food he could want, You know, he didn't like something, he didn't eat it. You know, he didn't have to eat things he didn't like because he had enough money to just get whatever the best he wanted, the best steak, the best whatever he wanted, he ate it. If he didn't like it, he just chucked it on the floor for the dogs. He had everything, as this world would seem to think. As this world would tell us, he had it all. He fed sumptuously. He had more than enough. He had the best of everything and laying outside of his gate was a man, the complete opposite, a man who had nothing. He didn't even have good health. Didn't even have good health, he was covered in sores. The only good thing in his life, there were two good things in Lazarus' life, two good things. When the dogs licked his sores and when he found some crumbs to eat. How's that for a life? We whinge and complain about it sometimes, we got it tough. Verse 22, it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. Lazarus was obviously a believer in God and he was content. You know, the Bible says godliness with contentment is great gain. This man Lazarus, he had that. He didn't have much of a life, but he had godliness, he had contentment. And he died and he was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. And it says the rich man died and was buried. The rich man died too. It's like you and I, we're going to die. Everyone you know, everyone you love is going to die one day. The rich man died, and he was buried. Verse 23, in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. This rich man, he found himself in hell because whilst he was on this earth, he was too busy just enjoying life, living for himself, doing as he pleased, living the life he wanted to live with no regard for God or anybody else. Didn't even have time to take Lazarus in and take care of him. He was sitting right at his front gate. He would have walked past him every day or driven past him on his chariot and just thumbed his nose at him. He had no time for God. He was just living a good, just enjoying life, just having a good life. And he died. He found himself in hell and in torments where he just wanted just a drop of water. Just one drop of water would have been just so good. So good just to have one drop. That's the state he found himself in, in hell, that he just wanted one drop of water. He cried out for mercy, but it was too late. See, mercy is available now. Mercy is freely available now. Right now, there is mercy freely available. But once you die and leave this earth, mercy is no longer available. It's too late. Abraham, verse 25, said, Son, remember that in thy lifetime receives thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. So that rich man, that rich man who died, over 2,000 years ago is still suffering in the lake of fire, still screaming out for a drop of water and will be forevermore tormented forever and ever and ever, screaming out for a drop of water. But Lazarus is comforted. Lazarus is comforted. He's not bothered by sores anymore. He's not hungry anymore. He's with God. He is comforted forevermore. No more tears for him. No more heartache, no more pain for Lazarus. Verse 26 continues, Father Abraham continues on, Beside all this between us and you there is a great gulf fixed so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot, neither can they pass to us that would come from thence. You know, sometimes we talk about, you know, you might hear some people saying they're trying to sit on the fence. There's no fence. It's a great gulf. You can't sit on a great gulf. People who want to try and sit on the fence and have a foot in both camps, you can't do that. You can't have a foot in Christ and a foot in the world. There's a great gulf. It's not a fence, it's a gulf and no one can pass except through the blood of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only way to pass that gulf from death into life, from hell unto heaven. It is only through the Lord Jesus Christ. And this man, he says in verse 27, and he realizes the hopelessness of his situation and he's resigned to that hopelessness. And he says, I pray thee therefore, Father, that thou wouldst send him to my father's house, for I have five brethren that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. And Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. And he said, Nay, Father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. You know, I have people say to me sometimes, I've had it said to me on more than one occasion, oh, I want to go to hell. I want to go to hell because my family's in hell and we're going to have a party in hell. Some people say that. Now, that's foolish. That's a lie of the devil. That's foolish. If you've got family and friends in hell, you know what they're doing? They're praying that you would hear the gospel, that you would repent and receive the Lord Jesus Christ so you don't have to go there and be with them and suffer that torment forever and ever. Your friends don't want you there. Your family don't want you there. If they're there, they don't want you there. This man, he realized the hopelessness of his situation and he said, please send someone. Please send someone. The Bible tells us and commands us as Christians to preach the gospel. To preach the gospel. If you're saved this morning and your loved ones aren't, we need to pray and we need to preach. That's the only way they will avoid the lake of fire, the place of torment. And if you're not saved this morning, that's where you're headed. And it could be tonight, it could be tomorrow, it could be in a hundred years. But except you repent, you will likewise perish. Let's pray. Shane, can you pray? Family and Father, we thank you for this message, Lord. We thank you for the silence of the Lord. I really pray, Father, help us in the Lord that you're going to understand that one day He's going to die and He's going to stand before you. And tomorrow's my guarantee. If the Lord's speaking to you this morning, Spend time with him if you want someone to spend time with you, grab somebody if you want to or just get with the Lord by yourself. Otherwise...