Okay, shalom everyone. It's nice to be able to be together on Shabbat meeting to learn from the Word of God and it is always a privilege to study the Scripture. And the reason that we at Holy Scriptures in Israel are gathering together every Saturday, Shabbat, or every Friday for our Bible classes, it is to study the Scriptures. And today we are going to talk about a very short letter in the Brit HaKadasha in the New Testament, the book of Philemon. And I would like you to turn to Philemon today. And if you arrive to the book of Hebrews, you're just past Philemon. I know it is a letter that is often not being read, but I think, and I do believe, that the scripture or the spirit of God that placed this book in the canon of scripture for the reason that God wanted to communicate with us the importance of forgiveness.

Now it is amazing how important for a Christian, for a follower of the Messiah, to learn about forgiveness. After all, brothers and sisters, remember where you came from and where I came from.

We were all, one day, we were all away from the Lord Jesus, away from Yeshua the Messiah, and god had reached down to us god had done something for us that no one else have ever done this for us god sent the messiah yeshua he came from heaven to a world full of sin and sinners such as us and the lord yeshua the lord jesus the messiah paid a price a costly price a price that none of us could ever pay back to God he died for us on the tree he suffered by the hands of men but also by the hands of a holy and a righteous God if you remember when he was

on the tree Yeshua said my God my God why has thou forsaken me he said Eli Eli lama azavtani why you forsook me and you remember what the psalmist answered in psalm 22 the psalmist through really speaking as the voice of the messiah he said to god thou art holy thou that inhabitest the praises of israel god is a holy god we all have sinned and come short of the glory of god and god made a way a way for us to receive forgiveness of sins through the price that Yeshua the Messiah had paid for us on the cross and you know he is no longer on the cross he is no longer in the

tomb but God had raised him and placed him in heaven and as he placed him in heaven he formed the body of messiah the body of messiah is a composition of jewish people and gentile nine non-jewish people who are saved who are forgiven who have been brought into this body of messiah and we are all together have been saved redeemed and brought into this body and it's here and now where we need to learn to forgive other people to forgive each other and in this little letter very short letter the letter that is called Philemon it is addressed to a man by the name of Philemon that Shaul Paul the apostle wrote to him and

I presume that perhaps Shaul did not even know that God will choose to place this little letter, 25 verses, in the canon of scriptures.

And he had placed this in the canon of scriptures as part of the divine record that God had given to us in our hands, using mostly Jewish people to write this word. and this letter was written to this man by the name of Philemon and who knows if Shaul, if Paul had any idea that you and I will read this letter today. He wrote it to Philemon, he assumed it was going to be written and given to the family and to the local assembly there but he perhaps did not have any idea that many throughout the generations will read this letter. So I want today to read a portion of this letter.

We're going to perhaps take a few meetings on that. And let me begin by reading from verse 1. Philemon, verse 1. Paul, a prisoner of Yeshua the Messiah, And Timothy, our brother, unto Philemon, our dearly beloved and fellow laborer. And to our beloved Aphia and Archippus, our fellow soldier, and to the assembly in thy house. Grace to you, and peace and shalom from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, Yeshua HaMashiach. I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers, hearing of thy love and faith which thou had toward the Lord Yeshua, the Lord Jesus, and towards all the saints. That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.

For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother. Wherefore, though I might be much bold in the Messiah to order thee that which is fitting or convenient, Yet, for love's sake, I rather beseech thee, being such an one as Paul the age, and now also a prisoner of Yeshua the Messiah, 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, and 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 benefit should not be, as it were, of necessity, but willingly. For perhaps he therefore departed for a season that thou should receive him forever. Not now as a servant, but above-servant, a brother beloved, specially to me. but how much more to thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord. I'll stop with the reading here in verse 16. We continue next time, Lord willing, from verse 17 to the end. But I want you to just realize, as we are speaking this message today about the letter that Shaul, Paul, wrote to Philemon, And I want you to realize that there's some things that you and I don't read here in this passage, but we kind of understand it because of the things that the Apostle Paul writes to Philemon.

The story is actually like this, that Philemon was a well-to-do man. He had been a man that had been rather wealthy, a well-to-do, a man that had slaves serving him, In his home, it had been told that in the time that the Romans were in power, they were about, every second individual may have been a slave. They said that about 60 million slaves have existed in the time when the Apostle Paul is writing this letter, about 64 A.D. Millions of slaves. Millions of people that were slaves and they were like merchandise, like a property of a wealthy man. You would buy a slave and you would sell a slave.

You will use a slave for whatever you need in your home life. And apparently what happened, this man by the name of Philemon, his name mean affectionate or one who kisses. He was a well-to-do man and apparently had a slave by the name of Onesimus. And Onesimus stole or took something from Philemon and ran away. the city of rome what did he do he he took something or perhaps he didn't take anything but he he he have fled from his master philemon and as he fled he fled to the to the to the city of rome and in rome he could kind of be part of the whole multitude of people who were going through rome because Rome was a central city.

People were coming by, going in and coming out. And the Onesimus ran away from his master and seeking to find his new life in Rome. And apparently, he was confronted and met the Apostle Paul. And I tell you, anyone who met the Apostle Paul had been exposed to the love of Yeshua, the Messiah, to the message of the gospel. Paul, wherever he had gone, whether he was in jail as a prisoner in Rome or whether he was traveling around to meet believers in the assemblies in Asia Minor, wherever he had been, he was preaching the word of God. And Onesimus, a runaway slave, had been met by the apostle Paul and he was exposed to the gospel just like you and I coming from many areas many locations in this world including like myself in Israel I heard the gospel of course in Israel from my wife Irene before being my wife I heard about the Messiah about Yeshua but it was here that I have accepted the Messiah and you as well you whatever part of your life whatever area of your life that you are living and you've been traveling and you've been exposed to the message of the gospel.

And when you've been exposed, you've been confronted with the claims of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, that he loved us, he gave his life for us and died for us on the tree and that we are doomed to eternal separation from God without the work of the Messiah on the cross. And by the grace of God, we have accepted the Messiah into our life. Here is a man by the name of Onesimus that his name actually means profitable. We'll talk about it in a moment. He is exposed to the message of the gospel, the claims of Yeshua the Messiah through the Apostle Paul and gloriously got saved.

He embraced the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, as his Lord and Savior. And apparently, he began to share with Paul about his life. And he was telling to Paul, and I do not know how and what way, but he was telling to Paul some of the stories about his life. He says, you know what? I'm actually a runaway slave. And I fled for my master. And I came to Rome because I was tired of being enslaved, the way perhaps I was treated and so on, and it's not an easy life to be a slave. And a slave, dear brothers and sisters, in a time when the Romans were in power, a slave that was caught, run away, has a chance to lose his life.

The master can do with him whatever he pleases. And so here, as he's sharing with the Apostle Paul about his history, Perhaps Paul was asking, where did you run away from? Well, he said, I ran away from Colossae. Well, you were in Colossae, what were you doing there? Well, this is where my master is from. And perhaps he was sharing the name of Philemon from Colossae. And Paul was saying, Philemon? Well, I know Philemon. I know Philemon, I've never been in his home, and I've never been in Colossae, but I know of Philemon, and he began to tell him who he was. And he says, yes, this is my master.

And so the Apostle Paul, now as he was sharing with him, as Onesimus was sharing with him about his history, The Apostle Paul now wanted that Philemon will do things right before the Lord and before his master from whom he ran away. And so really the whole letter that we have here, the whole letter that was written to Philemon is a letter that was written to an individual personally. It's an intimate letter of one older brother who writes to a younger man and he's writing a letter of affection and love towards this brother. And I want you just for a moment to turn with me to Colossians, for a moment to see the connection.

In Colossians chapter 1, look what we read there. The book of Colossians chapter 1. I want you just to see that, what we read there in Colossians. We read that the Apostle Paul heard of the brethren in Colossae. While he was not there, he heard about this assembly, these brethren there. It says here in verse 4 of Colossians chapter 1, Since we heard of your faith in the Messiah Yeshua, and of the love which ye have to all the saints. Notice what it says in verse 9 of Colossians chapter 1. For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you and to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.

You see, Paul, Shaul, was not in Colossae, but he heard of the brothers and sisters in Colossae. And this assembly, apparently in Colossae, had been established by individuals who heard the gospel in Asia Minor, perhaps in Ephesus, where they were traveling to Ephesus, and Paul was over two years in Ephesus, and he was teaching the word of God, And many from Asia Minor came and heard the message of the gospel and went back to their own cities and shared that message. And in assemblies, a congregation, and local churches have been formed. Brothers and sisters, let me just mention here something. You don't need to go to a school anywhere in order to be a Christian and to form an assembly.

We do not need to go to any official school. We need to hear the message, read the word, share it with others, and God will use us and others to form local assemblies in various cities and towns and area in this world. That is exactly what happened in the city of Colossae. A person like Philemon and others perhaps have gone to Ephesus, heard the message that the Apostle Paul, we read it in Acts chapter 19 and chapter 20, heard the message of the gospel and have gone back to their cities and formed, by the grace of God, a local assembly. And there Philemon was sharing the word as well.

And Onesimus fled, went to Rome, got exposed to the gospel, got gloriously saved, And now the Apostle Paul told him, after he heard the story from him, he says, Anisimus, it is the right thing to go back to your master and set things in order. Go back to where you fled from. You shouldn't have fled from there. You shouldn't leave your master without his approval. Don't allow this to remain this way. Go back to where you came from and set things in order. And so one more verse I want to read in the book of Colossians chapter 4. Actually, no, yes, in Colossians, I'm sorry, in chapter 4, at the end of the epistles, the apostle Paul is writing there, and you notice what he said in verse 16.

When this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of Laodicea, and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. So apparently what happened is that we read that this epistle to the Colossians was read, that the apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians was read, but alongside with it was also the letter that was sent by Onesimus to Philemon was also read by the whole assembly. And so now look at the interesting thing that we learn here in this letter.

First of all, the thing that we read immediately is verses 1 to 3 the apostle Paul is giving the greeting to Philemon verses 1 2 and 3 are the greetings to Philemon he's saying to him look what he says first of all verse 1 Paul was a prisoner of the Lord Jesus the Messiah it says here in verse 1 Paul a prisoner of Jesus the messiah and timothy our brother unto philemon our dearly beloved and fellow laborer see the apostle paul was a prisoner in rome and while he was a prisoner of the romans he actually the reason that he was a prisoner is because of the work that he had been serving the lord

jesus the messiah as he was serving the lord as he was preaching the gospel he was sent to rome and he ended up to be a prisoner in rome but you notice that he doesn't call it i'm a prisoner by the romans but the opposite he says i'm a prisoner of jesus the messiah he was a bond slave a servant a prisoner he was a prisoner because of the message of the gospel he was placed in rome not because of any wrongdoing that he have done but because he served the lord jesus the lord yeshua and the messiah i am a prisoner of jesus the messiah and notice that in his writing to philemon he

said to him, and our brother Timothy, verse 1, he always loved to include other people in his ministry.

He takes this younger brother by the name of Timothy, and he's including him as he's writing this letter. Philemon, I'm writing this letter, but it is not only me, it is me, Paul, and Timothy, our brother. He doesn't call himself here an apostle. He He could have said, I, Paul, the apostle of Jesus, the Messiah. But he doesn't say it. When he's appealing to Philemon, because he's sending Onesimus with this letter, he wants to appeal to the heart of Philemon and to the necessity of being a forgiving individual. And he's calling himself a prisoner. I'm in jail. I'm a prisoner. I'm a servant. I'm in prison because of the work of the Lord, because of Yeshua, the Messiah, and also for Yeshua, the Messiah.

And so, he is addressing Philemon. Unto Philemon, our dearly beloved, notice he loved him, our dearly beloved and fellow laborer. Philemon, you are a laborer with us. You are dear, a brother in the Lord. You are serving the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, together with me. I might do it in Rome, wherever I am, And you would do it in Colossae, wherever you are. We are both fellow laborers, core laborers. We serve the Lord, the same purpose, the same goal, the same Savior, the same Lord, the same company which we want to be a blessing to, the church, the assembly, the congregation. In addition to that, he is also addressing his, perhaps some suggest that his own family, Perhaps his wife, his son, and the local assembly.

Look at this. In verse 2, it says here, And our beloved Afiya, if you would read it in Hebrew, it's a feminine name, and Archippus, our fellow soldier. Some suggest that Afiya was his wife. And that here we have Archippus would be his son, in which you could see that here is a family serving the Lord together, the husband, the wife, the son, participating in the work of the Lord. He called Archippus a fellow soldier. You notice that in verse 1 he called Philemon fellow laborer. In verse 2, he called Archippus fellow soldier. How many times we find in the scripture the necessity of being a soldier for the Lord.

Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy chapter 2 that to be a soldier for Yeshua the Messiah. What a soldier does. It's a matter of endurance. It's a matter of fighting the good fight for Yeshua the Messiah. Continue on. Pursuing forward difficulties and challenges come into the life of the believer. But he pursue, she pursue. They move forward as they serve the Lord. They fight the good fight. Paul said that at the end of his life, I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. They have set for me a crown. He's looking forward for the time that he would meet the Lord. And so how beautiful is this, beloved brothers and sisters.

He's writing to Philemon, he's speaking about his wife, he's speaking about his son, and he's calling them fellow laborers, fellow soldiers. But you notice what he had at the end of verse 2. He's adding, and to the church which is in your house. You know, today, in the country in which we live in, The church, the assembly, you notice that, he's calling that a church or assembly in your house. Many times I have to make this point that the church is not the building. The church is not the bricks, the cement, the blocks, the wood. No, that is not the church. The church are the believers.

The individual believers, as living stones, are those that are forming the body, the ecclesia, the body of Messiah. And apparently in those days, when a church was planted, they were meeting together in a home. And it looks like from this chapter, from this letter, that Philemon used his house for a place of gathering of the saints. What a privilege he must have had every week on a regular basis, just like you and I, coming for Bible study, prayer meeting, and coming for the listening to the Word of God, the teaching and so on, gathering together in a home. Philemon was the host. His wife, perhaps, Afia was hosting and preparing things around for everybody, gathering together in a home.

and the home become a place for the church to meet, for the ecclesia, for the gathered saints to meet. And so he's writing to Philemon, to Iphea, to Archippus, and to the rest of the brothers and sisters that gathered in the home. What a privilege it is. By the way, the way to meet in homes was not a strange thing. In Israel, the early believers were meeting in homes. They were gathering together in homes. And a home became a place of the gathering of the saints. In 1 Corinthians chapter 16, we read that the church in their house, or in his house, the assembly in the house.

Romans chapter 16 and verse 5 also mention the local church which is in the house. The homes were used as a place of gathering. and so he's writing in the introduction as he's greeting him he was telling him i'm a prisoner for yeshua the messiah and i'm he's addressing philemon he's addressing his wife he's addressing his son he's addressing the local assembly and he's telling them in verse three grace to you and peace from god our father and our lord jesus the messiah grace hebrew chesed shalom hebrew or peace in Hebrew shalom, the grace and the peace from God will be in you and with you. That's what his wish for Philemon and his family, and Philemon and the assembly that were locally meeting in his house.

So, beloved brothers and sisters, as he's writing this letter, as he's greeting Philemon and his family, he's opening words. Paul, when he opens his words and he's writing this letter to him he's desiring to appeal to his conscience and to his heart you notice how nice paul sharing things with the ones that he wrote to you sometimes you have to act strongly and harshly because there is a need for correction on another time he's appealing to the heart and the conscience and and in a gracious way he's working he's writing a letter words of encouragement to this brother after all he had a man a slave that ran away from his house he perhaps needed him for one reason or another and now he wants he wants a Paul wants a Philemon to receive him back in a way in a proper way with a proper attitude and so now in verses 4 to 7 Paul's opening his letter with words of encouragement he's saying to him first of all look he said in verse 4 I thank my God making mention of you always in my prayers he was a man of prayer Paul never forgot Philemon even though he was never in Colossae in his local assembly in the house where he lived but he always apparently prayed and mentioned Philemon before God in prayer.

I'm wondering how many people the Apostle Paul knew and how many people he was praying for. He said, I thank my God making mention of you always in my prayers. Brothers and sisters, listen to this. If there is anything that we need today to do for each other is to pray for each other. This is so essential in the life of the believer. A healthy community of believers is a community of believers who are praying with each other and for each other. Do you want to have a healthy congregation and a fellowship of believers? You must have, and I must, have an attitude that our Apostle Paul have here.

Praying for the brethren. Instead of accusing the brethren, or speaking against the brethren, there is such an essential thing is to pray, to make mention of you always before God in my prayers. Do you know what's going to happen if you have a problem with a brother or a sister, and you just seem to not get along with them, you know the best thing to do? It's when you go home, and before you go to bed, why don't you talk to God about the very same brother or sister that we have a problem with. Of course, the Apostle Paul didn't have a problem with Philemon here, but there is a clue, there is an answer to the clue, there is an answer to the question that we have, how can we succeed to be a blessing and to grow spiritually not only the groups but even we personally the answer is to take things to the lord in prayer he's saying to philemon i thank my god making mention of you always in my prayers notice he says two times the word my here my god and my prayer my god and my prayer i'm philemon what i do in my life i'm praying for you always i'm praying for you i'm talking to my god and i'm telling to my god about you in my prayer life and it is so necessary for the believer to understand that and to be like the apostle paul praying for philemon and thanking god for him thanking god for him then then what what he does in verse 4 a paul a what what he does he's he's in verse in verse 5 he's mentioning and reminding and or remembering the the love and the faith which Philemon had towards God and towards the people of God.

Apparently, Philemon had a good record. It says in verse 5, I heard of your love and faith, which you have, number one, towards the Lord Yeshua, and number two, towards all the saints. What a testimony Philemon had. Paul hearing in Rome about things that happened in Colossae in this local assembly there. He had never been there. But he heard of two things. Of the love that existed in the life of Philemon and the faith that he had towards the Lord Jesus the Messiah. Philemon loved the Lord. And Philemon trusted the Lord. He had faith towards the Lord. And you see that it's not only towards the Lord but it is towards the Lord and towards all the saints, all the brothers and sisters.

This is a good record to have. I wonder when people hear about me, people hear about you, what would they say? Oh, you know, brother so-and-so, sister so-and-so, can they say the things that Paul heard about Philemon? I heard about your love. I heard about your faith. Towards God, towards Yeshua, the Messiah, but also towards all the saints. And by the way, the saints are not always behaving as saints. You know, the saints are sometimes very difficult and complicated, and sometimes aggressive, and maybe not appreciating what they receive, and they don't behave always the way we all don't behave the way we should behave all the time.

nevertheless philemon's record number one love number two faith love the lord yeshua love the brothers and sisters treat them in a way that is honoring to the lord look at his behavior that his conduct that the philemon had what a wonderful testimony and paul brings it out he's beginning to write the letter he's going to appeal to him on behalf of Onesimus but before he even mentioned Onesimus he is speaking about the character of this man by the name of Philemon a man of God his home was a place where he used as the assembly where the people gathered together the meeting place his wife his son he sought to teach them and to lead

them in the ways of the lord and then later on we can see that there was evidence in his life he was a man that had love towards yeshua and faith towards yeshua and love towards the saints of god and so in verse 6 and 7 you can see as he developing lord philemon faith was effective and it was known in verse 6 it says and the communication of thy faith which thou has towards in verse i'm sorry verse the communication of thy faith may may become effectual by the knowledge or the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in messiah Yeshua in Christ Jesus what does that mean the communication of thy

faith become effectual it simply means that when they heard about the faith of Philemon it become effectual in other words that everybody heard there was an effect there was it was effective people have acknowledged that and benefited from that it says that the communication of thy faith may become effectual by how by the knowledge or the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in christ jesus everything that he would do or have done it become effective when people have heard about it and acknowledge that and others have benefit from this but not only his faith in verse 6 notice in verse 7 in verse 7 it says for we have great joy and

consolation in thy love because the bowels of the saints are refreshed refreshed by the brother you see what happened what what philemon was actually doing that in his service for the lord in his faith and love that he that he have a practice in his life people have been refreshed brothers and sisters listen we need to refresh the brethren the believers how can we refresh our brothers and sisters how can you come to a meeting and be refreshed you know what is the refresh when you have a glass of water and you are you are so thirsty and you drink from this glass of water it's really refreshing to your body it's reviving you it

is encouraging you to walk with the lord i should say here to continue to to continue to move about and to and to to to be to to be living for the lord that is exactly what the apostle paul is telling philemon he says listen by the way you conducted yourself you refresh the saints let me show you a verse that the pastor that the yeshua the messiah told the disciples when he was still here alive before he went to the cross john chapter 13 turn to the gospel of John chapter 13.

John 13, verse 1. John chapter 13 and verse 1, look what Yeshua is saying to the disciples that were with him. It says in verse 1 of John chapter 13 he says now before the feast of pesach when yeshua knew that his hour was come and that he would depart out of this world unto the father having loved his own which were in the world he loved them unto the end what did he do to prove his love and supper being the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Ischariot Simon's son to betray him Yeshua knowing that the father had given all things into his hand and that he came from God and he went to God he rises up from supper he laid down his garments he took towel and he girded himself After that, he poured water into a basin, and he began to wash the disciples' feet, and he wiped them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

In the middle of the supper, the Passover seder, Yeshua rises up, he takes a towel, he girds himself, he takes a basin, he pours water into the basin, and he began to wash his disciples feet one by one you notice how humiliating it must have been how he had to humble himself to come to the to if you to bow down to beside everyone and to wash the disciples feet there were dirty feet walking in the desert walking in the in the in the in the in the mountains walking in the city of Jerusalem and all the dusty city sand and so on. And the Lord of glory taking the time to wash and to refresh his disciples.

The thought here is very precious. The necessity of refreshment, the feet washing is often in the Middle Eastern time representing a cleansingness as well as refreshment. You remember Father Abraham years ago when he was in the land, in the desert there. And the three men came and one of them of course was the Lord. And the first thing he does is come into my tent and I will wash your feet. And the washing of the feet becomes symbolically in scripture a refreshment to the saints. And how we did that brothers and sisters. Now the water represents the word of God, and the washing of the feet represents the necessity to be refreshed as we read the scripture, as we meditate upon the Lord, as we get an encouragement from our brothers and sisters through the scriptures to continue on in our walk with the Lord.

Now here come the Apostle Paul, and he's writing to Philemon, and he says, Philemon, look, I want to tell you, I heard of your love. I heard of your faith, and what a joy it gives us when we heard about your love because the bowels of the saints were refreshed by you, brother. You know, the bowels is the inside of the saints. When Philemon was serving the brothers and sisters, they were encouraged. He was an encourager. He was a refresher. He was a kind of a brother that you can come and stand and be with him and you can get encouraged. When you leave him, you get an encouragement.

What a sad thing if we are talking with each other and we leave each other and we go home and we're saying oh boy i shouldn't have spent this time with this brother with this sister because i was more discouraged than encouraged you see paul calling him brother is saying listen brother philemon many of the saints have been encouraged by your words whatever you have said to them had been encouragement your love gave refreshment to their hearts and they continue on they've been refreshed in the things of the lord that's what our pastor paul is saying to philemon We need those brothers and sisters in the midst of us.

Every one of us need to be refreshed and encouraged by these kind of brothers and sisters in the Lord. So Paul is writing to Philemon. He's writing to him because he's intending now to appeal to his conscience and his heart with the thought of necessity to forgive. Because there was one man by the name of Onesimus, a servant, who were a runaway slave, who ran away from Philemon and accepted the Messiah in the city of Rome through the Apostle Paul. And so, verses 1 to 7, we have just covered the introduction, the opening, and the Apostle Paul gave him the greeting and gave him a word of encouragement about the man by the name of Philemon.

So now let's move on to verse 8. From verse 8 to verse 16, the Apostle Paul now shifting to beseeching Philemon on behalf of Onesimus. Now he's coming to him and he beseeched him on behalf of this man who ran away by the name of Onesimus. Look what he does. First of all, in verse 8, he is telling Philemon, listen, I could come to you and I could command you. I could command you as an apostle. I could command you now. He says in verse 8, wherefore, though I might be much bold in the Messiah, to order thee that which is fitting. He says to him, listen, Philemon, I could now come to you and I could boldly order you to do what I want you to do.

But he says, I'm not going to come to you this way. You know, the Apostle Paul had an authority. He was an apostle. He had an authority when he spoke. He had an authority. What he said, because he was sent by God, he was an apostle. He had an authority when he spoke. His word was an authority from the Lord. But he didn't want to come this way. He did not want to commend Philemon to do the right thing. But he wanted him, he wanted to do it because of his heart understanding the heart of Christ, the heart of the Messiah. And so in verse 8 he says, listen, though I might be much bold in the Messiah to order you because it is fitting, but yet I've chosen to appeal to you in a different way.

And so in verse 9, instead of commanding, he beseeching him. He appealed to him. He says, listen, I appeal to you, I beg you, I beseech you. Notice it says in verse 9, there are threefold reasons in verse 9 why he beseeched him. On what basis I should say he beseeched him. In verse 9 he says, yet for love's sake, I rather beseech you being such an one as Paul the age. And now also a prisoner of Yeshua the Messiah. You notice that in verse 9? Three bases upon which the Apostle Paul beseeched Philemon. The first thing, for love's sake. Listen, I'm telling you that I want you to do what I'm calling you to do about this man by the name of Onesimus, for love's sake.

Do you love Jesus? Do you love the Messiah? Do you love mankind? On this basis, I want you to do the forgiveness to this man, on a basis of love remember brothers and sisters when we read in the bible john 3 16 for god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son first john tell us the father sent the son to be the savior of this world we read in scripture a galatians chapter 2 the son of god who loved me and gave himself for me on the basis of love. I want you to deal with Onesimus on a basis of love, for love's sake.

Don't ever forget that you and I are recipients of the love of God. If we don't love others in some small measure, we are really not practicing what the Lord called us to do, for love's sake. Secondly, in verse 9, not only on the basis of love, but on the basis of the fact that I am an older brother. You notice he says, I have been so or been such in one as Paul the aged. Now, Paul was not really that old. He was about 60 or so, 65 years old at that time when he wrote it in 64 AD about, which is rather young for some of us here thank god for those who are all the brethren here with us and we thank the lord for them but remember today the span of life is much longer than the time that they lived about 2 000 years ago today by the grace of god the lord give us a longer span of life some people lived in 75 85 and even 95 and over 100 we hear of some that are even past 100 years of age and are still here and still effective and still moving about.

But Paul was getting older and he was writing to Philemon. He says, listen, not only for love's sake I want you to do what I'm expecting you to do, but also because I'm an older man, an older brother, for my sake, for my sake. In other words, he appealed to Philemon to recognize that he's older than him, number one, but he's also getting up in age. And then thirdly, in the same verse, he's saying, but also because I'm also now a prisoner of Yeshua the Messiah. Philemon, I'm going to ask you to do something for me on behalf, to do something for Anisimus, for my sake and for your sake, because I'm not only, I want you to do it because of love's sake, Not only because you're doing it for me as an older brother, an older man, but also the fact because look where I am.

I am in prison. I am a prisoner of Yeshua and the Messiah. It's like almost preparing him to do something and appealing to him, appealing to his conscience, appealing to his heart, and challenging him to act upon because of love, because Paul is getting older, and because Paul is a prisoner of Yeshua, the Messiah. And so, it says here, in the next verse, in verse 10, Paul is telling Philemon of Onesimus salvation. In verse 10, he is telling to him, in verse 10, he says, I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds. So he's appealing to him now. Now he's finally got to tell him the reason that he's writing to him this letter.

The reason that I'm writing to you this letter, he says, because I beseech you on behalf, and now he's telling him what happened really, on behalf of my son Onesimus. Now, Onesimus was not the son of the Apostle Paul in the flesh, not at all. But Onesimus became his son in Messiah, in Yeshua, in our Lord. When Onesimus had come into Rome, had been exposed to Paul, to Shaul, Shaul, Paul shared with him the gospel, and he led him to the Messiah. And he became his son in the faith. He became a son of Paul in the faith. By the way, Timothy is also a son of Paul in the faith.

We read it in other passages in Scripture. When Paul wrote to Timothy, in the book of Timothy, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, he called him my son. He was not his son in the flesh, but he was his son in Christ, in Mashiach, in Messiah. And so, here is Onesimus. Now, by the way, the word Onesimus means profitable. means profitable the word philemon means the one who kisses or or affectionate apparently philemon was an affectionate man and he was embracing the brothers and the sisters and that he was that's why because the word here philaha actually come from the word to kiss in greek and one who kisses and many times in the scripture we find that we are to kiss each other with a holy kiss romans corinthian the ending the the the book with these a kiss to kiss each other with a holy kiss it's a it's a kiss of affection of love to the brothers and sisters and onesimus means profitable profitable that was the meaning of his name and you can see that apostle here does he's playing with the words Onesimus because immediately the next verse in verse 11 he's telling Philemon of the changing or the change in Onesimus he's telling them in verse 11 which in time past he was to thee unprofitable but now he's profitable to thee and to me you Notice what he does here, he's playing with words.

The word Onesimus means profitable. And so he's sending now Onesimus to Philemon and Apostle Paul using these words profitable and unprofitable. And when Philemon lost this servant who ran away from him, this slave, he became to the apostle, or I should say he became to Philemon unprofitable. He ran away, he was not useful anymore, he became unprofitable, but after he became a believer in Rome, there is a change that happened in his life. And he became profitable, not only now to Philemon, but also to the Apostle Paul. Apparently, Paul really appreciated there was a change in the life of Onesimus. the very fact that he's going back to his owner, showing that there was a change in his life, because he may lose his life.

If that man by the name of Philemon will not like what he did, he could have done with him as a master can do to his slave. They were like properties in the hand of their masters. And so, there was a change in the life of Onesimus. In time past, he was, to Philemon, unprofitable. But now, he became very profitable, not only to Philemon, but also to the Apostle Paul. You know, when there is a change in the life of a man or a woman, there is all of a sudden change in everything. all of a sudden become very dear, very profitable, very useful. And what we learn from these brothers and sisters, the necessity to have a change in our life, that God can use us for his glory and for the blessings of our sisters and our brothers in the Lord.

To be used by him, to become a profitable person. And here the Apostle Paul could use him, but he sent him back to his master. And he's telling him, in the past he was unprofitable, but now he's profitable to you and to me, to both of us together. And so quickly, as he's sending him back now, in verses 12 and 13, Onesimus was sent back by Paul. Paul actually was sending him back to his master. It says in verse 12, I have sent him again. Perhaps when they were sitting in Rome and they were talking about what should we do, Onesimus. And Onesimus was saying, you know, I ran for my master.

I should be here, I should have been there, but I did not want to live a life like this anymore. And Paul said to him, listen, what is the right thing to do? Now you accepted the Messiah. You accepted the Lord. And now it is important for you to go back to your master and to deal with these things. And I'm going to write a letter to your master. And we will let him know what the changes have happened in your life. And so Paul sent him. He says, I am sending him again back to you. You therefore receive him, he said. That is my own bowels.

Receive him. Paul is telling to Philemon, he says, when he's coming back to you, just simply receive him as the one that is my own bowels, my own inside. He was so important for me. He was so useful for me. I want you to receive him as you're receiving me. Even though he ran away from you. Even though he was not the one, you were not pleased with what he had done. Maybe he took away some things for you. He was unprofitable for you. now take him back receive him back as my own bowels and he continue in verse 13 he says whom i would have retained with me that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel says i could have used him to leave him back with me but i'm not going to do that i'm sending him again back to you you receive him as one that is my own bowels my own heart my own in words and that is something isn't it brothers and sisters that that he's really charging him to receive him back he might have been perhaps very upset with him he perhaps was thinking all kind of things to do and paul found it necessary to write this letter of appeal to Philemon so just to sum up up to this point where we are in verse and to give us the climax here in verse 14 Paul wanted Philemon to receive Onesimus willingly willingly not by force not to forgive him by force because he commands him but willingly it says here it says here in the next verse, verse 14, he says, without your mind I would do nothing, but that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly.

Paul wanted a Philemon to do the right thing willingly. You know, you cannot force anybody to accept somebody else. You cannot force it upon people. You know, that's the beauty of the work of the Spirit of God in life. You know, those of us that raise children, that have family, we know very well that we can shove down the throat of our children the things of God. But it doesn't work. It doesn't work. What work is when the Spirit of God does the work in the heart and the conscience? That's the work of God. Same thing with us. When somebody force on us things, when somebody pushes us and make us by force.

It's not come from the heart. It's not come willingly. It has to come from the heart. You do not do things for God by force. You do it out of a heart of love for the Lord. You remember when Israel was building the tabernacle? And you remember when all the people brought silver and gold and all kind of things to build the tabernacle, it says that he brought willingly. It was done from the heart. It was not done by force. And that's what happened here. Paul, in his wisdom, he could commend Philemon to accept Onesimus. I am an apostle of Yeshua, the Messiah. I want you to accept Onesimus.

This is my order. This is my authority. But no, he wanted him to do it willingly, not by force. And it's so nice, brothers and sisters, when we do things from the heart willingly. That's the sign of the love of God in our life, in the work of Yeshua, the Messiah. Remember what we read in saying, I didn't read it in John 13. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one towards another. That's what the Lord want from us. And that's what Paul is teaching us here as he was writing to Philemon. He wanted him to receive Onesimus willingly.

Verse 14, that thy benefit should not be, as it were, of necessity, but willingly. But willingly. Don't make it, it's not supposed to, oh, I have to do it, oh, I must do it. But do it willingly from the heart. In verse 15, Onesimus' departure from Philemon became an eternal restoration. What happened when Onesimus ran away from his master Philemon? And he went away and Philemon lost what he lost for that time. He ended up gaining for eternity. In verse 15 it says like this. for perhaps he therefore departed for a season that you should receive him forever. You see, when he ran away from you and you didn't have a use of him for a certain time, and it must have been quite a while because you don't just travel like you and I travel by car today for a couple of hours.

It took days and weeks and so on, long time. And he lost the usage of Onesimus as a slave, as a servant. But he lost him for a season, Paul is saying in verse 15. For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that you should receive him forever. And now you notice he's going beyond the human realm, beyond time and season. he's going beyond the time that they were there living you know he said listen you received him now forever for eternity now you are going to have him serving with you not only for a short time but for eternity and then in verse 16 and i'm going to close with this for today in verse 16 Onesimus became a beloved brother in the Lord.

He says in verse 16, not now as a servant, not now as a slave, as a servant, but above a servant, as a brother beloved, especially to me, but now much more unto thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

And let me tell you what some suggest that it may have been i personally don't think so but some suggest because he's saying to him that now he become a beloved brother to you not only in the flesh but also in the lord that it may have been that onesimus might have been also a brother in the flesh of philemon that's what some suggested i've heard this not too not too long ago that now because the way it is written here that it was a brother beloved in the flesh but also in the lord now you know it's very possible that he was a brother in the flesh and also he became a brother in

the lord now because of the fact that he has accepted the messiah now and now he become a brother not only in the flesh but also in the lord if you remember very clearly from historical setting when our own people israel you remember when when when the person became poor and he lost his his his possession so he became a slave to to another part a person in in another family who who end up to to and to to buy him out and so if you remember the the the the passage in i think it in in exodus chapter 21 i'll just read this verse in closing exodus chapter 21 where it says in the

first few verses exodus chapter 21 it says if you buy a hebrew servant six years he shall serve and in the seventh year he shall go out free for nothing so a person may become a slave and a servant as a hebrew to another hebrew because of the fact that his possession was lost and he he didn't have any gain because of perhaps a lack of rain and and and a famine in the land and a person lost all his possession and he ended up to become a servant but on the seventh year he was to go out free so anyway beloved brothers and sisters look now he's a he's a as a servant but

above a servant Onesimus became a beloved a brother especially he says to me but how much more unto you Philemon both in your flesh in the flesh but also in the spirit and now Philemon was to receive Onesimus and to recognize him as a brother in the Lord.

No longer only as a slave, but also as a brother in the Lord. And the lesson, brothers and sisters, that we learn from this letter, you might say, Brother Gideon, why is it here in the canon of scripture? And you and I might say, what's so important? What's so important about this little letter that Philemon received from Paul? The important lesson, I believe, that God is seeking to teach us, the necessity of learning to forgive our brothers and sisters, learning to forgive others. You know, this is very hard for us to do. If we don't like somebody and what he or she have done for us, we have an inclination to remember that and to always bear this in mind and not to forgive others who have done wrong to us.

Here we learn a very important lesson. The important for us is to learn to be like the Messiah, Yeshua. To forgive our brothers and sisters. To seek to be a blessing to them. To refresh them. And then you will see what a change that will make in the whole area in which we live in. In our home life. In our assembly life. in our work life in every area of our lives as believers to learn, to forgive and to accept our brothers and sisters and to seek to be a refreshment to them all. May the Lord help us to be so and to do so for his sake.

Can we say amen to that? Amen. Amen. Okay. Close your Bibles please right now.