Sermon Tone Analysis

Redemptive Relationships

Philemon

[Personal Greeting]

[Introduction]

Friendships are important.

When I think back on my life, what I remember most are the friendships that I held.

Sure, I may remember certain times and places, but most of all I remember the people who shared those moments with me.

When I look through the photo album in my mind that stores the snapshots of my life, I see people because all we truly have in this life are our relationships.

\\ Now if I call myself a Christian, the Bible challenges me to make all my relationships redemptive ones.

What is a redemptive relationship?

It's a relationship that always has eternity in view.

Jesus was a man who lived his life on earth in this way.

When Jesus talked to someone or touched someone he made an eternal impact on their lives.

Sometimes it was for the better (those who accepted his message and believed), but other times it was for the worse (those who rejected his message).

Either way, people left Jesus changed.

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*Proposition:* Redemptive relationships have eternal impact.

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Paul also knew the importance of always keeping eternity in view.

He made sure all his relationships were redemptive ones.

So today, we’re going to be looking at the book of Philemon and the importance of being intentional about making all our relationships redemptive ones and the impact these redemptive relationships can have.

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Do you long for those who are dear to you, for those in your heart, to also be dear brothers and sisters in the Lord?

I know I do.

But, I also know that I need to be intentional about making all my relationships redemptive ones.

It's a conscious choice that I must make everyday with every person in my life, including those whom I may only encounter for a moment.

[Prayer for Illumination]

 

/Scripture Background/

In this personal letter, Paul writes to Philemon, a slave owner, on behalf of Onesimus, a runaway slave who had wronged Philemon.

While on the road, Onesimus runs into Paul, is converted, ends up working in ministry with Paul and is now being sent back to Philemon in hopes of reconciliation.

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In this letter of love, Paul desires that Onesimus be welcomed back not as a slave, but as a Christian brother which can be taken as Paul asking Philemon to in effect free Onesimus.

What actually happened, we may never know.

But, since this book is included in the Canon of Scripture, the Bible, we can confidently assume that a happy outcome did happen and Paul’s wishes were most likely fulfilled.

This letter has redemption written all over it.

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To us today, the book of Philemon is a reminder of what the redemptive love of Christ can do when believers are intentional about being redemptive in their relationships.

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Angie’s going to come up and read through the whole book since it’s only 25 verses.

So we all have it in fresh in our minds.

And then I’m going to focus in on two sections of the book which will shed some light on three foundational elements of a redemptive relationship and three impacts a redemptive relationship can make in a person’s life.

[Read the book of Philemon 1-25]

* *

*MAIN 1*

First, we’re going to focus on Paul’s friendship with Philemon which really shines in vv.4-7 and shows us three foundational elements that are essential to a redemptive relationship.

[Read Philemon 4-7]

 

*The 1st Foundational Element*

A redemptive relationship involves both our faith in Christ alongside our love for other believers (Philemon 4-5).

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We live in an “It’s all about me world.”

And if we admit it or not, this has infiltrated the way we approach our faith in God.

It’s real easy to get so focused on our relationship with God that we can forget about our relationships with other believers.

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Now I’m not saying that having a deep personal relationship with God is bad, what I am saying is that if a person truly starts drawing closer to the heart of God, what they’re going to find there are people because people are precious to God.

Faith in Jesus and love for others goes hand in hand which includes those believers who you may not quite agree with.

When we begin to isolate ourselves or segregate ourselves from others or begin to be harsh with others because they don’t agree with us or think like we do or worship the way we do, than I think we have to rethink our motivations and repent for being spiritually snobby.

When believers act redemptively, what we are really doing is imitating Jesus.

Everything Jesus did was redemptive.

So being in a redemptive relationship means being Jesus to people which can only stem from a faith in Jesus.

I would even go so far as to say that being redemptive can only happen when someone has faith in Jesus because it is only through Him that true redemption occurs.

All through the Gospels we read about Jesus entering into people’s lives.

This brings us into:

 

*The 2nd Foundational Element *

A redemptive relationship means prayerfully sharing our faith (Philemon 6).

Just as faith in Jesus and love for people go hand in hand, prayer and sharing our faith should as well.

Now the exact meaning of active in sharing your faith is unstated, a few noted theologians suggest:

 

Ø      “The communication of your faith”

Ø      “The kindly deeds of charity which spring from faith”

Ø      “Communion (with Christ) by faith”

Ø      Or “The participation of other Christians in your faith”

 

Putting these together, this outwardly expression of faith exhibits itself in a combination of both words and deeds.

James 2:18 sums this up well when he says, *“I will show you my faith by what I do.”*

It is this active sharing that will be effective in helping Philemon experience a fuller understanding of the blessedness of being in Christ.

For us, living out our faith means doing life together with fellow brothers and sisters, like Philemon, we can do ministry together by being an active Christian presence in the community or we can open up our homes for fellowship possibly hosting a bible study or an Alpha group or even just to hangout.

Maybe joining an LTG and having it at your house or inviting people over from church that you don’t know to share a meal together or inviting out to lunch someone new.

All of these things are wonderful expressions of our faith that builds community.

But for these things to happen, we need to be thinking redemptively which shouldn’t be a switch that we turn on and off; it needs to be part of who we are and not something that we do just on Sundays or on mission trips or in an LTG.

We need to push past this compartmentalized thinking and begin being more fully rounded redemptive people.

Being redemptive needs to be infused into who we are; it needs to be part of our DNA, so that no matter where we are, we are living as God has called each of us, which is to first and foremost love Him but also to love one another.

When we are living out our faith, we will be caring for one another in genuine community as a family, uplifting the Body of Christ.

And we as God’s people will experience a deeper understanding of Christ’s love for us.

When this happens, we will begin to see the deep need to be actively living redemptively in all our relationships because when we are, we will begin to touch people’s hearts with the love of Christ which brings us into:

                                      

*The 3rd Foundational Element*

A redemptive relationship refreshes the heart (Philemon 7).

/What does it mean to refresh someone’s heart?

/

 

When I hear the word refreshed a whole slew of other words comes to mind; rejuvenated, renewed, revived, restored, relaxed, regenerated, recuperated.

What other words comes to mind for you?

I imagine they are also words related to renewal.

Now, if we are to be thinking redemptively, we have to remember that it’s our faith in Christ that activates love and empowers us through the Holy Spirit to be grace and truth to people.

And when we are this way, people’s hearts will be refreshed which will not only bring renewal, but will also inevitably impact their lives with the transforming power of God’s love which will deepen their understanding of who God is and His love for all of us.

This is what it means to be redemptive.

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I want to encourage everyone here to get into some meaningful fellowship with other believers whose faith will minister and refresh your heart while your faith in turn will minister and refresh their heart in redemptive ways.

I want to pause here and say that, there’s a difference between counseling someone’s flesh and refreshing someone’s heart by encouraging their spirit.

Encouraging someone’s spirit means washing them with God’s Word.

But, that means not spiritualizing everything by giving Bible verses like aspirin.

Sometimes being God’s word to a person is what shows greater love.

Romans 12:15 comes to mind, *“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”*

Sometimes a person just needs you to sit, weep and mourn with them*.

*Just your presence speaks volumes to them about who is at center of your life, Jesus, and your love for Him.

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Being intentionally redemptive in a relationship also means you’re are not just dealing with a person’s behavioral or heart sins or life burdens or pains or fears, but also a person’s heart longings and desires.

The deep longings and yearnings that each and every one of us has, but oftentimes they go unspoken or unnoticed because we can get so caught up in telling people how we think they should act instead taking the time to draw out who God has called and redeemed them to be.

Here are a couple insights to help us start thinking redemptively in a relationship.

*ILLUSTRATION 1 *

First, I want to talk a little bit about fear this morning.

We all have fears; sometimes they can really dominate the way we live.

I know I am constantly struggling to continually be an overcomer.

Someone who trusts more and more in the security and perfect love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, so that I may walk in the freedom to be who God has called and redeemed me to be.

Now, on my journey with Jesus, He has taken me through the depths of my heart, where I’ve had to be brutally honest with myself.

Spiritual self-awareness is a blessing and whenever I’ve taken an honest look at my life, both in my heart and in my behavior that’s when change began to happened; *that’s when redemption was able to take hold.*