Sermon Tone Analysis

Committed to one worth committing to

From the very start when faith and I were married, we made a commitment to one another that was sealed by a legal contract, it is also know as a marriage license.

We have been married 9 wonderful years now and as the years go by we don’t maintain our commitment to one another (Pause) because of a contract.

We remain committed to each other because of the love that has grown out of our commitment.

And we understand that it was an institution established by God Himself.

That license is for human record and is now a keepsake instead of a contract.

This morning I’m not going to preach on marriage but I am going to preach on commitment to God.

Last week we went over some of the background of Philemon and some of the main themes of the book.

This week we are going to look closer at verse 1-7 and see how Philemon life was described by Paul.

PHILEMON:  DIVISION I

A COMMITTED CHRISTIAN MAN: PHILEMON, v. 1-7

READ

(v.

1-7) Introduction: this is the picture of a outstanding Christian man, Philemon.

He stands as a great example for all believers.

1.  His commitment (v.1-2).

2.  His basic need: the grace and peace of God (v.3).

3.  His testimony (v.4-5).

4.  His need for prayer (v.6).

5.  His love (v.7).

 

 

1.

(v.

1-2) Philemon’s commitment is seen in four striking facts.

1.  VS. 1 Philemon was so committed to Christ That he was called "a dear friend" by Paul himself.

In the king James version you have the term “dearly beloved“ as opposed to dear friend this word comes from the Greek word agapetos.

It is the same word used to describes Gods love for His son Jesus.

Matthew 3:17 (NIV)

17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; or (my dearly beloved) with him I am well pleased.”

Philemon a brother in the Lord who was held very close to the heart of Paul.

But this is not all that Paul said.

Note the title that Paul used for himself: "Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ."

Last week we established the fact that Paul was a Roman prisoner during the writing of this letter.

Even with that fact in mind this is still an unusual opening for Paul's letters.

He usually opened his letters by establishing his apostleship, saying that he was "Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ."

For those of you who aren’t real familiar with the word apostle

apostle means ‘one who is sent out.’

An apostle is a personal messenger sent to transmit the message or otherwise carry out the instructions of the one who is sending.

In this case, that would be Jesus.

In the NT the term is commonly associated with the special inner circle of Jesus’ disciples, chosen and commissioned by Jesus to accompany him during his ministry, to receive his teachings and observe his actions, and to follow his instructions.

In other words, they are uniquely qualified both to authenticate his message and to carry on his work through the ministry of the church.

Now This is the only letter of Paul that opens with Paul writing a prisoner of Jesus Christ.

And not an apostle of Jesus Christ.

This could mean either one or two things.

Philemon must have been a dear friend of Paul's, a friend who recognized God's call to Paul, a friend who loved and supported Paul so much that Paul did not have to establish his call to the ministry for Philemon.

2. Paul refrained from calling himself an apostle here because this Letter (epistle) is more of an appeal and request, not one full of commands that would necessitate the readers’ awareness of his apostolic authority.

Even though we don’t’ know exactly when Philemon first heard Paul, It is likely that the two became friends during Paul’s three-year ministry in Ephesus.

Philemon was a beloved friend and supporter of Paul, one who was so committed to Christ that he was counted as beloved, a dear friend by one of God's choice servants, Paul himself.

If you remember it was Jesus Himself who gave all His disciples His followers this command to love.

"A new command I give you: Love one another.

As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another " (John 13:34-35,)

Can I call you a dear friend can you call me a dear friend.

2.

Philemon was so committed to Christ that he was a worker for Christ.

He served Christ diligently, Note: Paul calls him a fellow-worker.

He was working so faithfully for Christ that Paul could acknowledge his work and call him as a fellow-worker, working as diligently as Paul himself for the cause of Christ.

Thought 1.

This is an awesome testimony: to be working so hard for Christ that one could be counted as a fellow-worker with Paul! That’s quite a challenge for us!

I Pray that our hearts would be stirred to serve Christ as diligently.

I want you to listen to what Bill Hybels writes in his book, ‘Courageous Leadership,’

Ten years ago I sat in a little restaurant during my summer study break and wrote these words; The local church is the hope of the world and it’s future rests primarily in the hands of its leaders.

For the first time, I realized that from a human perspective the outcome of the redemptive drama being played out on planet earth will be determined by how well church leaders lead.

Many churches are filled with sincere, talented, godly people who would love to leverage their spiritual gifts in order to impact the world for Christ.

The question is this: Will the men & women who have been entrusted with leadership gifts take their gifts seriously, develop them fully, and deploy them courageously, so that the willing and gifted believers in their churches can work together to make difference in the world?

Romans 12:8 tells those of us who have the gift of leadership that we better sit up and take notice, we better lead with diligence.

Why?

Because the church, the bride of Christ, upon which the eternal destiny of the world depends, will flourish or falter largely on the basis of how we lead….

He goes on to say that leaders must;

Yield themselves fully to God. they must cast powerful, biblical, God honoring visions.

They must build effective, loving, clearly focused teams.

They must fire up Christ followers to give their absolute best for God.

And they must insist with pit bull determination, that;

• The gospel be preached

• The lost be found

• The believers equipped

• The poor served

• The lonely enfold into community

• And God gets the credit for it all

Scripture tells us exactly what happens if leaders will do what God has called and gifted them to do.

The forces of darkness will be pushed back.

The Evil one, who has had his way in the world for far too long, will be forced to give ground.

And the church will fulfill the redemptive purposes for which Christ called her into being.

I believe with all my heart that God has something more in store for this church.

And I believe that together if we are diligent we will together greater things than we have seen before.

And we will give God the Glory.

The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.

I understand it is going to take some work.

so let us do what we can when we can while we can.

(1 Cor.

15:58).

" Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm.

Let nothing move you.

Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

"  

3.

VS. 2 Philemon was so committed to Christ that he supported his family and others in the work of Christ.

Now I would like you to understand that there are differing views in regard to the relation of Apphia and Archippus

Apphia and Archippus our family of Philemon some believe that Apphia is the wife and Archippus is the son of Philemon.

Others that they may be close relatives.

Not necessarily a wife and son.

Scholars have come to this conclusion because if they had not belonged to his family, they would not have been included with Philemon in the address of this letter because it deal with a domestic issue.

Remember that this letter is a personal letter addressing an issue between Philemon and Onesimus.

It is different from all of Paul’s other letters.

Now many believe that Archippus is the pastor or possibly assistant -pastor with Philemon to the church in Colossians.

Due to what Paul says in