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Well, good morning. Well, thanks for responding there. So, since we're talking back and forth here, um, here's the general biblical outline of the story I want to talk about this morning. I want to want you to see if you can guess uh the story I might have in mind here. So, a young man comes into a certain wealth, selfishly, and he runs off to a far country, and in this far country, he has this dramatic personal experience. Uh, he's a changed man. So in repentance, he comes back home. He's making this long journey. It's a father type figure in the story. This father very much desires that this young son, so to speak, would be reconciled with this older brother who didn't leave home. And he specifically desires, the father does, that the younger son would be accepted by the older son, not as a slave, but as a brother and a co-heir. He really desires for this to happen. The father already has this perspective, but he wants his sons to have this also. But the story kind of ends as a cliffhanger. We don't really know exactly what happened with the two brothers if they reconciled, but we hope for the best. So, if I give that outline, what Bible story do you think I have in mind? Now, before you say it out loud, I should tell you it is a trick question. So you're you're probably gonna get it wrong. And I'm gonna belittle you in front of 1300 people, but it's more fun than it sounds. So, what what story do I have in mind? Some brave person? Prodigal son. Exactly. Thank you very much. You're absolutely wrong. How dare you? What an awful answer. No, I'm just kidding. That's that's absolutely the story that you would have in mind, the perfect answer to that biblical outline. So I guess this morning we're gonna be looking at the second most famous story in the Bible that has that kind of structure to it. And this story is is infinitely less famous, but it's still really cool. Uh, the story that's more well, let me give you a couple more clues in case you still want to guess. Uh the father figure in this story, he's not really a biological father. So I was intentionally trying to throw you off there. The person in the story represents themselves and verbally calls themselves a father to these two, but it's not really a biological father kind of relationship. And the second clue is like in the prodigal son, Jesus made up that story to teach, you know, some some great truths. But this story I have in mind is an actual historical story. I mean, it's it's real Bible characters. Any final guesses there? Story I might have in mind? I would not have guessed this at all a couple months ago. If nobody knows, then I guess the worship team can come back up. So we'll all get to lunch early. No, this story this morning is about a guy named Onesimus. And Anesimus is a central character in the short uh letter in the New Testament called Philemon. And he's also mentioned one other time in the book of Colossians. Philemon and Colossians, those two letters kind of go together. They're companion books. And we're going to talk more about Colossians next week. But Onesimus was from this small town in Asia Minor called Colossae. Colossae, small town, very small church there. So when you think Asia Minor, think modern-day Turkey. So this small church actually was not planted by Paul directly. Paul was this famous uh missionary apostle in the New Testament. But Paul was in the town of Ephesus for a couple years. Ephesus was about a hundred miles to the west, closer to the sea, and he was there for a while. And while in Ephesus, Paul mentored a man named Epiphras. And Epiphras is the one that actually traveled around to a lot of these cities in Asia Minor and planted these churches, like in uh Colossae and Philippi and Laodicea and Heropolis. And he would travel back and forth, and meanwhile, Paul would uh kind of keep tabs on what was going on in the churches and supervise that way. It's not that he wouldn't want to travel, I don't think, but he's in and out of prison, and Paul does that kind of thing. So he's making himself useful like that. So it's this small church, when you hear church in this story, you know, think this meant in a house, the house of a man named Archipus. So think small group when you hear that. So all this, by the way, it makes for a really good tongue twister. So it because Anesimus knew Epiphers and Epiphras meant Paul in Ephesus. Anesimus knew Epiphers and Epiphrius meant Paul in Ephesus. So say that five times fast. You'll have it down. Anesimus knew Epiphers and Epiphers meant Paul in Ephesus. I was actually typing that out in the message, and I was, and I thought, wow, this is like uh a Dr. Seuss message. Okay. So back to the small town of Colossae. This is gonna be a long setup, but it'll make sense. Back in Colossae, uh, one of the central leaders in the church was a man named Philemon. And Philemon, we think, was probably married to Afia, who was also a prominent leader in the church. So the two of them, and they meet in the house of a man that I mentioned earlier, Archipus. So Philemon, we think, probably a fairly wealthy guy, and he would travel on business. And so one of his business trips, apparently in the past, some point in the past, he journeyed to Ephesus. Ephesus, closer to the sea, had a lot of trade, makes sense that he would be there for a while. While Philemon is in Ephesus, he happens to meet Paul. And through that relationship with Paul, Philemon becomes a believer. And so Paul and Philemon have this kind of spiritual dad relationship. So Philemon returns to Colossae, a changed man, and uh he's a leader in the community, leader in his church, along with his wife Afia. So, but the one important detail that I've met I've left out about Philemon is that Philemon was also still a slave owner. Uh had at least one slave, and that's Philemon's connection to this main character, Onesimus, in this story this morning. Onesimus was Philemon's slave. So back in Colossae, there Onesimus, finally a plot point here. Onesimus finds a way to escape from Philemon. So he flees from Colossae, but on his way out of town, Onesimus robs Philemon. He takes some traveling money or some possessions or something, and he bolts. So he's trying to get as far away as he can from Colossae. He's free for the first time, but he's also now a thief and a fugitive. So Onesimus is on the run, and as he's fleeing, miraculously, Onesimus also meets Paul. I mean, what are the odds? But one way this might have happened. I'm just totally guessing here from what I've read. But Onesimus might have known Epiphras a bit, from Epiphhrus having planted the church in Colossae, and maybe as Onesimus was bolting town, Epiphers was also leaving back on his way to see Paul, and maybe Onesimus sought out Epiphers' advice. And Epiphhrus probably said, You know, I don't know what to tell you. You just robbed this guy in my church, but you're free now, and that's great. Probably wouldn't work too well. You going right back. I'm already on my way to see Paul. I can make this introduction, and it'll be a long journey, but we'll see what Paul says. We don't really know. But either way, we just know from the Bible that Onesimus meets Paul while he's in prison. He's under house arrest. So we don't even really know if Paul was in Ephesus at the time in prison. That's, I think, is likely, but if it wasn't in Ephesus, then Paul was probably in prison in Rome. So the journey from Colossae to Ephesus, if that's where Paul was, it's about a hundred miles. So think like Woodstock to Macon by foot or by camel or whatever that is. It's a long trip, several days of grueling travel. But if Paul currently is in prison in Rome, then that's like 1,200 miles. That's weeks of travel with you know big boat trips. That's like Woodstock to San Antonio, Texas, or a little further. So a long journey, Onesimus finally meets with Paul and meets him in prison. And thankfully, through this relationship, Onesimus also becomes a believer. And he stays there with Paul for a certain amount of time, helping Paul while he's in prison. He's a great blessing and a help to him there. So, you know, kind of pause where we are. You've got Paul knows Onesimus, and Onesimus has been a great blessing to Paul there in the present tense. Paul knows Philemon, and Philemon and Paul, they've had this great relationship in the past, and Onesimus knows Philemon, because they're the master slave kind of dynamic there, but the three of them never been in the same room together. Philemon's probably a little bit older, leader in the community in the church, but a slave owner. And Onesimus probably a little bit younger, and he's been a great blessing to Paul, really helped him in prison, but he's also a fugitive, and from Philemon's perspective, a thief. And then, standing in the middle, you've got this loving father type in Paul, who's currently incarcerated. So, what's he gonna do? So that's the setup. Paul does what really the only thing he can do from prison. He writes a letter. He's in chains. So he gets out his pen and he writes this short, one-page, very personal letter to Philemon on the behalf of Onesimus, commending him. And that's the letter to Philemon that we have in the New Testament. And so as we're gonna read this uh together in a second. Don't be worried here. We're gonna read the whole book, but it's only uh 25 verses long. You can read it in less than two minutes. So as we read this letter that Paul wrote to Philemon on the behalf of Onesimus, I want you to remind yourself as you listen to this that I think it's really addressed to two different people. Um in structure, the letter is addressed to Philemon. So it's real easy to kind of put yourself in Philemon's shoes when you listen to this. So as you listen as Philemon, I want you to imagine the irony of maybe the person that you resent most in life showing up at your doorstep holding a letter from the one person you respect most in life. And your convenient life category is just starting to disintegrate there. But for a different perspective, you could also listen to this letter as if you are Onesimus. And when you listen as Onesimus, I want you to imagine, you I'm I'm guessing that Onesimus probably read this letter dozens of times as he's traveling, you know, a hundred or a thousand miles all the way back. It only takes two minutes to read. How difficult is it to break into a scroll? Or Paul probably talked through all this before he even left. So as you listen as Onesimus, I want you to imagine you're probably still struggling with feeling useless and lost, but then you're inspired when you hear the way Paul commends you before Philemon. So here this is. This is the uh the book of Philemon in the Bible, and this is from the message version. I, Paul, am a prisoner for the sake of Christ, here with my brother Timothy. And I write this letter to you, Philemon, my good friend and companion in this work, also to our sister Afia, to Archipis, a real trooper, and to the church that meets in your house. God's best to you, Christ's blessings on you. Every time I your name comes up in my prayers, I say, Oh, thank you, God. I keep hearing of the love and faith you have for the Master Jesus, which brims over to other believers. And I keep praying that this faith we hold in common keeps showing up in the good things that we do, and that people recognize Christ in all of it. Friend, you have no idea how good your love makes me feel, doubly so when I see your hospitality to fellow believers. In line with all this, I have a favor to ask of you. As Christ's ambassador and now prisoner for him, I wouldn't hesitate to command this if I thought it was necessary, but I'd rather make it a personal request. While here in jail, I fathered a child, so to speak, and here he is, hand carrying this letter, Onesimus. He was useless to you before, but now he's useful to both of us. I'm sending him back to you, but it feels like I'm cutting off my right arm in doing so. I wanted in the worst way to keep him here as your stand-in to help out while I'm in jail for the message. But I didn't want to do anything behind your back. Make you do a good deed that you hadn't willingly agreed to. Maybe it's all for the best that you lost him for a while. You're getting him back now for good. And no mere slave this time, but a true Christian brother. That's what he was to me, and he'll be even more than that to you. So if you still consider me a comrade in arms, welcome him back as you would me. If he damaged anything or owes you anything, chalk it up to my account. This is my personal signature, Paul, and I stand behind it. I don't need to remind you, do I, that you owe your very life to me. That's like a classic debating strategy. I'm not gonna say this, but I just did. I love that. That's not just the message translation either. Paul did that. Do me this big favor, friend. You'll be doing it for Christ, but it will also do my heart good. I know you well enough to know that you will. You'll probably go far beyond what I've written. And by the way, get a room ready for me. Because of your prayers, I fully expect to be your guest again. Dun-da-da. I'm gonna check in. Epiphrus, my cellmate in the cause of Christ, says hello. Also, my co-workers Mark, Aristarchus, Dimas, and Luke, all the best to you from the Master Jesus Christ. So that's we studied the entire book of the Bible this morning. So isn't that a great letter? My my first response when I read something like that is it makes me really like Paul. You know, such a big heart, and it's it's really positive. But my objection when I read that, you know, or my trouble with it, at first, at least, is I don't really know what that teaches me. You know, it's it's so specific. What's the rule there? You know, I tend to think in those terms. I mean, you take a couple steps back, and Philemon's a slave owner. So how is that being completely dealt with? Or from the other perspective, I mean, is Philemon really gonna charge Paul for whatever Onesimus has stolen? Probably not gonna happen. I mean, nobody's gonna pay. It's like it's like the prodigal son. We listen to that and it's a great story, and it's heartwarming, but it feels maybe a bit reckless. And you read that story, my heart loves what Paul's saying, and that's that's a world I want to live in. But my head keeps saying, yeah, but that would probably never work in most cases. And that's what concerns me when I read a letter like this. It's that, but that probably wouldn't work in most cases, attitude in me. And where did that come from? And what if I'm wrong? So said a different way, um, what gives Paul the right or even the idea, you know, to advocate so strongly for reconciliation between these two guys? This is not just forgiveness, this is not just a legal release from slavery, you know, manumission. This is reconciliation. That's why Paul says, I'm not gonna make this a command, because if he did, that would fall far short of his goal, which is reconciliation. So that's that's an entirely new, healthy relationship built from the ground up from the two most unlikely people. And it's where does that come from? And and what if this letter had been delivered to me? What would my response be? Would I have had my enemy arrested on site, thrown his letter away before it was ever even read? Would I have hopped right on Facebook? You're not gonna believe the bozo that just showed up in my doorstep. Smile and SMS, kick, kick, hashtag I got no use for you. That's still the world we live in, right? Or would I have at least stopped and prayed, Jesus, what are you doing here? Are you in this? Is there something for me? Are you trying to bless me in a way that I can't understand? And this is uncomfortable, but where are you going with this? To me, this letter only really begins to make sense when you just go all the way and substitute Jesus in the place of Paul in this story. Because ultimately, you know, how do how did Paul get this idea that these two guys should get back in the same room? Who in their right mind would do that? Surely Paul was praying through this, and the spirit of Jesus told him, that's exactly how this should go. And so that's what he commends. But having that attitude, you know, just puts the blame right back where it should be on Jesus. Like, would I really want to serve a God that might walk me down that type of direction? And something inside me just kind of wells up like, you have no right. We have rules here, and you know, I know my place, this is not how things should go. But Jesus, of course, has the right to say such bold things because he made us. And only Jesus really knows who we are and the purpose that he's made us for, and only he knows how he wants to fit us together and what happens when different ones get in certain relationships. You might have noticed in the middle of this letter, uh Paul tells Philemon that in the past Onesimus has been useless to you, but now he's useful to me, and he will be even more useful to you in the future. All of that is a play on words, because uh Onesimus' name in Greek, the Greek name, it means useful. So he's saying, in the past, Onesimus has not been Onesimus. He has not been useful, but now I know the true Onesimus, and that's who I'm sending back to you, and that's who I want you to know. The true you. This name kind of thing, um it reminds me of the Old Testament book of Jonah. I really love that book. I have two boys, my youngest son is named Jonah. Uh, if you don't know the story offhand, uh it's a short book, too. God instructs Jonah, a prophet, to go and preach to the town of Nineveh. And Nineveh is the sworn enemy of Israel. So Jonah says, No way, not gonna do it, and he flees the opposite direction, gets swallowed by a fish, and he eventually repents and goes and preaches to Nineveh. The Nineveh respond gloriously. They repent before God, and it's wonderful, right? No, actually, not from the perspective of Jonah. Jonah is ticked off. He did the preaching part like God wanted him to do, but he really wanted God to just be vengeful. That's the God that he needed. He needed God to be that for him. He's so upset he goes and sulks on a hill overlooking Nineveh. I guess hoping God's gonna change his mind and rain down fire on Nineveh. And if this happens, I don't want to miss it. This is what I'm waiting for. And so he sits there and and God eventually comes to him and explains that God has different plans. God has plans for life. God loves Nineveh. And so God's confession of love for Nineveh, the sworn enemy of Israel, ends the book of Jonah. But in the end, we know that Jonah gets it. And the reason we know that Jonah gets it in the end is because Jonah wrote the book of Jonah. And so his story was redeemed for great purpose. Because the book of Jonah reminds us that God loves all nations and all nations. People. And so Jonah, through his story, he learns his true identity and who God really is in the process. The name Jonah in Hebrew means peace or dove. So Jonah starts the story and he's not acting like who he really is. He is war. I really need God to be vengeance. But in the end, he becomes who he really is, and he learns peace, a much better reflection of who God is. So that kind of thing, that dynamic is going on in this story. This is redemption on the grandest possible level. You've been this, you've thought you are this, but you are actually useful. This is who you are. There were actually two different scrolls that were sent down the road from the imprisoned Paul back to Colossae. The first one was this one-page personal letter from Paul to Philemon, commending Anesimus, the book of Philemon. And the second one was carried by another guy named Tychicus, and he was carrying another letter or two also. But Tychicus and Anesimus journey back together from Paul to Colossae. And Tychicus was carrying the letter to the entire church in Colossae. And we'll look at this more next week. But since this letter was also there, it was also pretty short, uh it's only like four chapters long. I wonder if these two guys also read this letter on the way, and if these words also specifically encouraged Onesimus and knowing what was coming up. So from the verse the letter to the Colossians, I'll give you a few examples. Imagine Onesimus reading this from chapter one in Colossians. God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loved so much, the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, and got rid of the sins that we were doomed to keep repeating. And just a few verses later, talking about Jesus, so spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe, people and things, animals and atoms, get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross. So only Jesus can do that. Fit us together in vibrant harmonies. So it's not just my little light shining and your light shining, and we got all these dots, and we're gonna make the best. The greatest art there is Jesus is creating the harmonies between us. And the relationships that we have are the things that shine best, that preach the most, so to speak. Not necessarily the words. And only Jesus can do that because only he knows who we really are, what he's made us, and what he's working in us, our true names, so to speak. A little bit later in Colossians, Paul says, Your old life is dead, your new life, which is your real life, even though invisible to spectators, is with Christ in God, he is your life. When Christ, your real life, remember, shows up again on this earth, you'll show up to the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity like Christ. But before we can, you know, experience this forgiveness or share this forgiveness with others and have reconciliation in those kind of relationships or inspire that in others, we have to first hear that spoken over us. We have to own that first between us and Jesus before we really have anywhere to go with that. And Paul had experienced that in his own life. Paul started completely opposing the church. He was persecuting them, he would go town to town and round them up so they could be in jail or killed. And he did that against Jesus specifically. But Jesus shows up before Paul on the road to Damascus and forgives Paul. But Jesus doesn't just forgive him, he reconciles their contentious relationship and he puts Paul to good use because he knows who he is and the real plan that he has for Paul. So since Paul's been through this in the past in his own life, then he's able to speak that same kind of hope into the relationship between Onesimus and Philemon. And so that's what I think, for my money, by far the best way to read through the book of Philemon is to just cut through all that and try to relate to both guys at once. Imagine yourself as being Onesimus and Philemon. You know, different scenarios, different relationships, the oppressor and the oppressed. Relate to both those guys at once. And hear the letter as if it's spoken directly to you by Jesus. So first hear it, you know, in its historical context, but then just go right to the source and hear these words as if Jesus is speaking these over you. So I'm gonna read a paraphrase of this now. I'm not gonna put this up on the screen because this is just like a paraphrase of a paraphrase. But this is reworking the same letter to Philemon as if Jesus is speaking this directly to us. So here's how it might sound. I, Jesus, write this letter to you along with my Father, sent to you through the Spirit, not just to you, but to the church that meets in your city, to his hands, to the small group that meets in your home. Every time your name comes up, I say thank you, Father. I take special note of your love and faith, how it brims over into the lives of others. This faith will continue to grow in you so that those around you recognize me even more through you. You have no idea how encouraged I am to see your love for others. In line with this, I have a favor to ask. I wouldn't hesitate to command this if I thought it was needed, but I'd rather that you're motivated simply by love instead, the strongest possible motivation. I have become a father to you, the best possible father. And not just to you, I'm working in the lives of thousands of people all around you every day as their loving father. I want you to understand how I see them, and I deeply want them to understand how I see you. Think of the grace and joy that I have for you, and let that be your example. Treat other people in the same way. I know in the past that you've thought of yourself as useless, but you are not. That nickname did not come from me. My name for you is your true name, useful. You have great purpose. When I speak of you to others and before the Father, I say no less. Hear me, you are not a slave any longer. You are a brother, a daughter, an heir, and I know there has been damage, and I know there's been debts, but please know, whatever was damaged or owed, I've chalked it up to my account. And I am the one that is paying your debt. I'm the one that is making everything new because I'm the only one that can. So finally, please do me this big favor. It will do my heart good. Forgive those around you in the same way that I've forgiven you. There's someone very special to me who will be arriving before you soon, holding the same kind of personal letter from me that I'm now writing to you. Remember my forgiveness to you, and go and do the same. Receive them as you would receive me. I know you're gonna do this. This will be such an encouragement to me. I won't remind you that you owe me your very life. And by the way, get ready, because I'm coming to see you in person soon. All the best to you, your dear friend, Jesus. Worship team, if you want to start coming back up. So, whatever happened to this fugitive slave Onesimus? We don't really know. Uh the only potential clue comes uh decades later. A guy named Ignatius wrote a letter to the church in Ephesus, and not a biblical letter, but uh a historical letter. And in that, he makes reference to a bishop of Ephesus, sorry, named Onesimus. So maybe, maybe Philemon reconciled with Onesimus and took Paul's suggestion to heart and allowed and maybe even financed Onesimus' journey back to Ephesus, maybe to see Paul again and to be an encouragement to him, and then eventually he settles into his own work there. And we don't really know if it's the same guy. Honestly, it was a it was a pretty common name, so the odds aren't high. But if it was the same Onesimus, then that's an important detail because it is that Bishop Onesimus that was the first collector of Paul's letters. He's the guy that went around to all the different cities, collected all the letters, so that years later they would be available in one place to be codified into the Bible that we read today. That's what Bishop Onesimus did with his freedom. So maybe that's how this short, very personal, one-page letter makes it into the Bible. Because Onesimus adds his letter, or at least a letter bearing his namesake. And so that's the short lesson in all of this. That if we want to experience forgiveness in our relationships and reconciliation, or try to inspire that in others, the first step, absolutely essential, is you gotta hold your own scroll tight. And you gotta walk at home, whatever that means. You have to hear for yourself how Jesus thinks of you and how he commends you into your perfect place in his kingdom. And then go live in freedom. Let's pray. God, I thank you for this book that you gave us, for how you love us and care for us. God, I pray that you would just give us ears to hear what you have for us, the name that you have for us, what you want us to do. Lord, just give us ears to hear the relationships we're in now, or the relationships that you want to start in us. And how can the same forgiveness that we've been given from you, how can that be shown in the relationships that we have now? We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.