Encouraged by Love and True..

Good afternoon, brothers and sisters. Welcome to Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church. I invite you to open your Bibles to the letter, the letter of the Apostle Paul to Philemon, and Lord willing, we'll see a few more things in that letter as the Lord allows us. So the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to Philemon. We'll read the whole epistle again.

It's a short one, just one chapter, and then we'll pray after that. So Philemon. Verse 1. Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy, our brother. To Philemon, our beloved friend and fellow laborer, to the beloved Aphia, Archibald, our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgement of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. For we have great joy and consolation in your love because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother." Verse 8. Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting, yet for love's sake I rather appeal to you, being such a one as Paul the Aged and also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.

I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me. I am sending him back. You therefore receive him, that is, my own heart, whom I wish to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel. But without your consent, I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary. For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever.

No longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. If then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me. But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account. I Paul am writing with my own hand, I will repay, not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides. Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord, refresh my heart in the Lord.

Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you do even more than I say. But meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for I trust that through your prayers I shall be granted to you. Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Let's pray. Father, we ask you, Lord, that you be with us, that you help me in the proclamation of your word, Lord, that you may have mercy on me and on my brothers and sisters and friends who are here. that we may be able to hear your word, Lord, to receive it and to live it, Lord, according to your will, so that your name may be glorified. Be with us, Lord. Speak to our hearts, we pray in Jesus' name.

Amen. So brethren, last week we saw, and the question that we asked is, have you been born again? And we saw the change that the gospel brings to the heart of a person. We saw when the apostle Paul was saying that Onesimus was one who was unprofitable, but now he became profitable in the Lord Jesus Christ, as he was begotten through the gospel of Christ. And by being born again, his heart has changed.

Because that's the goal of the gospel of Christ, to make us more like the Lord Jesus. So we saw in the question that I asked, as I said, have you been born again? The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ changes the hearts, and He brings us to a state of faith. Now we believe, and we have Christ as we believe in Him. And that faith, as we saw a few weeks ago, is that which works through love.

So the Lord builds us up in love. And love is powerful in the heart of each and every one who receives from it, because it has the power to change a person. And when the Apostle Paul now is addressing this brother Philemon, he's addressing someone whom he has seen a change with. So he was reported to him about the changes that this man had in his heart. how he brought refreshment to the hearts of brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And this is the man whom Paul is addressing, Philemon. He's addressing this man on behalf of Onesimus, a slave that ran away from his master and probably stole something from him as well, and who was reached by the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ through the apostle Paul, as was probably with Philemon. The Apostle Paul would say, you owe me your own life. So he was mentioning, probably alluding to that, he was saved through the ministry of the Apostle Paul. And Onesimus, through the providence of the Lord Jesus Christ, was also saved through the ministry of the Apostle Paul.

And as I said, the gospel changes hearts. The gospel take that creature who was once unprofitable and make them profitable. And we saw that it's a humble profitableness. We are make more into the image of the Lord, just as always realizing that the work that is done in us, it doesn't come from us on our own strength, but it's the work of God in us. So that all the glory will be given to him.

And that's what the apostle told us. He said, I thank my God. making mention of you always in my prayer. God is the one to be thanked because of the things that I hear from you, the reports that I have about you, that you have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and have love towards the saints. That refreshment that was brought to the saints brings joy and consolation to my heart.

And we see that. But today I want to mention, I want to just stop a little bit on verse eight, and probably a little bit on verse nine, we'll see how we go. But more verse eight. We spoke about these things last time, but I want to just have an idea so we can discuss about how the Apostle Paul starts to handle this situation. How he approached this brother in Christ.

We see in verse eight, he says, therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to commend you what is fitting, yet for love's sake I rather appeal to you." He goes on to say, "...we saw the change of the gospel of Christ in the heart of the Apostle Paul himself, who was once a persecutor of the Church, but now became a prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ." The gospel is what changed the heart as faith is given to us to believe in Christ, and we are led to love. So the apostle Paul chooses a way to deal with this, as we'll see in verse eight, sometimes in a different way than the ways that he deals, for example, with the church at Corinth.

And we see the reason for that. He says, therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to commend you what is speaking, yet for love's sake, I'd rather appeal to you. You mentioned last time that the Apostle Paul, being an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, as he'll say on some of his letters, that he was an apostle by the will of God, that authority was given to him, that he saw the Lord Jesus Christ as the least of the apostles, as the last one, as he'll mention in 1 Corinthians, he saw the Lord Jesus Christ, and it was given to him and was granted to him the apostleship. So he had the authority given by God himself to command what was fitting. He could have come to Philemon and told Philemon, Philemon, you should receive this brother as Christ received you.

And as I said a few sermons ago, that that would be enough. But Paul chooses another way to approach this brother in Christ. And we see by this word, therefore. So Paul drops his credentials. We mentioned last time that the credentials of the apostle Paul by being an apostle himself, but also the credentials that he bought in his own body.

the sufferings that he had for the Lord Jesus Christ, and one who was willing to suffer for Christ if that was the will of God for him, and who was willing to do that. And that one of his credentials, the apostleship of the Apostle Paul, was proclaimed through his sufferings for the Lord Jesus Christ as well. Yes, he was a witness of Christ. He saw the Lord Jesus Christ in that road when he was in the road, and then he fell down. He was struck by the Lord and had an encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ.

And the marks of the gospel of Christ were in his body. So he could have reached his brother and used his authority as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ to command what was fitting, and what was fitting that situation, that that Philemon would receive Onesimus back, that forgiveness would happen. that he would forgive this brother and receive him back. As he says, no more as a slave, but much more than that as a brother in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what was fitting to happen.

And as I said, Paul would have all rights to do that in that way, by commanding Philemon to do so. And if he has done it in that way, he would be doing that in love as well, because to use his authority did not diminish his love for brother or sister in Christ. But I want to mention to you today and the things that I want to speak to you about two characteristics of the Christian life, love and humility. And when we think of love, I want to just bring the idea that love brings wisdom to the situation. There are ways in which we approach brothers and sisters, and the circumstance helps us to understand how we should approach brothers and sisters in Christ.

There are times in which we should approach brothers and sisters in Christ with harshness and with intent, but there are other times, and I think that's one of the times that the apostles saw that that was not needed because of what was in the heart of this brother. So he says, therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to commend you what is fitting, yet for love's sake I rather appeal to you. So he mentioned, I changed my approach for one thing, even though I might have that authority from the Lord Jesus Christ, I would change the approach and the reason that he gives is for love's sake. And the idea is, what is this love that the Apostle Paul says? For love's sake, I rather appeal to you.

And I think we should try to understand that in light of what was said before. When the Apostle Paul is mentioning his prayer to his brother, he starts the beginning of the prayer thanking God. And then he says, because of the faith, was reported to me of the faith that you have towards the Lord Jesus, and your love towards all the saints. And just a verse prior to that, before he addresses Philemon, before the therefore, he says, for we have great joy and consolation in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother. So the love that Paul is speaking here probably is the love that Philemon has demonstrated toward brothers and sisters in Christ, that has led Paul to address this brother in that way.

Of course, it's the love of Christ for us, but because of that word. Therefore, he's based all his arguments on what was said before. He says, for we have great joy and consolation in your love, brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you. And one of the things, brother and sister in Christ, that love compels us. So we see that with Philemon, with Paul, that the love that Philemon has shown towards others, that was reported to him, compelled him to act in such a way, to drop his credentials and to come to this brother in Christ in that way.

Say, brother, I'm a prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ, being such a one as Paul the agent, now also a prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ. I appeal to you. I'm not commanding, but I'm appealing to you for Onesimus. So we see that love, the love that Philemon had for brothers and sisters in Christ, was something that compelled the Apostle Paul to act in such a way. And we have the first characteristics of love, because love compels or love constrains.

Is that not the case with the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? The Scriptures tell us that the love of God is what constrains us, is what compels us, compels us to live a holy life and compels us to love one another. It's in the light of the love of God for us that we are able to love others as well. So we see that love has this characteristic of compelling, of constraining someone who receives from that love, when that love falls in the heart of someone who has a good soil in him, because God has prepared that heart before. That was the case with Lydia.

She was prepared in her heart to hear the words of Paul, and by receiving the words of Paul and understanding the love of God in the Lord Jesus Christ for her, That soil was refreshed. The seed fell in that good soil that was prepared by the Lord himself. And the love of God was that led her to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. So the first characteristic that I want to mention to you is that love compels. Let's bring to our relationship with one another.

Brothers and sisters, you who are parents or sisters, you who are moms, you know this with your child. That there are times and there are seasons that they maybe are listening to you and you know that they have a teachable spirit and you don't need to come to them with harshness and with telling them just don't do it, but there are times in which you can reason with them. But there are certain times in which you need to be a little bit more harsh. If they're in danger, if there's something happening, you need to be a little bit more harsh with them. And as I said, love brings about wisdom.

There are certain times in which we need to act in certain ways, and love is what will guide us. The love of this brother guided Paul to act in such a way. So there is a constraint, there is a compelling in the heart of the Apostle Paul to appeal to this brother and not to commend him. We see a different situation with the church at Corinth. If you go to chapter 4 in 1 Corinthians chapter 4, Paul when he was dealing with divisions, and he was mentioned that he may come to them soon, he says something interesting there.

He says in 1 Corinthians chapter 4, He says, verse 18, now some are puffed up as though are not coming to you. And remember that before he was speaking with them about divisions, that they differ from one to another. And we see in the content of this letter, the beginning of the letter, especially that some would say that they were of Paul, they were of Apollos. And Paul is dealing with the division and what was happening, a lack of love. That's why Paul will tell us in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, he will bring a whole idea of what love is.

Love's patient, love's kind, love does not envy or boast. And we see that boasting in those who are there at that time by just differing from one to another. And Paul, in dealing with that, he says in verse 18, now some are puffed up as though I were not coming to you. But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power. He says, for the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.

What do you want? Look what he says. Shall I come to you with a rod or in love and a spirit of gentleness? So what was being reported to the apostle Paul regarding to the church of Corinth where the divisions were happening? You see, in chapter 11, when he speaks about the Lord's table, that there were some that were not waiting for their brothers and sisters to partake of the table together with them.

You see, the Apostle Paul now is dealing with that. And by the wisdom that was given to the Apostle Paul, he says, this situation, if I come to you and I just see that you are Christian by words, I'll come with a rod. But if it's different, if I see the power of the gospel in you, then my approach will be different. Shall I come to you with a rod, because that's what is needed, or in love and kindness? And we'll notice that there are times in which we need to address one another, and I'll say harshness because lack of a better word for me with my English, but there are times in which we need to address one another in the strength of the word of God.

Because there are times in which it's better the wound of a friend than the kiss of an enemy. So it's better to be wounded by the words of truth that a friend brings than the kiss of an enemy trying to appease the situation. That was not the case with Philemon. And Paul knew that he could address his brother in a different way. The love that was shown to him, that was shown to others and was reported to him, led him to act in such a way.

He was compelled to do so. for love's sake. And when we think of the relationship that we have with one another as brothers and sisters, we go to Hebrews chapter 10. The author of Hebrews will tell us that we should aim to be with one another in order to stir up one another to love and good works. And the steering up of one another to love and good works is, yes, by proclamation of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, but it's also by the work of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in our hearts as we serve one another, and as we love one another, as we speak with one another, and as we deal with one another.

So that's how I can stir up the heart of my brother and sister in Christ in love. If I live as the Lord Jesus Christ calls me to live, which is loving you, my brother and my sister, and being loved by you, my brother and my sister in Christ. That's how the heart is stirred up. Remember when the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew chapter 24, he'll tell us about the things that will happen, then he says, because unrighteousness or iniquity will increase, the hearts of many will grow cold. And we are instruments in the hands of God to not allow that the hearts of our brothers and sisters in Christ, to not allow that those hearts will grow cold.

Uniquity is what brings coldness of heart. But love and compassion, that's what Jesus Christ would tell us, that we should love one another as Christ loved us. And God used that as an instrument to make that love in your heart increases for the Lord. You know how refreshing it is. when someone comes to you in kindness, in love, and when you see how they deal with others as well.

You know how refreshing it is to your heart and how compelled you are to act in such a way if you are indeed in the Lord Jesus Christ, if you have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. So the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ brings about love, and that love that we have for one another steers us up in the work of the Lord and in our approach to one another. As I said, there are moments in which that love is not in our hearts as it should, or when we fall into sin, that the harshness of the Word of God is needed to point us to the right direction. That doesn't mean that it's not love what a brother or sister is doing to us. It means that because of our actions, of our lack of love towards the Lord Jesus Christ and towards our brothers and sisters, the love that they will show to us is through the strength of the Word of God by telling us what the Word of God says.

The love that Philemon has shown to others, not just was compelling the Apostle Paul, but it was encouraging him as well to act in such a way. He was encouraged to act in such a way and to drop his credentials as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was encouraged to address his brother by reasoning with him throughout this letter in this way. Love is what precedes the action of the Apostle Paul, yet for love's sake, I rather appeal to you. Love is what starts us in the Christian life because it's the love of God for us.

But love is what encourages us to love the Lord Jesus Christ more and more. It's what compels us to love the Lord Jesus Christ more and more. Our love for Him is just a response of His love for us. And when a brother or sister in Christ comes with kindness and everything, the response is kindness. But when they're falling into sin and doing things that they shouldn't, the response, yes, is love, is love with the Word of God and power and strength.

But there's one thing that I want to mention as well. As I said, love is what compels, but also we see that the Apostle Paul is being humble here. So we see that he decides to drop his credentials. And when we think of the Apostle Paul mentioned in Philippians chapter two, that he should have the same mind that the Lord Jesus Christ had. The one who be in the form of God did not take it wrong to be equal with God, yet he humbled himself.

He took a form of a servant. He was obedient to the point of death and death of the cross. The apostle Paul, though he was an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, he did not take it properly to be an apostle of Christ, but he humbled himself and he called himself a brother and a prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ. The situation demanded that, and Paul, by the wisdom of God, knew that. And we are to deal with one another in that humility, and may the Lord help us to do so.

And this is only possible as we think of the mind of Christ. The glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who was God and was with God as John will tell us in chapter 1 verse 1. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The one lofty and seated up high above everything and everyone, having the whole power and strength and might, yet he humbled himself. He made himself of no reputation.

We saw him, we didn't see his beauty, we didn't see him for who he was, because his glory was veiled in his flesh as he came to be the God meant to deliver us from our sins. So the gospel of Christ brings about love and the gospel of Christ brings about humility. Those are the two characteristics of the Christian and there are more forgiveness and all those things, but love and humility. Remember that God resists the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. and what humbles us but the gospel of Christ himself.

We know when the gospel is proclaimed and when the news that we are in a state that we deserve the wrath of God, that we deserve the punishment of the Lord, yet it brings us to that place in which we are in with sin, as the psalmist will tell us. He says, when we are in wit's end, when we see our desperate need, when we see that there is nothing around us that can save us, when we see that we have no power in and of ourselves to save us, and we're brought to that place of humility and humbleness, that's when we cry out to the Lord. So that's what the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ does. He brings about humility. And we are to keep ourselves in that pathway of humility as we look to Christ, as we look to the one who was in the form of God and did not take it robbery to be equal of God, but he humbled himself.

But what is humility? Because we see that the apostle Paul, as I said, he's dropping his credentials. He's not calling his authority as an apostle. He's approaching his brother as a prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ. out of the love that was shown to others, he sees and he's compelled and he's encouraged to do in such a way that he acts in this humble way before this brother.

But what is true humility? Because if we just take this text and we say, Paul was being humble in here only, then we take a different understanding or wrong understanding of what humility is. And we can fall into false humility. So the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ brings us into that place in which we are now loving one another, in which we are now changed by the grace of God. And yes, we are not what we were supposed to be, but yet we are in that pathway in which the Lord is changing us, is making us more like the Lord Jesus Christ.

Yeah, we are wretched sinners, but yet the grace of God abounds over sins and changes us. And we can fall into that pathway of self-humility, of false humility, if we just look to this verse and say, Paul is being humble here, but not somewhere else. Yeah, this was one expression of humility by the Apostle Paul, by being compelled and encouraged because of the love of this brother to others. But humility is not just that. There are times in which it's needed to understand this.

I'm just a prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ. I could commend you, but yet, for love's sake, I'd rather appeal to you. There are moments in which wisdom demands that. But what is true humility? And I think we need to understand that the true humility, what the Apostle Paul is showing here, and he speaks slightly different in some or in some other places, I've seen 1 Corinthians as well, that he comes to the point and say, look, I've done much more than all the others.

And he comes to the realization, but not I, but the grace of God in me. And I think we can fall easily in that state of false humility, in which we are puffed up by our humbleness. And I was speaking with a brother this week, and he says that in Australia, you guys have a word for this, the humble brag. The person that is so humble that they speak a lot about their humbleness, the humble brag. And I was listening to Abroad in Christ, a video that he was, not that I know him personally, but just a video of him.

And he was saying that there was a book, just in a funny way, he was saying, oh, the humble person. There is a book in which I read, in which the humble person, he says, the three most humble person in the world. And he says, the subtitle, How I Met the Other Two. So I'm the one, and there are two more, and how I met the other two humble persons. And we need to just be encouraging the Lord that the Lord does change our hearts.

That yes, we are wretched sinners, but if we do not recognize the changes that the Lord has brought to us, then we're not giving God the glory that he deserves. Yes, the Apostle Paul here is not using his authority, but his authority is known by others. And he uses his authority somewhere else when he sees that it is needed and that he is feeling to do so. Remember that he was speaking to the church of Corinth, and we will go there soon, that he was speaking to them. and they're saying we're from apollos we're from paul and he was proclaiming he said look i'm an apostle of the lord jesus christ in chapter 15 you speak about the resurrection of christ he speaks about the gospel the death and the resurrection he says and the lord jesus christ was seen by cephas was seen by others, was seen by James, by more than 500 people.

He was seen by this people. And he was seen by me. He was born out of time, the last of the apostles. Yes, he was seen by me. And then you mentioned, and I did much more things than many of the apostles.

Yet not I, but the grace of God in me. So, brother and sister in Christ, be encouraged. Yes, we are wretched sinners, but realize and come with that humbleness of heart in which you realize that the Lord is at work. The Lord is doing what, and brother, and father, and mother, you know when you need to use your authority as father and as mother. The Lord has given you that.

There are times you don't need even to mention that, but there are times in which a harshness needs to come in a way that you show your child, I'm your father, and I'm your mother. These needs should be done in this way. If they're not listening as they should, yes, reasoning should happen, but there are situations, circumstances in life that the authority is needed, the authority that the Lord has given us in the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember that the Apostle Paul, even though he had this authority, he's dropped that. And let's go to 1 Corinthians chapter 15, just to understand a little bit more about what humility is.

He starts chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians. He starts by declaring the gospel to them. And he says, the gospel that has changed you, that has saved you. If we did, hold strong and firm to this word that was preached to you. That's the gospel of Christ unto salvation.

It says, for I deliver to you first verse three of all, that we shall also receive that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures, and that he was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that, he was seen by over 500 brethren at once. of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep." Verse 7. After that, he was seen by James, then by all the apostles.

Then he says, verse 8. And last of all, he was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle. Yeah, we need a state of humbleness. And then he goes on to say, to call an apostle, verse nine, because I persecuted the church of God.

I do not deserve what the Lord has given me. I'm not worthy to be an apostle, yet the Lord has given me to be an apostle of the Lord, Jesus Christ. But by the grace of God, I am what I am. And his grace toward me was not in vain, but I labored much more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God, which was with me. So what is true humility?

to whom it is not just a recognition of who we are, that we are indeed wretched sinners, that we do not deserve indeed the grace of God shown to us in the Lord Jesus Christ, that we do not deserve the salvation that God has given us in the Lord Jesus Christ, that we do not deserve the gifts that the Lord has given us, and that we are not to boast about the gifts that the Lord has given us. But we do not deserve anything that the Lord grants us in the Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians chapter 1, he'll say about the blessedness that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ in the heavenly places, the blessings. We do not deserve to be predestined. We do not deserve to be chosen.

We do not deserve to come to the knowledge of Christ. We do not deserve to come to have the Spirit of God abiding in us, the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ through his Spirit abiding in us. We do not deserve to come into this place in which the Lord teaches us to love one another. We do not deserve to be freed from our sins. What we deserve is to be led and to be thrown or to be given away to our sins.

And the Lord put his hands up and says, is that what you want? So do what you want. That's what we deserve. That's what we all deserve. There is nothing that we deserve from the Lord.

We cannot stand on that day before God and say, God, look, I deserve this, I deserve that, I've done this, I've done that. We deserve nothing. It's all the grace of God. He has given us what we do not deserve. He has not given us what we deserve, His mercy is abundant, and He has given us what we do not deserve, His grace, the gift of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And not just the gift of salvation, He has given you, He has given me to become children of God, to be received. And we see in this letter, hopefully in weeks time, we see that the Apostle Paul is asking Philemon, receive him. not just as a slave, but now as much more than a slave, a brother, a beloved brother in Christ Jesus. It's not that God is just forgiving us and allowing us to go free in forgiveness. He's calling us into his family.

He's granting us the righteousness of Christ. Blessed is the one to whom God imputes righteousness. He's the one whom God forgives. He's the one whose sins are not accounted to them. So we receive not just the forgiveness of sins, but the righteousness of Christ.

And we're not just forgiven, we're called children of God. And yet not revealed what we shall be, but we'll see him and we shall be like him when we see the Lord Jesus Christ. So those things we do not deserve. You know that. When we spoke a few weeks ago about the heart of man, that the intentions of the heart of man are only evil continually.

That as soon as we are born, we run into sin. We drink sin as we drink water. That's the heart of man. That's who we are without Christ. That's how we were born.

So everything that the Lord grants us, it's by His grace and mercy. The mercy of God are the cause that we are not consumed now, that we have not faced God yet in His fierceness and anger and wrath in judgment. It's the mercy of God that allows us to wake up. We do not deserve that. So the Lord is gracious, the Lord is merciful.

He has given us. But that state of true humility is a state that, yes, I do not deserve, but yes, Lord, I received. Yes, Lord, I do not deserve, but you've granted to me. Yes, Lord, I do not deserve anything, but you are gracious in granting to me. I do not deserve to see the beauty of Christ, but you granted to me to see a glimpse of it.

I do not deserve to be called your children, O Lord, but I am your child. I do not deserve, Lord, to be a blessing to a brother or sister in Christ, but you make me a blessing to them and you make them a blessing to me. Lord, I do not deserve to encourage or to have the strength to encourage a brother or sister in Christ, but, O Lord, you give me the strength to do so. Brother and sister in Christ, we do not deserve. And that state of true humility is understanding that, but also understanding where the Lord has brought you to.

understanding that yes, it's not anymore as it used to be, by the grace of God. Yes, there's a long way, there's a long path for me to tread, but yet the Lord is helping. Until now, the Lord has been my helper, and he will be till the end. So true humility understands the place in which we are. but understands as well that the Lord is the one who does the work and he's doing the work.

The one who started the good work in you, he will bring it to completion. He started. It's not that he has not started, he started. You came to faith in Christ, he started that. You cannot deny that.

You cannot deny that you came to know the Lord Jesus Christ, you brother and sister in Christ, that you know him. You cannot deny that. You cannot deny the place in which God has brought you to. You cannot deny that. You cannot deny the change that God has brought to your heart.

You cannot deny that. It's the Lord's and the glory is His. Yet He has done so for His glory. May your good works, your light so shine before those around you that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. And when they come and ask you for the reason of your joy, for the reason of your kindness, you can point to say, it's not me, it's Him.

It's God. Because we're so tempted, and I'm tempted many times of denying that. I say, no, no, but it's God. The place of true humility is that which realizes He is Lord, He'll work. It's by your grace.

Where is my heart? Where is your heart in relation to that? Are we encouraging one another in love? Are we steering one another up in love and good works? Because the Lord is working in your heart.

There are gifts that were given to you, there are gifts that were given to me. Are we using that without boasting? Because those gifts are not ours. It's the Lord's. Paul tells the Corinthians, why do you do that?

Why do you boast in the things that you have received? It's not yours. Yes, you have received. Yes, recognize that you have received, but understand it's not yours. So don't boast on that.

Don't boast thinking that you have the strength or you have the power and you have the ability to do so. It is the Lord's point to the one who has granted you that. That they may see the work of God in your life and glorify your father who is in heaven. We are to exercise the gift that the Lord has given us towards one another. so that we may steer one another up in love and good works.

We are not to forsake the gatherings of yourself together, but even more we are to gather together, even more as we see the day approaching. And as we gather together, we are to allow the Lord to work in our lives. so that we may be a blessing to one another, so that I can encourage you to love others more and more, so that you can encourage me by your love towards others to love others more and more, so that my heart will be full of gratitude, so that your heart will be full of gratitude for the work of God in our midst. Praise God for the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Praise God for what God does in the gospel of Christ.

Praise God because God makes those who are dead in sins and trespasses new creation in Christ Jesus. And may the Lord protect us from falling into the two extremes in which there is false humility, in which we boast on the gifts that the Lord has given us as if they were ours, or in which we deny the gifts in which the Lord has given us and we put it down. We have the parable of the one who received the talents. He was just hiding it and putting it down because he was afraid of it. The Lord has given you things.

The Lord has given me things. And we are to use for the encouragement of one another. It is the Lord's. He has granted you, brother. He has granted you, sister.

Don't deny that which the Lord has given you. It has given you the gifts of hospitality. Don't deny that. It has given you the gifts of prayer. And we see in the gospel according to Luke, when the Lord Jesus Christ is brought to the temple as well, we see Simon and then he rejoicing that the Lord Jesus Christ was born and he saw the Messiah.

But we saw as well about a prophet, I don't know how to say that, a woman prophet, prophetess, yeah, about a prophetess. I think it was, I don't know if she was a widow, but she was there serving the Lord in prayer. So the Lord has granted you gifts. The Lord has given you things. Don't deny that.

Don't put it down. The Lord has given you things that He has not given others. And that's how the body works, as we allow and as we allow the Lord work in our lives, as we show love towards one another, as we do not deny the authority that the Lord has given us. Father, the daughter who is a father, sister who is a mother, husband, wives, the Lord has granted you a place in this world as a brother, for the brothers in Christ, as a father for some of you, as a husband. and you are not to deny what the Lord has given you.

And the authority that comes with those things, sister, you who are a mother, you who have a husband, do not deny those things that the Lord has given you, the authority that the Lord has given you as well. Sister who loves praying, loves to come before the Lord and pray in supplication for the church. It's the work of God in your life and praise God for that. I know you would not have the strength or the power or the desire to approach the Lord on your own. It's God and praise God He has granted you to do so.

brother who serve here at church or who reach out to another brother in Christ with hospitality, whatever it is the Lord has granted you that, don't deny the gifts that the Lord has given you. There's a place in which we can fall into false humility denying the work of God or the other extreme in which we boast all the things that the Lord has granted us to do. We see the Apostle Paul as approaching Philemon, and we'll see the content of the letter, hopefully, in the following sermons. And he's approaching Philemon to forgive and to receive a brother in Christ. He decides not to use his authority as an apostle.

He places himself in the place of humility as Christ, not taking to offer to be equal with God, as the Lord Jesus Christ did in the Apostle Paul. But yet, it doesn't mean that he was not humbled somewhere else. because he recognized that every good gift comes from the Father of light, and it's God who is working us, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. So brothers, sisters, may the Lord help us as we come together as a church, and even in our daily lives, when we reach out to one another, maybe on a text, maybe on whatever it is, may the Lord help us to love one another in such a way that our brothers and sisters in Christ are encouraged by that. that that love may flourish within the church, and that Christ may be glorified, and that those who are outside may see that we are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ because of the love that we have for one another.

as we serve one another with the gifts that the Lord has given us, not denying the work of God in our lives, but glorifying our God by doing what he has given us to do with the power that comes from him and by pointing to him only and saying, it's not of me, it's not I, it's the grace of God in me has brought me to this state. It's not I, it's not my power, it's not the ability, but it's the grace of God. If it was not God, it would have been totally different. If it's not the God preserving and holding me, the one who is able to keep me from stumbling, it would have been totally different. It would have been a mess.

But it's the Lord is at work. And if it's not a mess, if there are gifts, if there is love flourishing, it's because of Him. It's because of him alone. So brother and sister in Christ, as we see this letter, may the Lord help us to keep that in mind on how the Apostle Paul is approaching this brother and how he was encouraged by the love of this brother towards others. He was compelled to act in that way and to reason with this brother in Christ so that he will receive.

And remember that the Apostle Paul was not denying the work of God in the life of this brother. He says, I've heard, the report is known to me now. I've heard of your faith. I've heard of your love. The hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you.

In a way, brother, you are not denying the things that the Lord has given you. You are not hiding it from others. You're actually giving to them what the Lord has given you. And it has been a refreshing to the brothers and sisters in Christ. I know that you do even more than what I ask you, he will say towards the end of this letter.

I know that you surpass what I've been asking you, brother. And that encouragement was by the work of God that was reported to him in the life of this brother. Can we say the same of one another? as we deal with one another. And brother and sister, you need to be sincere.

Do I encourage you in any way? Do you encourage me? I'll wait to search our hearts and see how much have I used what the Lord has given me to encourage our brother and sister in Christ. And we don't need to think that needs to be something big and huge, in the humility of that place in which he knows that we deserve nothing but the Lord has granted us things. Let us come to that place and let's love one another as the Lord has given us to.

We saw in the book of Acts a few sermons ago about a sister, Dorcas, who was serving the church and who was showing her love for the church by making tunics and clothes for the brethren. the love was shown in serving the church. We don't know, we are not made aware of what Philemon was doing towards brothers and sisters in Christ. And we don't need to, I think. The word of God has plenty of things to tell us how we should love one another and how we should encourage one another in love and good works.

In saying that, may the Lord help me and may the Lord help you. And may the Lord plant this word in my heart So we all may live the Christian life in true humility, understanding that I'm nothing, but understanding that, Lord, you have granted me things. So help me to do that for your glory. Okay, let's pray. Father, we thank you, Lord.

If I said anything, Lord, that was wrong, just please forgive me and that you may teach us indeed to walk in true humility. We think that love encourages, we think that love brings us to that state in which, Lord, we are steered up in our hearts. The Gospel of Christ has brought us, Lord, so much. Salvation, Lord. The Gospel of Christ sanctifies us.

We're sanctified in Christ Jesus. So, Lord, the Gospel of Christ is what proclaims to us your love towards us, that you gave your only begotten Son. so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. We thank you for your word, Lord, and that this love is only possible because of the gospel of Christ. We love you because you first loved us.

Our love for you is a response of your love for us. And as we get to know more and more the love that you have for us in the Lord Jesus Christ, that we may love one another, Lord. And as we love one another, that you build your church in that love, the love that the gospel of Christ brings to us. As we love one another by serving one another with the things that you have granted us, that we do not deserve, Lord, but you have given us, wretched sinners, deserving of your wrath and judgment. And yet you have granted us gifts and things, Lord, to use for your glory.

Help me, help my brothers and sisters not to deny that. And help us, Lord, to do all things with the freedom that the gospel gives us, with the humbleness that the gospel gives us, Lord, for your glory. May your name be glorified in all things. Teach us and plant your word deep in our hearts so that we may not sin against you. Thank you, Lord, for your word that teaches, that encourages, that admonishes us, Lord, that is profitable for doctrine, for correction, for instruction, for teaching righteousness.

Your word, Lord, was given by inspiration. We thank you, Lord. Help us to love you more and more and help us to love one another more and more. Thank you for all things in Jesus' name. Amen.