Philemon is a tremendous book tucked away near the end of the Bible, just before the Book of Hebrews. There is only 1 chapter in Philemon which consists of 25 verses. What we know about Philemon himself:
- He is part of the church.
- He had THE church in his house.
- He is a man of means.
- He is a man that has, or at least had, servants.
Now let’s look at Philemon, beginning in verse 1, “Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer, 2 And to our beloved Apphia (some believer this is his wife), and Archippus (some believe this is his son) our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house: 3 Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers, 5 Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints; 6 That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. 7 For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother.”
I grew up using a Schofield Bible and used it for many years. And in fact, I have a Schofield Bible tucked away in the drawer right here that I keep as a back-up in the event I forget my Bible. It you use a Schofield Bible, just above verse 4, it says the words “character.” Whether you want to title this as “Christian Character,” or “Philemon’s Character,” it really doesn’t matter. What does matter is what this word implies. It implies or references something that is INSIDE of Philemon, rather than what is INSIDE of Philemon’s home.
Now Philemon is a man of means, because the church meets in his house. He has to have a large enough house for the church to meet inside of it. We also know that he had servants, one of them by the name of Onesimus. This passage indicates that he has given and helped other people. So, Philemon, it is safe to say, was a man of means.
- He’s opened-up his wallet.
- He’s opened-up his resources.
- He’s helped people on their way.
- He was kind to believers.
But that is not what the Scriptures are emphasizing for us. What the Scriptures are emphasizing is what is INSIDE of this man Philemon – his character. The Bible is more concerned about what is on the INSIDE than what is on the OUTSIDE.
If you were to ask someone to describe character:
- Some might say “honesty.” Thank God for that Amen! I’m glad I serve a God that cannot lie.
- Some might say “faithfulness.” I’m glad we have a faithful God!
- Some might say “selflessness” or “death to self.” Aren’t you glad we serve a Savior that left heaven to come down and pay the price for our sins?
Now, I believe all of those are great, but they are not what is highlighted in the passages. Dr. Bob Jones Sr. said, “You can borrow brains, but you can’t borrow character.”
Character is what you are when nobody else is around.
Look at verse 5 with me, “5 Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints.”
If you want to have a 2-point sermon outline, there it is LOVE and FAITH. Paul said, “HEARING of thy love and faith” do you realize, often, we hear about peoples love and faith before we ever actually see it.
I know for a fact, Dennis and Roy, and David, they go out and tell people to come visit our church but be ready to be loved on. Now, before anyone comes here, all they know about us is what they’ve heard.
That brings up the question, “Where did Paul HEAR about the love and faith of Philemon?” If you ask me, I will say he probably heard about it from Onesimus, a man that is on the run from his master. A man that got in trouble is now in jail with Paul. But Onesimus got Saved, and when he got saved, he began to look at his old boss Philemon a little differently.
Can I say to you, when you turn your life over to Christ, you do a lot of things differently, you begin to look at people differently. Before I got saved, there were a lot of things I enjoyed doing. But now, I’d rather be sitting in church with a Bible in my hand telling others about Jesus.
I just feel like, when you get your heart right, you begin to look at people differently. I believe that’s what happened to Onesimus.
Now look at that verse again, “Hearing of thy LOVE and FAITH, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus . . .” Let me just say right here, I have no problem understanding that whatsoever, but He didn’t stop there, look what it says next “. . . and toward ALL saints.” Now this is where most us struggle if we are honest with ourselves.
SO, Point number 1, if we are going to have Christian Character:
WE OUGHT TO LOVE JESUS
And we ought to love Jesus because He first loved us.
- He loved us when we didn’t love Him.
- He loved us even when we cursed Him and rejected Him.
- He loved us when we didn’t live for Him.
- He loved us enough to go to Calvary’s Cross and pay a debt that you and I owed.
WHY? Because: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
And “God commended His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
- God loved you when you were in your sin
- God loved you when you didn’t care for the Bible.
- God loved you before you ever thought about coming to church.
- And He loved you even before you were born.
I have to admit there was a time in my life when I didn’t love Him – but there’s never been a time in my life that He didn’t love me.
There was a time in my life when He wasn’t on my mind – but there has never been a time that I wasn’t on His mind.
There was a time in my life when He wasn’t in my heart – but there has never been a time that I wasn’t in His heart.
“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and gave His Son to be a propitiation for our sins.”
Our love for Him is simply a reaction to His love for us!
So, we ought to love Him this morning, “Because He first loved us.”
But not only should we love Jesus:
WE OUGHT TO LOVE EACH OTHER
I John 4:21 says, “And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God loveth his brother also.”
Jesus said, “If you can’t love your brother who you have seen, how can you love me whom you have not seen?”
Listen folks, our love for each other should simply be an overflow of our love for Him.
My level of love for you should be a result of God’s love living inside of me.
And if you and I want to be the followers of Christ that we ought to be, and if Rally Point Biker Church is going to be the Hospital of Hope to our community that we ought to be, we will have to learn to Love God and Love Each other!
You know, I was thinking this week – and I know, it surprises some you that I actually do think – but I was thinking about y’all and praying for each of you, and God kind of laid this thought on my mind:
Most of you, I haven’t known for very long.
- I’ve known Roy now for maybe 5-6 years.
- Some of you I’ve known for about a 1 ½ years now.
- Some of you I’ve only known for about 6 months.
- And some of you for only a few months.
But though I haven’t know you for a long time, I’ve grown to love each of you like you are my own family. What is it that causes us to feel that way?
I think it’s the love of God living in us that is causing us to be a conduit, the overflow, or project, that love toward each other. LOVE GOD/LOVE EACH OTHER
“Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints.” I just believe that is good Christian character!
If we are going to have Christian Character, not only should we love Jesus and each other,
WE OUGHT TO HAVE FAITH
That simply means that we can put our confidence in Him. Hear me now, you can turn on any news cancel you want to, I can almost guarantee you what you will hear on most National News channels is going to be garbage – and I don’t care which channel it is.
But you can be confident that when you open this Book, you are going to get the truth.
- It’s not what the preacher has to say.
- Or what TikTok has to say.
- Or what Facebook has to say.
- Or what Twitter has to say.
But it is what God has to say that matters, and you can take His word to the Bank!
But honestly, my problem is not in being confident in Him, having Faith in Him that causes me the issues – my problem is “having Faith . . . toward all Saints.”
People let you down, don’t they? But God laid something on me in studying this passage, that to me is profound. Listen carefully to what this verse says:
“Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints.”
This verse isn’t telling me to put my faith in you – It’s telling me to put my faith TOWARD you.
What that means is when I stand here to preach, I ought to preach like I believe what the Book says and I should project that message of faith in God’s word TOWARD you.
When we go out and tell people about Jesus, we should project that message TOWARD them.
What that really means is that if people can’t see that it has changed you, you’re never going to convince them that it can change their lives!
Verse 6 says, “That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.”
If we are going to have Christian Character, we ought to Love Jesus, love each other, and put our faith Toward each other:
WE OUGHT TO BE A FRESH BREATH TO ONE ANOTHER
Verse 7 says, “For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother.”
In II Timothy 1:16-18, Paul mentions Oneshiporus, a man who “oft refreshed” him while he was in prison.
One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned in my life is that sometimes, all a person needs you to do for them is to show up in their time of need, and that blesses them more than any words you could ever say.
I’m glad this morning that I can say I have some friends in my life that it just blesses me to be around them – and they don’t have to say anything. They are just a blessing in my life.
I just think there ought to be something about the child of God when he shows up, they ought to leave a scent of “a sweet-smelling savor” – AMEN.
• I wonder what people think about us when they leave?
• I wonder what people say about us when they leave?
• I wonder what kind of scent we leave behind.
I remember my grandma Moore. One of the Godliest people I’ve ever known. When I think of my grandma, I don’t think about the Fried Chicken she used to make for me – though nobody made Fried Chicken like my grandma.
And I don’t think about Grandma’s Banana Pudding. What I think about the most, are the times I was going through hard times of my life, and I remember her being there – not saying a word – just holding my hand and silently praying for me! Her Presence – her just being there is what I remember the most.
I remember many years ago, when I was pastoring a church here. Clay and Hope were a big part of that ministry at the time. Many times, I went to their home and though I did not mean to, I would often fall asleep in their chair. They didn’t say anything – but they were present – they were just there for me.
Sometimes, people just need you to show up! You don’t have to do something great – just show up! Refresh Somebody with your Presence! You’ll be surprised at what your presence means in somebody’s life.
Fighting for My Pea Patch 