“19 I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides. 20 Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord. 21 Having confidence in thy obedience I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say. 22 But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you. 23 There salute thee Epaphras, my fellowprisoner in Christ Jesus; 24 Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellowlabourers. 25 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.”
Let me ask you this morning, how many of you have been here the whole 6 weeks we have been studying the book of Philemon? Well Praise God, let give Him a handclap today for allowing us together to finish our first Book of the Bible.
As we are looking at the 6th and final message in this series of messages from the book of Philemon, Paul mentions these people who were near and dear to his heart, the people who labored with him in the ministry. Now interestingly enough, Paul mentions many of these same people in chapter 4 of the Book of Colossians.
But here at the end of this little book, Paul mentions:
Philemon – if you remember with me, he is a man of means, a man who had THE church in his house. Last week, we mentioned how Paul was reaching out to Philemon on behalf of Onesimus, and Paul said to Philemon, “Receive him like you receive me. If he has wronged you or owes you anything, put that on my account.” But in verses 19-22, we find that Paul is hoping to be released into house arrest to the home of Philemon. Paul refers to Philemon as a “Beloved Brother.”
Epaphras – who is mentioned both here and in Colossians 4. Paul refers to him as a “fellow prisoner” or “fellow servant.” Epaphras was one that was also imprisoned, not because he had done anything wrong, but for the Gospels sake. Yet Paul is stressing here that though they may be in a Roman Prison, they are not prisoners of Rome, or prisoners of Nero, but they are “Fellow Prisoners” of Jesus Christ. And again, I’d much rather be a prisoner of Jesus Christ than I would to be a prisoner of Rome. One additional point I’ll make here, though we know a lot about the sufferings and imprisonments of the Apostle Paul, they are many others that we do not know much about, but no less faithful in their service to God. It’s easy to come to church and see me preaching each week, or Richard leading the service each week – But we are NOT Rally Point Biker Church, we are just a part. All of you make us the church that we are. Epaphras, my “Fellow Prisoner.”
Marcus – (aka John Mark). As a young missionary, he didn’t impressed Paul very much and this caused Barnabas and Paul to part ways and go on separate missionary journeys. I’m glad the failures of our younger lives don’t hinder us from the work in the present, because “failure is not final until it is fatal.” Paul, we know would later say in his last letter to Timothy, “Bring John Mark with you, for he is profitable for the ministry.” It is this same Marcus that would write the Gospel of Mark. In our text today, Paul refers to him as Marcus, my “Fellow Laborer.”
Aristarchus – A Macedonian who lived in the capital city of Thessalonica and probably converted to Christianity during Paul’s 3rd missionary journey when he answered the “Macedonian Call.” Aristarchus was a close companion to Paul and Paul also refers to him as a “Fellow Laborer.”
Demas – what we know about him is that he forsook the ministry. He turned his back on God. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to get at the end of my life and all people can remember me for is turning my back on God. Paul you might say refers to him as “Denying Demas.”
Lucas – He was a doctor who loved the ministry. Paul refers to Lucas as, “my Fellow Laborer.”
Although Luke wrote Luke’s Gospel, he himself is only mentioned 3 times in the Bible, here, again in Colossians 4, and again in II Timothy 4. And in II Timothy 4:11, Paul says, “Only Luke is with me . . .” As Paul is about to face death at the hands of the Roman captors, Paul mentions how only Luke is with him at the end. He has been a “faithful friend.” In Philemon, he refers to him as a “fellow laborer.” But in Colossians 4, Paul says something else about him that I think is important to note. Colossian 4:14, Paul says, “Luke, the beloved physician.” I want to look at that for just a second and then we’ll dive into the message.
The word “Beloved” appears 8 times in the Gospels. And every time it occurs in the Gospels, it always refers to the Lord Jesus Christ. And I believe that Jesus ought to be near and dear to our hearts AMEN!
“Beloved” means someone who is greatly loved or dear to the heart. And Luke is dear to the Apostle Paul’s heart. And 3 times in Philemon Paul uses this term “beloved.” In verse 1 he refers to Philemon as “dearly beloved.” In verse 2, “to our beloved Apphia and Archippus . . .” and then in verse 16, “Not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved . . .”
So, Luke is someone “beloved” by Paul, but he is also a physician. He is a doctor. Now honestly, I can’t say that I have ever preached on medicine, though it is mentioned in the Bible some 50 time. Whether that is medicine, or a balm, or a sauve, or an ointment. The Bible is filled with references to medicine. And there is at least 12 times that you find a Physician in the Bible. In fact, how many of you have hear Jesus referred to as the “Great Physician?” Now, how many of you can find a verse in the Bible that actually says those words in reference to Jesus? You can’t, because it’s not there.
What is there though, in Luke 4:23, Jesus, speaking of himself says these words, “. . . Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.”
So, Jesus is saying, “Y’all are going to say to me, “Physician Heal thyself.” And we know at Calvary, that they did that when they went by the cross mocking Him and saying, “If thou be the Christ, come down and save thyself.” They said of him, “He saved others, but he himself he cannot save.”
We know that Jesus went about healing all kinds of diseases, from leprosy, to paralysis, to the deaf and blind, even raising the dead 3 separate times. So here’s this religious crowd saying, “He saved other, but he can’t even save himself.”
And you know, it’s true – he did save others, but if he’d of saved Himself, He wouldn’t of been able to save us! I’m glad this morning that I serve a Savior who put US ahead of Himself!
Now let’s get back to Philemon. Now, if I were to ask you, “What did the Apostle Paul do for a living?” Most of us would say he’s a preacher of the Gospel, he’s a missionary, a tent-maker preacher, the Apostle to the Gentiles. He is consumed with getting the Gospel message out to everyone. But he says of Luke:
And we know in Colossians 4, Paul refers to Luke as a Physician, but here in Philemon, Paul says of Luke, “He is a fellow laborer.” So that leads me to believe that regardless of what Luke’s occupation is, he has forsaken all to follow Christ.
YOUR OCCUPATION IS NOT AN EXEMPTION FROM LABORING FOR CHRIST
We have people here that are contractors, we have some that are electricians, plumbers, carpenters, A/C installer, Quality Managers, Black Smiths, Truck Drivers, Fire men, Retirees (Praise God), we have educators, college students, high schoolers,
I’m simply saying that no matter what your title is, you are not exempt from laboring in the Gospel.
You know what we can call that, “Moonlighting.” No matter what your job is, you should be moonlighting for Jesus! Moon-lighting means, “A job that you have after hours. It is a second job.”
And most people moonlight because they love what they are doing outside of their day job. It’s not about the money, it’s about doing something they love. Josh, for example, is a blacksmith by trade, but he loves working with wood.
I’m simply saying this, regardless of whether you install electrical lines, or you lead a quality section of a major corporation, or you work at a bank, or you drive a truck – there ought to be something down inside of everyone of us that says, “I LOVE SERVING JESUS CHRIST.”
“Yes, I work 40 hours a week, yes, I punch the clock – but when I get the chance, I love to steal away and be a witness for my Savior.”
All of us work at different places, doing different jobs. Do you know what that means? That means that we each have access to people nobody else in this room has access to.
So, your occupation is not an exemption from laboring for Christ.
REGARDLESS OF WHO YOUR EMPLOYER IS, YOU WORK FOR THE LORD
So when Paul says he’s a fellow laborer, he’s a fellow laborer, not for Paul – but for the Lord.
Ephesian 6:5,6 says, “Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
So, I’m obeying the person I’m working for, but I’m doing it like I’m obeying Christ. Now look at verse 6. “Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;”
So regardless of who your employer is, you are not working for your employer, you are working for Christ. You know, I hear people say all the time we have to keep religion and keep God out of the workplace. Well, we’ve been doing that in the government and the school systems for over 30 years and how’s that been working out?
Have you ever considered the possibility that God has you right where you are so that you can “Do the will of God from the heart.”
Now Colossians 3:23-24 says, “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”
So regardless of who your employer is, you ought to be doing the best job that you can, not to impress your boss, but because you are working for Him.
I’ll tell you folks, if you represent the Lord well, He is going to pay you a whole lot more than your place of employment.
Your occupation is not an exemption from laboring for Christ.
Regardless of who your employer is, you work for the Lord,
But finally:
WHATEVER YOU DO, DO IT TO BE A BLESSING TO CHRIST AND TO OTHERS.
Though as a church, we are to be about our Father’s business, the Church is not a Place of Business – it is a place of worship. The point I want to leave you with is best illustrated through this story:
When General William Booth was seeking ordination, he stood before the ordination counsel and they stated they would only ordain him if he stopped feeding all the homeless. General Booth says this to that ordination council:
“Lord, help me live from day to day In such a self-forgetful way
That even when I kneel to pray My prayer shall be for–Others.”
“Help me in all the work I do To ever be sincere and true
And know that all I’d do for you Must needs be done for–Others.”
“Let ‘Self’ be crucified and slain And buried deep: and all in vain
May efforts be to rise again, Unless to live for–Others.”
“And when my work on earth is done And my new work in heaven’s begun,
May I forget the crown I’ve won, While thinking still of–Others.”
“Others, Lord, yes, others, Let this my motto be,
Help me to live for others, That I may live like Thee.”
Fighting for My Pea Patch 