Has there ever been a time in your life when your world, the world as you knew it, turned upside down? Sometimes we describe just transitions in life this way as well. We know several parents in our own church who recently had their worlds turned upside down through the deaths and even the serious injuries of their own children. Difficult, trying, tragic circumstances. And life as they knew it changed forever, right? Perhaps you recall times in your life when that happened. Questions begin to flood their exhausted minds and troubled hearts. Questions like, what will I do? Where will I go? And the ever-present question, why? You ever had that? Why? These are all legitimate questions, legitimate concerns, but as long as we live in a fallen world, a world that is affected by evil and sin, this is the way it will continue to be until the Lord returns and sets up His reign in this world. But even if you're a Christian, you are not immune to these life-altering upheavals. This morning, we're going to see this truth on display in the life of a man named Philemon. Now Philemon was a fairly well-to-do man. He lived with his family in the town of Colossae. If you remember the last several months, we've been going through the book of Colossians in our study. As most men of means during that time period, he also had a number of slaves. Slaves that belonged to him as property, just as much as the home in which he lived or the donkeys that he used in his fields. Well, in the New Testament letter, which bears his name, and I'm going to ask you to turn there with me if you're not there already, the book of Philemon, we discover that at some point in Philemon's life, he was confronted with a message of the gospel, the good news about Jesus Christ. Perhaps Philemon met Paul in the city of Ephesus, which was just down the valley where he was attending perhaps to some business there. Perhaps he heard the gospel from an old friend named Epaphras, who was telling anyone who would listen about the new freedom and forgiveness that he'd found through faith in a person called Jesus. And Epaphras eventually became the pastor, the founding pastor of this church there in Colossae. We don't know all the details about how and when Philemon turned to Jesus as his savior, but when he did, his world turned upside down. as it does to all who trust in Christ. And maybe you can think back to that time in your life where you found Jesus, or rather, when Jesus found you. It changed your whole life. It changed your whole perspective. It changed your whole future. It changed everything about you. It turned your world upside down. That's what the gospel does. And that's what the gospel did to this man named Philemon. Because the gospel transformed Philemon from the inside out and now he possessed a love for God and a love for God's people that he never had before. You see, for most people, this weekend is just a weekend of activity. It's a weekend to get out there like my wife and I did and go through a corn maze last night and have fun and enjoy the festivities that fall gives to each other. But you know, when you come to know Jesus as your Savior, the weekend takes a little bit of a twist, doesn't it? And the Lord's Day becomes special to you because it's a day when you can congregate with God's people to lift up His praise and glory and to learn more about Him and then to encourage each other as believers. The weekend's different when you come to Christ. And that took place in Philemon's life. In fact, it changed him in such a way that he even opened up his home so that other members of the body of Christ, other members of the church there in the city of Colossae, no matter what their status, they could have been poor as dirt. Or their station in life, they might have been slaves. They could come into his house and worship God as one. What a change the gospel of God's grace does in the lives of people. He also sought to use the resources that God had given him to help and to refresh his newfound family in Christ. It wasn't just about him. It wasn't just about his family. No, his life, his life changed. And this new life, which he and eventually his old family had found in Christ, continued there in Colossae until he caught word that one of Paul's companions was in town. a guy named Tychicus, and we've met him also in the Book of Colossians, and he brought a letter, a letter from the Apostle Paul. Didn't have email back then, didn't have all the things that we have today, but he had this letter. So Philemon and his wife, hearing from this news, more than likely his wife's name was Aphia, who we meet here in Philemon as well, possibly along with their young son or young man, Archippus, probably filling in as pastor for a while, they started getting their house ready for their worship service. I remember when I lived in Colorado, my family were involved in a church planting situation. They met in a school and much like what happened in the book of Acts where Paul started in Ephesus, this church, this congregation in the school of Tyrannus. And I remember we were involved in getting things ready. We used the gymnasium, and we had to bring out the chairs, and we had to get them all organized, and we had to get the hymn books out. And this took place in church houses and church homes all over the place, and still happened today. And so what did they do? They got things ready. They cleaned the house. They probably organized the house, rearranged it so that as many people as possible could come hear the word of God, and certainly they prayed for that church gathering. By the way, what a wonderful thing it is for a Christian family to worship and to serve together. It's not only a blessing to each other, but it's a blessing to the Church of Jesus Christ. And we come to these three individuals in verses one and two, Philemon and Athia and Archippus, more than likely a Christian family there in Colossae were living together and worshiping together and serving together. May that be said of our families here at Grace Baptist Church. But then the time came, the pinnacle of their week. They would come together on the first day of the week and the church was gathered and finally Tychicus arrived. Philemon noticed that there was another man with Paul's companion, and it was a young man, but it was a familiar man. It was a man named Onesimus, a man who, in fact, was his own slave. Now I think we can imagine the awkward reunion between this master and his slave, between Philemon and Onesimus, while Tychicus was reading Paul's letter before the church, because those two men had a history. If you know about that history, it's a difficult history. You see, Onesimus had run away from his master. He'd run away as a slave. And according to Roman law in that time, he was a criminal fugitive. And he could be punished by the master without mercy. He could be even crucified. But even more, Onesimus had defrauded his master. He likely had stolen some things to help him make his way to escape. We're going to learn a little bit more about him as we go through this letter. But there he was again. Onesimus, the slave. Not only in Colossae, but in the house of his master. And the world of both Philemon and Onesimus was about to be turned upside down once again. Not just with the gospel, but with the impact of the gospel and what it means to be a Christian. You see, the first thing that we learn about the gospel is the great activity of the good news of Jesus Christ, the great activity of the gospel. Even though Philemon was a Christian, and as we learned from Colossians, so was Onesimus, their salvation from sin did not mean the end of the gospel's work and activity in their lives. In fact, once they were saved, that was only the beginning. as it should be in your life. Salvation from sin is a wonderful gift of the gospel, but that's only the beginning of your life as a child of God. Because what God used to save them is what God would use to sanctify them. And that's true for you and I today. What God uses to save you from your sin is what God uses to sanctify you to become more like Jesus Christ. Again, God uses the gospel to save us, to bring us from death unto life and from darkness unto light, and the gospel will turn your world upside down. Has it? Has it changed you? Do you look back and see what a wonderful change in my life has been wrought since Jesus came into my heart? You see, the gospel will turn your world upside down when you are crushed by the weight of your sin against a holy and righteous God. This is where it begins. This is part of the truth of the gospel. You need to recognize that you are in rebellion against God if you've not responded to His grace. The gospel begins by you saying from your heart as Isaiah did, Woe is me for I am undone because I am a man or a woman or a child of unclean lips. But it goes deeper than that, doesn't it? Sin goes far deeper. It's not just unclean lips, but it's an unclean heart. It's an unclean life because of our sin and rebellion against God. We have broken his commandments. What he has told us not to do, we've done. What he's told us to do, we've not done. We've broken his law and we must be crushed. by that sin, by that rebellion. Because then and only then will the gospel change your life. Only then will the gospel turn your world upside down. Only then, when you see after that, after your sin, did the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appear. How much more will your heart turn to the one who lived for you and died for you and rose again from the dead when you see the seriousness and gravity of your sin? You see, the darker it is because of your sin, the more light the gospel shines in your life. The lighter it is, the more blessing it is, the more good news it becomes. And when you turn to and trust in Jesus like Onesimus did and like Philemon did to save you from your sin and your spiritual slavery, it will turn your world upside down. Praise God. Has it done that to you? Has it turned your world upside down? Won't you let it today if you haven't? Won't you let the good news of the gospel, His death and burial and resurrection penetrate your heart, knowing that you can receive free forgiveness by confession of Christ, turning to and trusting in Him? Because that's a good turn, isn't it? It's a good change. It's the best change that will enter into your life, and that is what Philemon and Onesimus, the slave and master, seen each other there again for the first time after this runaway slave was returned, experienced in their lives. But you know, the work and the activity, the gospel does not end there. It was never meant to. It's not just saying, OK, I'm saved and that's it. No, it's saved. And now God uses that same message to change you over and over and over again in your life to become more and more like Jesus himself. God uses the gospel to sanctify us as well, to purify you, and to refine you just like He would precious metals for fire. Most of you know I was a coin collector when I was a young person. I like to find in my change, you can't find it so much anymore, but I like to look in my change for silver coins. And one of the easiest ways to do that is to look at them, nickels are excluded, but dimes and quarters and half dollars and even some dollars, dollar coins, Not the gold ones, but the silverish kind of ones. If you look on the edge, do you see any kind of copper look? They're worth just what the mint puts on them. But if it looks like it's just silver, you might have something. Now, if it's Canadian, again, a whole different story. But if it's US, you might actually have something that has some silver content. And over the years, when silver value goes up high, People would gather their change together, and they would look and see what they had as silver. And they realized that quarter was worth more than a quarter. Maybe it was worth $0.50, or even $1, or a couple of dollars. And so what they did is, instead of hanging onto that like some collectors would, they got a whole bunch of it together and they melted it down. Why? To get out the silver. To get rid of the copper, and maybe that has some value too. But to get rid of some of the other metals. But it was the silver that they had. And that's something that they wanted because it was precious to them. And that is what the Gospel still does to His people. God uses the Gospel in ways to refine us like He would silver and gold in a coin. You see, the Gospel, when it turns your world upside down, will continue to change. It's through the Gospel that He continues, the Lord continues to awaken us sometimes from our spiritual slumber. Maybe that defines you today. Sleepy spiritually, not sleepy physically. I get that. I'm a little tired, too. But are you sleepy spiritually? Has God awakened your heart once again and renewed your fire and love for him? Sometimes he uses this to unsettle us from our ingrained beliefs, things that we think are so settled and so true, and yet maybe they're not. He also uses the gospel to disturb us sometimes from our comfortable existence, just like Philemon, as he was going through the motions as a faithful believer in Christ, serving God in that church. You see, this does not always mean that you've been unfaithful to the Lord. It doesn't always mean that you've been unfruitful and you need correction, because even faith-filled and faithful believers still need further instruction in righteousness, don't we? God uses the fire of the gospel to refine us, to transform us, to change us more into the image of Christ. And when Paul sent Onesimus back to his master's house, God was using the gospel to once again turn their worlds upside down for the glory of God and for the good of God's people. You and I need to remember this activity of the gospel. God will still use it in our lives to confront and to challenge sensitive issues that will never be solved without it. Think of the sensitive issue that was going on there in Colossae. The sensitive issue of slavery. The issue of one man owning another man as property. And yet, Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, through the gospel, Maybe not head on, because the gospel often works in mysterious ways. Because once it penetrates the heart, that's where real change takes place. You can try to politically make people change, but that doesn't affect people's heart. But the gospel takes that change deeper. What about other sensitive issues like prejudice in a person's heart? You can't legislate against prejudice. You've got to go deeper. You've got to go into the heart. And that's where the gospel resides. That's where the gospel does its work. What about bitterness? bitterness about someone or something that happened to you or someone did to you. Bitterness again, we can say you need to not be bitter when you say that you need to forgive them. But ultimately it's the gospel and the effects of the gospel, the implications of the gospel that will get down into that heart and change it from bitterness to forgiveness, to forbearance, and even to love. What about injustice? We hear about injustice all through this world. And again, you can try to legislate justice. You can try to make sure that people will live in harmony with each other. But how often does that really happen? You see, The Bible has the answer to true peace. The reason why there's no peace is because there's wickedness in this world and sin in this world. But when the Prince of Peace comes, Lord Jesus Christ, through his gospel, penetrating the hearts and lives and minds of people from the inside out, that's where there will be peace. This is what the gospel does. So remember today and be open to this ongoing activity of the gospel. Remember it. Are there other issues that you and I might be blind to even as we are striving to live for the Lord faithfully and lovingly? Let the gospel penetrate and change and transform you into Christ and his image. We need to remember also the answer of the gospel. You know, all those questions that you might have and all those feelings that you might experience when your world is turned upside down, they can find their answers and their solutions in the grace and in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Do you believe that? I think one of the problems that Christians face and churches face today is they do not believe the truth. that the gospel and the word of God is sufficient for life and godliness. They think that they need something else or someone else. And they fail to take God at his word when he says, my word is sufficient and my grace is sufficient to you. It is what you need for life and godliness. I believe that before Philemon heard the words of the letter addressed to him personally, he first heard the words addressed to the church, which is the letter of Colossians, which we've looked at. Because so much of what Paul would be calling on him to consider and to do in Philemon was actually rooted in the doctrine of Christ in Colossians. One writer by the name of John Knox, it's not the John Knox from Scotland, it's another John Knox, wrote this. The whole of Colossians, all four chapters that we've spent time looking at, is more or less overshadowed by Paul's concern about Onesimus. And so as we go through the letter of Philemon, I want you to keep in mind the letter of Colossians because I think Philemon had heard those words already, and now that That book, which is so full of doctrine, has to now turn into practice in his own life. If you remember back in Colossians, keep your finger in here in Philemon, but go back to Colossians 1, where Paul describes to all of us, and to Philemon, and with Onesimus standing there, the glory of Christ, the doctrine of the glory of Christ. Remember these words? Colossians 1, 14 through 18. Again, ringing in the ears of Philemon and Onesimus, Tychicus says about Christ, Colossians 1.14, in whom we have redemption through his blood. Redemption is a word that was often used for slaves that were given their freedom. Redemption. Even the forgiveness of sins. Do you think there might have needed to be some forgiveness between Philemon and Onesimus that day? who is, referring to Christ, the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. For by Him, by Christ, were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created by Him and for Him, slaves and masters alike. He goes on, and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist, and He, Christ, is the head of this body. The church. Philemon, you may have this church in your home, but you're not the head of this church. Philemon, you might have slaves and servants and family members in your family that are believers, but again, you're not in charge of them like Christ is. He is the head of this body, the church, who is the beginning and the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He might have the preeminence. So, as the creator and controller of all things, The Lord Jesus, again, verse 14, is the one who provided redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. Both Philemon and Onesimus heard these words about the glory of Christ as Lord over heaven and earth and them. Over their circumstances, over their life, over their household. Then go back to Colossians 3, where Paul describes the goodness of Christ. Not just the glory of Christ, but the goodness of Christ. Colossians 3, 11. Again, in the ears of Onesimus and Philemon and that house church. Paul continues. There is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision or uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free. Philemon was free. Onesimus was bond. And now there's neither of these, he says. But Christ is all and in all. So put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long suffering, forbearing one another and forgiving one another. If any man, hmm, Who's he talking to here? You ever felt like the preacher's actually preaching right to you? I think, in a way, Paul was. I think, in a way, Tychicus was. Hey, Philemon, Onesimus, this is for you! And the church knew it, by the way. The church knew what happened between these two men. Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things, put on charity, love, which is the bond of perfectness, and let the peace of God rule in your hearts. to which also you are called in one body and be ye thankful. The new man that is created in Christ is one of goodness and of grace. It breaks down all kinds of barriers, including the ones listed here. It includes the distinctions of race. No more Greek, no more Jew. Distinctions of refinement. No more barbarian, no more Scythian. Even distinctions in rank. No more bond, no more free. And both Philemon and Onesimus heard these words about the goodness of Christ. the goodness of the gospel, and the implications of the gospel to them and their rather delicate, sensitive situation of a fugitive, thieving slave coming back into the household of his master. What would happen? You see, Christians are to follow in the footsteps of Christ. by forbearing one another and forgiving one another. And as Philemon and Onesimus are standing there, perhaps even face to face, again, awkward, God was reminding them through his word that the answers to their questions and the solution to their dilemma could be found in Christ. And that's still true today. That's still true today. Dilemmas, questions, concerns, issues. It's still true. When your world is turned upside down, remember that Christ is the answer for you, and you can trust in Him. Now, this may seem trite. It may seem rather simplistic. Especially when a trial or a tragedy shakes the very foundation of your own faith. You say, well, sure, Philemon and Onesimus, they knew Paul. Or they knew of Paul. But the answers to your whys may seem not very helpful, or maybe even not that convincing. But just because the answer is not the one that you're looking for or hoping for, it doesn't make it wrong. Maybe I want to know what the weather is going to be like tomorrow, because I have big plans. I don't, by the way. But if I did, and I want it to be like today, sunny and relatively warm. But you heard Randy Allis and the weatherman, which, by the way, I haven't. So I don't know what it's going to be tomorrow. But you know that it's going to be stormy and windy and rainy, maybe even a little snow mixed in. Oh, heaven forbid. But I don't want to hear that. I don't want that kind of answer. Tell me the weather. Doesn't make it any less true, right? You see, there are answers to our questions and solutions to our problems that we may not want to hear, but they're nonetheless true. And when we come to the Word of God and we recognize His promises and His principles, this is the truth, whether you want to hear it or not. These are promises that remain true to His people, like Romans 8.28. There might be a tragedy that overtakes you, and there really is no good answer as to why. But here is one of God's answers, which still remains true. Romans 8, 28. We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose. Say, well, that doesn't really answer my question. Well, it does. It does. God is working all things out together for your good, for his glory. You just may not see it right now. Be patient. Be patient. Be trusting. Because God, remember, in Colossians, He is the controller and creator of all things. He knows what's going on. He's directing all things for your good. Trust Him. What about 1 Corinthians 10, 13? Another promise that sometimes may not be all that helpful or may seem not all that helpful. There hath no temptation, trial taken you, but such as is common to man. But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape that you may be able to bear it. So if you find a trial or temptation, you are overwhelmed, you think, I can't handle this. The truth is, in your own flesh, in your own strength, you can't. But God says, I've made a way to escape. Who do you think that way is? Christ in the Gospel. These may not be answers that you're really looking for, but it doesn't change the fact that this is the weather. This is the atmosphere in which Christians live. This is the truth. So trust it. Believe in it. Hold on to these promises. Hold on to these truths. And remember the answer of the Gospel. But then, you also need to remember the appeal of the Gospel. the appeal of the gospel. I can imagine, after Tychicus finishes reading Colossians there in that house church, hosted by Philemon and his family, and both Philemon and Onesimus standing there, probably facing each other, they're thrilled in their hearts about the truths that they just heard. A master thrilled with his master, the Lord Jesus. And a slave thrilled that he now has brethren in Christ. They were thrilled. But then Tychicus holds up his hand and says, just wait a second. There might have been other congregations in other homes throughout Colossae. We're not really sure how big the church was. But if there was just this one other church, the church in Philemon's house, he said, you know, I've got another letter for you, Philemon. He pulls out that scroll. He takes the seal off and starts to unroll it. And he reads these words, beginning in verse one of Philemon. This is also from Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy, our brother, unto Philemon, our dearly beloved and fellow laborer. It was now time for Philemon to put the principles of Colossians into practice. You can leave today and be thrilled with the gospel that you've heard and the passages that just show you about Christ, but if you don't put those principles and those truths into practice, it's all for naught. The Bible says that we are not just to be hearers of the Word, but doers, and not deceive our own selves. Philemon needed to trust God's truth that he thrilled in from Colossians, but then he needed to, and we need to, obey and apply the truth. Isn't that really what the Christian life is all about? That simple song that you learned in Sunday school, trust and obey. Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. That's what it takes. And in this masterful and moving letter, it reflects the gospel in every part. including the reception of grace. In verse 12, Paul writes this to Philemon about Onesimus. He says, Thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels. You see, as God the Father hath received you, Philemon, in and through Christ, I want you to now receive your new brother in Christ. In fact, receive him as you would receive me. Welcome him in your arms. He has defrauded you. He has stolen from you. He has left you. He's abandoned you. But all that is no longer relevant. because he is your brother in Christ. And that's the gospel. That's the appeal of the gospel. What about the reconciliation of grace? When Paul writes again in verse 15, he says, For perhaps he, Onesimus, therefore departed for a season. Now, Onesimus didn't think when he left he was departing for a season. But God had other plans. God, in his providence, had plans for this man. And it was so that thou shouldest receive him forever. And he goes on in verse 16, but not now as a slave, but above a slave, a brother beloved, especially to me, Paul, but how much more unto thee Philemon, both in the flesh and in the Lord. So he's appealing them with a gospel. He's saying, as you have been reconciled with God in and through Christ, I want you now to be reconciled to each other. Former slave and former master united in the church as brethren in Christ. So now there needs to be forbearance and forgiveness of each other. Again, Colossians, ringing in the ears of these two men, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. But then about the restoration of grace. There wasn't to be this cloud overhanging their relationship as he returns. Look at verse 18. Paul says, if he hath wronged thee, the implication is that he did, if he hath wronged thee or owed thee aught, if he owes you anything, Paul says, put that on my account. Now, Paul, if you remember, even in Ephesus, was working with his own hands as a tent maker, a leather worker. And so the money that he needed for his own needs and the needs of his companions, he worked for. He worked hard for. And he says, I will burn the midnight oil. I will sell a few more tents. I will make a few more leather girdles if it means that you and he can have this relationship restored. Put it on my account. I'll pay you. I'll pay you out of my own pocket, for my own labor, for my own work." He's saying, Philemon, as you were restored by Christ, when He took all of the sin and the debt that you owed to Him upon Himself, what did Jesus do? Colossians 2.14, remember what He did for our debt, our sin debt to God? He took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross. You don't owe what you did owe for your sin. Any longer. You have Christ as your Savior. Let the appeal of the Gospel continue its work in your heart and in your life. Consider all of your circumstances today. Consider all of your relationships, all of your trials in light of the grace of the Gospel and grow in it. Because as Martin Luther once wrote, as he reflected on this letter in Philemon, what Christ has done for us with God the Father That St. Paul does for Onesimus with Philemon. For we are all his Onesimi, if we believe. Jesus Christ did for us what Paul is doing for Onesimus. He brings us into the restoration and full fellowship of God the Father, if we but believe. If we but believe. But we also see the approach of the gospel. The very first three verses of this letter both reflect and remind Philemon of what gospel grace should look like within the body of Christ. In verse 1, we hear a tender approach. A tender approach. He says, verse 1, Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy, our brother, unto Philemon, our dearly beloved and fellow laborer. Look at those descriptions again. Paul, a prisoner of Christ. Timothy, a brother in Christ. Philemon, a beloved fellow laborer, certainly in Christ. All within the sphere of Christian love and fellowship. And even though Paul was in bondage, there was a tighter bond between those brothers than the chains on his wrists. That's what those words mean. It's tender. So now the bondage of Onesimus, that fugitive slave, has been transformed into that same kind of bond in Christ. Now, we're in a society, in a situation today, we can't really fully understand the relationship and the dilemma that Onesimus and Philemon might have had. And yet we still see that bond. It doesn't matter how old you are, how young you are, how rich you are, how poor you are, how influential you are, or just how ordinary you are. There's still this bond, a bond in Christ. We also see in verses 1 and 2 a tactful approach. He writes not just to Philemon, but also to our beloved Athia and Archippus, our fellow soldier, and to the church in thy house. Many believe that Athia and Archippus and Philemon were part of the same family. But even though this letter was a very personal letter that dealt with a very personal matter, it wasn't necessarily private, was it? You see, we live in a day and age, too, that we just want to keep everything to ourselves. And if there's a problem, we don't want anybody else to know about it. Well, that wasn't the case with Paul. It wasn't just between Paul and Onesimus and Philemon. He opened it up broader to his family and to the church as a whole. Paul brings the matter to the attention of the family and the church because they would all be involved in resolving this sensitive issue. Isn't this what we are called to do as believers? Hebrews 10.24, let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works. It doesn't mean that we just confront sin, which we ought to do. It doesn't mean that we just discipline and disciple, which we do. But we also encourage each other more to love and to good works. We encourage each other to apply the principles that we've learned from the Word of God. That's what the church is for. Onesimus did not just belong to Philemon now, he belonged to Christ and His church. And then in verse 3 we find a truthful approach. In this common prayer, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and peace. Common needs for believers. But this prayer takes on a unique significance for the specific needs addressed in this letter. And everywhere in the Bible, when you find these words, appeals to those specific problems and needs that are being addressed in that letter. Is this how you approach sensitive matters in your own heart and in the lives of others? With tenderness and tact and truth? And I think as we go through this letter you're going to see Paul demonstrating what real tact and courtesy is in dealing with sensitive matters within the church. This is what the grace of the gospel looks like in real time. So, as Christians, keep growing in this grace. Keep growing in this grace. Don't think that the gospel is done in your life, because it's still got a lot more work to do. This is what Paul anticipated as he wrote this letter. It's very interesting to note that there's still an elephant in this room. there and here. It's interesting to note that Paul doesn't appear to address the issue of human slavery head on or the injustice that human slavery is. That's caused many to see biblical sanction for slavery or even biblical support for it in the world and unfortunately, even within the church. But as Goldwyn Smith once wrote, it is very true that St. Paul sends back a fugitive slave to his master. But does he send him back as a slave? I think as you read through this letter, you realize that he's not sending him back as a slave, but as a brother and even more than a brother. In fact, in verse 21, Paul says to Philemon, I'm writing knowing that you will also do more than I say. You have to read between the lines. But could it be possible that Paul was saying, you need to free him and then send him back to me? Because he is useful and profitable to me for the ministry. Difference. A change. A transformation. Now, we can't say for sure what happened between Philemon and Onesimus that day, but we can say that the seed of the gospel of grace strikes at the very heart of slavery when you let it. because it transforms the slave into a brother beloved. This is why when rightly understood and properly applied, the grace of the gospel can continue to provide the greatest solutions to the greatest problems, whatever they may be. Do we believe this? Sometimes we might think, well, there's an answer or a problem that just is too great for me. It will never solve. Go to the gospel. because it is the greatest solution, the greatest answer that we need. When the time comes again for your world to be turned upside down, and it will, by the way, there will come a day where your world will once again be turned upside down, and life as you knew it will not ever be the same. Keep growing in the grace of the gospel. Don't lose your hope in Christ. Be faithful and trusting that what he says is so. Whether you think it, whether you believe it or not, it's so. Whether the weather may change tomorrow, he remains the same. Yesterday, today, forever. And you can trust in him. You can trust in him. And the power of the gospel to continue to give us the answers that we really need in our everyday life and even to the most sensitive issues when rightly understood and properly applied. Keep growing in the grace of the gospel. Let's close in prayer. Father in heaven, I thank you again for what we find in the atmosphere in which Philemon was written. Because Lord, we understand that it was a sensitive matter, a sensitive issue where a fugitive slave is being returned to his master, but not in the same kind of relationship as they once possessed. because both of their lives have been transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Both of their lives have been turned upside down. And perhaps Philemon thought he'd never see Onesimus again. And likely, Onesimus was perhaps hoping that he'd never see Philemon again. And yet, in your providence, you brought that slave into some kind of relationship with the apostle Paul, who brought him to faith in Christ and said, What you did, Onesimus, was wrong. You may have been wrong. Slavery may even be wrong. But you yourself were also wrong. And you need to go back. But you're not going back in the same way. You're not going back as the same man. Your world has turned upside down and you're going to go as a brother in Christ. and I will be like Christ for you. I will intercede on your behalf so that there will be this forgiveness, there will be this forbearance, there will be this renewed relationship so that you can go forward together sharing the gospel and showing the gospel in the place that God has put you, there in the city of Colossae. Old Ward, may that be the case in our lives. I pray, O Lord, for your ongoing activity of the gospel. That, Lord, it will continue to transform how we think, how we act, how we live. That, Lord, it will change and shape the very foundations of our life still. Yes, Lord, we are comfortable. And that may not be wrong that we're living for you and we're seeking to serve you, but there are still ingrained attitudes and ingrained prejudices and ingrained ideas. that Lord, still need to be confronted. Maybe even sensitive issues like prejudice or even slavery back then. Issues that Lord, right now we're blind to. We don't even realize that it's a problem. Oh Father, I pray that we will be teachable, that we will be humble when you, through your spirit and through your word, confront us with those things and open up our eyes and open up our minds and show us that the gospel really still does have the power and the solution that we need for life and godliness before you. So, Father, I pray that you will not let us be that, Lord, you will continue to challenge us and change us so that, Lord, we will not only have our own world turned upside down, but through us and through the light that you shine through us will turn this world upside down once again to We ask these things in Jesus' name, amen.