Levi Lusko - Fresh Life Church
Philemon 1-7
= Choosing to be a slave, a bond slave, is compared to following Jesus.
= Onesimus ran away as a slave. He heard Paul the apostle preach in Rome and gave his life to Christ.
= Paul told Onesimus to go back to Colossi and own up to what he had done (stealing and running away from his master). Paul sends Onesimus with a letter (the book of Philemon).
= Letter's started with the name of who wrote it. When Philemon read Paul he would have been flooded with emotion.
= Paul was preaching the day Philemon gave his life to Christ in Ephesus.
= Verse 3 Grace and peace to you.
Grace means of salvation.
Peace the product of salvation.
= Verse 4 I pray for you whenever I think of you.
= Verse 5 Faith refers to Jesus, love refers to the saints..criss-cross.
= Verse 6 Effective. He prays that his faith would become more and more effective.
= Verse 7 Great (mega) joy!
Paul knew so much about spiritual battles and we get to read his personal correspondence and how he prayed for people!
Five Takeaway Truths :
1. You can't get locked out of your calling.
- Paul starts this letter a prisoner...he didn't believe that setbacks could keep him from his calling.
- His chains opened the doors to his calling...preaching to the Gentiles. He used imprisonment to preach to those who needed to hear it.
2. What God does in you isn't just for you.
- There is a connection between your love for God and your love for His people. (The Criss-cross was intertwining that you can't just love God and not love His "body.")
- The day I was saved was not just for my benefit, it's to share with others.
3. Your gratitude controls your attitude.
- This letter doesn't sound like it was written by a guy in prison enduring lashings twice a day.
- Be grateful IN everything.
- Believe God will do great things through the trials, you don't have to be thankful FOR every trial.
- A thankful heart is a happy heart.
4. You matter more than you know.
- Going back to verse 7, Philemon brought comfort to Paul. Philemon probably wondered how/why he could possibly bring comfort to someone like Paul!
- God calls us to do what we've been gifted with.
- You're making a difference, so keep serving.
5. If you want God's peace you must receive God's grace.
- Grace first, peace second.
- Grace = God bestows upon you what you don't deserve.
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