Philemon
Dear people of God once again bringing blessings
from the Almighty who lives forever. Indeed it is my great joy to share the
word of God from the book of Philemon. In the last edition we have seen
Philemon as A Man of Love and A Man Faith, hope that might have helped us to
grow spiritually on Love and Faith. In this I would like to share the
continuation of the sermon (A Man of Ministry, A Man of Refresher).
This
is an epistle written by Apostle Paul, who is in prison; to a fellow Christian
named Philemon. He was a wealthy Christian in Colosse. This letter is now generally regarded as one of the
undisputed works of Paul. It is the shortest of Paul's extant letters. In his
writing Apostle Paul exhibits the nature of Philemon as “A Man of Love, A Man
of Faith, A Man of Ministry, and A Man of Refresher”.
A Man of Ministry: (Phil. 1:2, 5)
Philemon
was not only a man of Love and Faith but also a man of Ministry. He was a man
having passion to establish the Kingdom of God. In Phil. 1:2 we read that there
was a church in the house (House Church) of Philemon at Colosse. At first he
opened his heart for Jesus to come in and then he opened his house for the
people of God to come in to worship the Lord. Philemon gave all that belonged
to him to the Lord who saved him.
In
verse 5 we read that he was having a lovable heart towards all the saints. He
loved Jesus, His work and His people. He played a vital role in the growth of
God’s Kingdom in the city of Colosse. His wealth never stopped him from the
love of God. His status never stopped him to evangelizing the city. Though he
was a wealthy citizen he humbled himself for the sake of Gospel. The Lord wants
such kind of people to make this nation a Holy nation. Most of us are self
concerned and sticking on to our status, never open our house for a prayer, we
never come for a Gospel meeting, not even a single tract is being given by us.
So sad. Dearly beloved ones let’s take a decision to be a man or woman of ministry.
Let us do something for the one who called us to be His Children.
A Man of Refresh: (Phil.1:7,
20)
We saw Philemon as a man of
ministry, in this addition the Bible teaches us that Philemon is a Man of
Refresh. In Verse 7 Apostle Paul says that the Bowels of the saints were refreshed
by Him, literally means that he recharged the minds and hearts of
the saints. In verse 20 Apostle Paul himself was asking Philemon to refresh his
bowel. The hearts of the saints were comforted by Philemon. He brought joy to
Paul and all the servants of God. When Paul asked him to take back the runaway
slave called Onesimus, he simply accepted and did according to the word of
God’s Servant. He honored and obeyed the servants of God.
In reading this let us examine
ourselves. How are we living? Are we refreshing the bowels of God’s Servant or
are we a trouble to them. Let’s ask God to fill us with a spirit to honor God
and His servants. If we do so, the lord will bless us abundantly.
Conclusion:
There is much to be gleaned from reading and meditating on this
very short epistle. Philemon was a model of Christian hospitality and a model
of Christian Courtesy. If you have not ever
carefully studied this epistle before, I hope that this brief lesson has
whetted your desire to do so in the future. Give up for the Holy Spirit to work
in us. May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with our spirit.
