The Servant Leadership of Paul

Happy Sabbath, everyone! Again, it's always good to see all of you with us today.

Good to see the congregation continuing to grow and expand.

Today, I would like to talk about servant leadership. I think we're familiar with the concept. It was actually a combination of a couple terms used by Jesus Christ, as he told his disciples that if they wanted to be leaders, they needed to serve, and they needed to serve first, and that their motive for leadership should not be to be like the Gentiles. It shouldn't be about titles or praise or prestige, but it should be about service. So that's where the whole concept of servant leadership comes from. And I'd like to today talk about and look at an example of servant leadership by the Apostle Paul. I know a lot of people who talk about servant leadership, and I've known people who say they believe in servant leadership, but when push came to shove, they were terrified of it because it challenged everything that they believed in themselves.

If you as an individual are into titles, Mr. Reverend, CEO, President, CFO, supervisor, regional manager, if those things turn you on, you probably will not be happy with the concept of servant leadership because it's not about titles, it's not about prestige, it's not about who we think we are, it's about service, and it's an attitude that says, I don't care about any of those things. What excites me is to build people and to build organizations. That's what turns me on.

That's what excites me. Not titles, money, prestige, power, influence. Those things don't mean anything to me. So that's the concept behind understanding what servant leadership is, and Paul demonstrated it particularly in one letter that he wrote, and I'd like to talk about that today. He only wrote one personal letter, one on one, from him to only one single individual in all of his writings, but thankfully it was preserved for us. And we'll see when we get to that, that Paul gives you and I a tremendous example of how to deal with difficult situations with other believers. How to deal in a servant leadership mindset when we need someone, when we want to encourage someone to do what is right. But before we get into this book, let's review, take a look at a couple of scriptures of what servant leadership is about. Romans chapter 5 and verse 6. Romans chapter 5 and verse 6, because no human being is a perfect servant leader. All human beings have flaws, but there was one individual who was the perfect servant leader, and that was Jesus Christ. And that's why we should emulate him. That's why we should imitate him. That's why we should follow his example. And here's what Paul says about the servant leadership characteristics of Jesus Christ. How he led, but he led through service. Romans chapter 6, I'm sorry, chapter 5, beginning in verse 6.

He says, for when we were still without strength, when we were weak human beings, didn't know God, didn't understand the truth of God, when we were still without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. So just like the entire human race was lost, confused, had no knowledge of God, there came a time in human history when Jesus Christ was born, according to prophecy, he lived his life, he willingly died, and he shed his blood for what? Good people? For perfect people?

For righteous people? No, he died for you and I. He died for the ungodly. Because that's how we were when God first called us and first opened our minds. It says in verse 7, for scarcely a righteous man will one die, yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love towards us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. So Christ served us, even when we didn't reciprocate back in a positive way. He served us and he died for us, even when we were still alienated from God, even though we didn't acknowledge God in our lives. Even though our minds weren't opened to the truth, Jesus Christ died so that we could be reconciled to the Father. Verse 9, much more then, having now been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. You see baptism pictures of Jesus Christ, of course, going down into his grave. He shed his blood and the fact that Jesus Christ died made it possible for our sins to be forgiven. But that's only half of the story. The other half is that he came out of that tomb to live a new life. He came out of that tomb to do something with the knowledge that he had. And we come out of that baptismal tank. It's just not good enough that our sins were washed away. We now are supposed to be new creatures in Christ that live a new life with a new attitude and zeal and enthusiasm towards our own purpose in life.

That's why we come out of that baptismal tank. That's why we are saved by his life. Verse 11, not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we now have received the reconciliation. So I want you to notice what Paul says here. He says we were weak.

He says we were sinners. He says we were enemies of God, and while we were still these things, Jesus Christ died for the ungodly. That service. There was nothing for him to gain. No ulterior motives for Jesus Christ. It wasn't about some title. It was just about a pure act of love.

And sacrificial service that Jesus Christ did for the ungodly. Again, that's you and I.

Jesus served first to his own loss and hurt in order to be a leader, the leader of the church.

Because of him, we are no longer enemies of God, but forgiven children of God. And any discussion of leadership has to start here and understand that Jesus Christ was the perfect servant leader and our discussion would be incomplete without going to Philippians chapter 2 and verse 1.

If you'll turn there with me. And yes, I know that I have covered this scripture a few times the last year, but it is so important to emphasize this concept over and over again that I think the repetition is important. So please bear with me. Philippians chapter 2 verse 1.

Again, in context here, Paul is encouraging the church to emulate the example of Jesus Christ, even in the way that they think and in the way that they communicate. He says, therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded. That means having the kind of mind that Jesus Christ had. You know how we can have perfect harmony in the church? If you start thinking like Christ, and I start thinking like Christ, and you start thinking like Christ, and we all start thinking like Christ instead of individually like ourselves with our own ideas and opinions and agendas, then we will have perfect harmony in the church. It's just that simple.

He says, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love. Here's what like-minded means, the same love of Christ, being of one accord, one mind. He says, let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind and humility, and lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interest, but for the interest of others. So this is a basic principle, followed by, as we'll see in a second, the example of Jesus Christ as he modeled servant leadership. Like-minded, again, means setting aside your own opinions and your own ideas and adopting the ideas and teachings of Jesus Christ. And it also means this. It means that in areas or subjects that Jesus Christ did not discuss, and by the way, there are lots of them, to be patient with others and to be kind with others who differ from you.

That's what it means. It means esteeming others better than yourself. You know how we could have perfect harmony in the whole world tomorrow? How all war could end? How all hostilities in the earth could cease? Is if every human being esteemed the other person better than themselves.

You would no longer have jealousy and hatred and violence and all of the things that plague this world today if each human being just esteemed everyone else they met a little better than themselves. What a tremendous change that would make in our world. Let's pick it up now in verse 5.

He says, Let this mind be in you, that was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God did not consider robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men. So he went from being part of the Godhead to a servant. Quite a demotion. And being found in the appearance of a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted him, this is his reward for that example of servant leadership, he has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name, that the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those in heaven and those on the earth and those under the earth and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father. I'm going to read this verse, just verse 7 in the New Century Version. It says, but he gave up his place with God and made himself nothing.

To what it says in the New Century Version, he made himself voluntarily, made himself nothing.

He was born to be a man and became like a servant. That servant leadership, Jesus Christ voluntarily left the Godhead to become a bond servant. Why? So that he could serve all of us, so that he could live a perfect life, so that he could shed his blood, so we can be reconciled to God, and so that he could walk out of that tomb and be our high priest and our intermediary throughout our lives.

That's the example that he set. He put the needs of others first in his desire to lead. Jesus Christ always put the Father's will before his own. Even in difficult situations, he said, Father, thy will be done. Not mine, but thy will be done.

Let's now go to Philippians chapter 3.

This is the final scripture we'll look at before we get into the book that Paul wrote that I talked about a little earlier. Philippians chapter 3, beginning in verse 1. Paul says, you know, I lived a life once where titles were very important to me. He said pedigree was very important to me. Status and reputation was what I lived for, Paul says. And righteousness? He says, I was blameless. The tiefen that's physical 10 commandments nailed it. He said, but I learned the true value of all of those things in contrast to gaining Christ. He says, finally, my brother, rejoice in the Lord, for to me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe. So he says, bear with me if I repeat myself. Paul is saying here, it's a good thing that I emphasize these things again. Beware of dogs, which was his phrase for just unclean human beings who were ravenous and very unkind. He says, beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation, that is those who tell you that in order to be saved, you have to cut off a little piece of your flesh. He says, for we are of the circumcision who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. So he says, the true circumcised are not those that have a little piece of flesh cut off of something. The true circumcised, he says, are those whose hearts are circumcised. They love God. They want to follow God. They have a relationship with God. He says, they worship him in Spirit. He says, those are the true circumcised.

Verse 4, he says, though I might also have confidence in the flesh, if anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, he says, people think that they're important, that they have titles, that they have pedigrees, that they have great educations. He says, I more so.

And he begins. He says, circumcised on the eighth day, according to God's law, he says, circumcised on the eighth day, everybody says, all you people are all obsessed with circumcision.

He says, I was circumcised according to the original law. He continues, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews. He says, you talk about pedigree.

I have the perfect pedigree, Paul says, concerning the law of Pharisee. He says, I'm more righteous.

I was more righteous than God is. I was a Pharisee. I kept laws that God didn't even say needed to be kept. He says, that's how righteous I was. Concerning zeal, persecuting the church.

He says, you talk about how zealous one is in a faith. I was so zealous, I even went after the church of God. He says, concerning the righteousness, which is in the law, blameless.

He says, you talk about the physical keeping of the law and the Ten Commandments. He says, I nailed it. I kept it perfectly. I was an incredible example that they couldn't find a flaw in me.

But what things were gained to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. He says, yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish. He says, my pedigree, rubbish. The title that I had, rubbish. My education, rubbish. All these things that I thought was so important. Self-righteousness, rubbish. He says that I may gain Christ, that I may have a knowledge of who Jesus Christ is and be able to follow Him as His disciple, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith and Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. So Paul is saying here that servant leadership means gaining Christ, gaining Him in everything, in every aspect of our life. And you know what he came to see? Physical titles, self-pride, social prestige, self-righteousness, he said, is all trash. In comparison to gaining Christ, it is all trash. Now, I want you to remember something that he doesn't mention here, that Paul had received an exclusive rabbinic education by one of the most eminent Jewish scholars of the day, a man whose name was Gamaliel.

Paul talks about him in Acts chapter 22. So he had a first-class rabbinic education. He very well, he may have been a rabbi before God called him. And he says, you know what about all that stuff?

He says, compared to gaining the knowledge in God's way of life through Jesus Christ, all that stuff was trash, because it was all about me. It was all physical. It was about my pedigree, my social standing, my education. He said, and it doesn't really mean anything.

So with that background in mind, I'd like to now go and take a look at this book. We're going to go through the entire book. It's not really that long. Obviously, some of you may have figured out it's a book of Philemon already. And we're going to cover the book of Philemon today. And we're going to see by his personal example in the way that he treats Philemon what a servant leader he was. And again, this is the only book ever written by Paul that's one-on-one. Thankfully, it found its way into the general public and was canonized in Scripture, but it was only originally written to one individual. Before we start looking at the verses, I'm going to give you a little background from Holman's Bible dictionary, which does a good job of telling us a little bit about the background of this book. So let me read a few paragraphs. It says, Philemon, a personal name meaning affectionate. In the 18th book of the New Testament, Philemon owed his conversion to the Christian faith to the apostle Paul. It's in verse 19. See that. This conversion took place during Paul's extended ministry in Ephesus. There is no evidence that Paul ever visited Colossae where Philemon lived. Paul and Philemon became devoted friends. Paul referred to Philemon as a beloved and fellow laborer. That's verse one. We'll see that. It says, Paul's only epistle of a private and personal nature that is included in the New Testament was written to Philemon in A.D. 61. This epistle concerned a runaway slave. The slave Onesimus had robbed Philemon and escaped to Rome. There Onesimus found the apostle Paul who was imprisoned.

Paul wrote to Philemon concerning Onesippus. Paul sent both the epistle and Onesippus, Onesimus, back to Colossae. The epistle states that Onesimus was now a Christian, and Paul requested that Philemon forgive and receive Onesimus not as a slave but as a brother. This request was not made from Paul's apostolic authority but tenderly as a Christian friend. Paul wrote, receive him as myself. We'll see that in verse 17. Paul also stated that he was willing to pay any damages caused by Onesimus. Some scholars indicate that Paul may have been asking suddenly that Philemon release Onesimus so that he could return and aid Paul in his evangelistic endeavors.

Philemon had a judicial right to punish severely or even kill Onesimus. Paul's short epistle of some 350 Greek words challenged Philemon to apply Christian love in dealing with Onesimus.

Paul's approach eventually caused and end the slavery. This book was well debated before the Civil War and the events leading up to the Civil War. Those who were for slavery, unfortunately, would twist it and say, well, Paul is accepting the concept of slavery in this book. He never challenges the right for someone to have slaves. And of course, those who were against slavery said, it doesn't matter. Paul tells him to free his slave. See, so this book was even used as a debate between so-called Christian believers before the Civil War. So with that background in mind, let's take a look at Philemon. We'll begin in verse one. Again, this was written about 61 AD. Paul is about 60 years old, which I have to add in context that that time is considered an old man. That was above the average life expectancy in that day. So again, it says, Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ and Timothy, our brother to Philemon, our beloved friend and fellow laborer, and to Appiah, our kippus, our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house. So Paul begins this personal letter by greeting Philemon and some of the members that he can recall. And I want you to notice that the local congregation was meeting in a home. And in the early church, that's often the way the first congregations were developed. They were only a few people, and they literally would meet in someone's home to have services. By the way, Appiah was a woman, and she may have very well been Philemon's wife, even though we cannot prove that. So he greeted both the male and the female believers in the congregation, or the leaders in the congregation. Verse 3, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers. Again, this is God's standard greeting. This is Paul's standard greeting or affirmation that, frankly, he uses in almost all of his letters. It's that phrase he repeated over and over again. Verse 5, Hearing of your love and faith, which you have toward the Lord Jesus Christ and toward all the saints, that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you. So he compliments him. Paul says, I have heard about your love. I have heard, word has gotten back to me, about how faithful you are and how kind and faithful you are towards all of the saints.

I'm going to read these verses from the translation God's word for today. He says, I hear about your faithfulness to the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God's people. As you share the faith you have in common with others, I pray that you may come to have a complete knowledge of every blessing we have in Christ. So Paul begins by complimenting my lead man, letting him know in Paul's mind how valuable he is as a human being, how valuable he is as a person. And, of course, it's always encouraging when someone says that I make mention of you always in my prayers. Now, that's a pretty good act of love when someone says to you, you know, I think of you every day and I mention you in my prayers. That's what Paul says as he begins his book. Verse 7, he says, for we have great joy in consolation in your love because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.

So again, he's encouraging him. I want you to notice how Paul is focusing on the positive traits of Philemon. I mean, Philemon was human. Paul could have pointed out his weaknesses if he chose to. He could have said, what have you done so evil that you caused your slave to run away from you? He could have made accusations. He could have been negative. But that's not what a servant leader does. He focused on the positive traits of Philemon. He focused on the good things that he had done for the church and that he had achieved. Paul chose to focus on his strengths, not to focus on his weaknesses. And he gets in verse 8, and he begins to get directly to the point and the purpose of this letter. He says, therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting, yet for love's sake I rather appeal to you, being such a one as Paul the aged and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ. So Paul finally gets to the point and he says, I'm going to bring up an issue. He says, and you know what? Even though, in theory, as an apostle, I have the right to be bold and command you to let that slave go, he says, but I'm not going to do that. Instead, in an attitude of love, Paul is going to appeal to Philemon. He's going to talk to him. He's going to use reasoning.

He's going to use Christian values in order to appeal to him to voluntarily do the right thing, not to be commanded to do it, not to be shamed to do it, but to encourage him to voluntarily do the right thing. And I remember that again that Paul's about 60 years old at this time. That's why he refers to himself as the aged. I'm not quite ready to go that far yet, but that's how he felt.

And of course, he also was in prison, so that's why he refers to himself as the prisoner of Jesus Christ. Verse 10, he says, I peel to you for my son, notice the tender phrase he uses about Philemon's slave, for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me. I'd like to just read a paragraph from Holman's Bible dictionary about Onesimus, and here's what it says. Personal name that may mean profitable. So Paul's comment in verse 11 is kind of a play on words. The slave for whom Paul wrote his letter to Philemon, in the epistle Paul pled with Philemon to free the servant because Onesimus had been so helpful to the apostle. Onesimus had robbed his master, escaped, met Paul, and accepted Christ. In sending him back to Philemon, Paul urged the owner to treat the slave as a Christian brother. Have you ever heard the saying that it's a small world? I'm sure you have. Well, this story of Onesimus proves that that phrase is correct. Here you have an individual who's a slave of Philemon. He steals from his master, and he runs away, and he goes to this huge city of Rome.

What are the odds that he would run into this guy named Paul that he would hear Paul preach and literally become a Christian convert? Well, I'll tell you what the odds are. When it's regarding God's divine intervention and his will, the odds are about 100 percent, because this was not coincidence. This was part of the will of God. This is what God had planned. So he becomes a Christian convert, and he serves Paul's needs as an apostle when he's in prison. After all, he was a slave. He knew how to be a valet. He knew how to take care of people. He knew how to attend people's needs. And here's Paul stuck in this prison. Now, I don't know if it's the same prison in Rome that my wife and I saw when we visited Rome during the feast a number of years ago, but that particular prison was a dark, dank, stink hole. So I'm sure Paul could use all the encouragement he could get. If it's anything like what the so-called Catholic Church claims, was the prison that Paul was in. But Onesimus comes and he serves him. And Paul realizes, of course, that the right thing to do is to reconcile Philemon and Onesimus, because they're now brothers in Christ.

And he needs to have them reconcile with each other. And he knows the right thing to do is not to use his apostolic authority to command Philemon to give him his servant, but to literally in faith send him back to Philemon with this letter and through Christian love appeal to him and convince him that he needs to do the right thing. So here's what he says. Let's pick it up in verse 12. He says, I am sending him back. You therefore receive him, that is my own heart, whom I wished to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel. But without your consent, I wanted to do nothing. That your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary. So I want you to notice Paul's humility and his gentleness.

He sends Onesimus back with this letter. He could have reasoned well. Don't you know who I am?

I am an apostle, and I'm keeping him because he's already here. And I'm just sending you a letter telling you what I've decided to do. That's not the approach that Paul takes. That's not the approach that Paul takes at all. Paul only commanded and demanded things when individuals were trying to hurt the church and promote their own agenda. And yes, if you look in the book of Galatians, he's not a happy camper. If you see some of the things that he writes in Corinthians, he can be very strong. He indeed can be very commanding when the situation calls for it.

But instinctively, that was not his first approach to things. That is not the way that he handled most issues. He basically once, as he says here in this verse, he said that I I want it to be with your consent and that your good deed may not be by compulsion. In other words, not because I force you, but because you want to do it. So Paul is setting here again an incredible example.

And we have to remember that legally, according to Roman law, Philemon had every right to beat Onesimus for fleeing and even have him mutilated or executed because he had stolen from him. There is an important Christian principle here in the approach that Paul is taking to Philemon. Some people have an authority obsession, and they think that giving commands and forcing people to do things against their will is somehow a godly quality.

Well, I will admit that there are times when you have to give commands. There are times when you have to be strong, especially if you're dealing with, for example, small, disobedient children who do not have the maturity yet the reason or rationally be told something to appeal to them in order to protect them from themselves. There are times in their situations when you have to be strong and you have to take authority.

And sometimes you even have to command them. And I will agree that there are even some adults who a servant leadership approach will not work on. If you approach some adults with a servant leadership approach, they will look at it as weakness, they will interpret it as weakness, and they will walk all over you.

But instinctively, that should always be our first approach. And if that doesn't work, then you have to try something else. But the point that I want to bring out here is that commanding and demanding people to do things is unfruitful when you're talking and dealing with mature people, especially those who have God's Holy Spirit. God wants us to be obedient, not because of fear, not because of force, not because we are shamed into doing something. He wants us to obey Him because we love Him.

He wants us to do things voluntarily because it's the right thing to do. For example, I know some people who tithe because God commands it. I know people who tithe because, again, God commands that they tithe. And then I know other people who do so because God loves a cheerful giver, and it is a privilege to give back, to help others. You see, it's just two different approaches. It's two different ways of looking at the same activity. One is a response because of a command, and one responds because they love God, and they want to please their Father, and they want to do the right thing cheerfully and positively, and they consider it a privilege to be called by God and to be part of His Church.

Let's take a look now at verse 15. It says, for perhaps He departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive Him forever. So Paul says, you know, maybe there's a plan behind this. Hint, that in this huge city of Rome that He discovered me, and I preached to Him, and He accepted the Word, and He became converted. He says, maybe there's something there. Continuing in verse 16, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but now how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

So Paul is saying here that God works in mysterious ways, and without God's intervention, Onesimus would have simply been a runaway slave who was absorbed into the huge city of Rome, never to be seen or heard of again. But now, because of his conversion and mentoring from Paul, Onesimus was the spiritual brother of Philemon for all eternity. Verse 17, if then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me.

But if he is wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account. I, Paul, am writing with my own hand, I will repay, not to mention to you, that you owe me even your own self besides. So he's basically telling Philemon that this is your opportunity to demonstrate total love and forgiveness towards Onesimus, oh by the way, to the same degree that I've shown it towards you in the past. Paul reminds him of the acts of service that Paul demonstrated towards Philemon.

This appeal was so important to Paul that he wrote it personally. He didn't have a scribe write this. Sometimes they had an amenuensis. Sometimes they had an individual write for them and they literally would dictate it to someone else who would write it. But Paul, saying this is so important to me that I am writing this with my own hand, this appeal to you. Let's pick it up now in verse 20. But yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in the Lord, having confidence in your obedience. I write to you knowing that you will do even more than I say.

But meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for I trust that through your prayers I shall be granted to you. So again, what approach does Paul use? He uses encouragement. He uses positive peer pressure to let Philemon know how pleased he'll be if his appeal is respected and obeyed. Paul is also optimistic, by the way, that he's going to leave prison. He says here in verse 23, he says, Epiphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus greets you, as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. So Paul closes this letter by sending greetings from the believers who were with him in Rome. Sadly, a little bit later, Demas would leave him and would desert him.

He writes in 2 Timothy that Demas had left him, quote, having loved this present world. So someone that he respected and even mentioned by name in this letter, unfortunately later left Paul and perhaps even left the faith. So that's the story of the book of Philemon.

In Paul's demonstration of servant leadership, to have the right approach to encourage someone to do the right thing rather than demand or force someone to do something that they want done. So what about Onesimus? Was he a faithful brother? Do we hear from him again in God's word? Well, let's go forward in time, just a couple of years, to the book of Colossians.

If you'll turn to Colossians chapter 4 and verse 7. Let's fast forward just a couple of years and see what happened.

Colossians chapter 4 and verse 7.

It says, A faithful brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord will tell you all the news about me. So this letter is being sent to Colossae with these individuals. Verse 8.

I am sending him to you for this very purpose that he may know your circumstances and comfort your hearts. Verse 9 with Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother who is one of you. Of course, much like Philemon, he had lived in Colossae, so that was his hometown. He says, They will make you known all the things which are happening here. So this was written one to two years after Philemon. And apparently from the context, Philemon set Onesimus free, and he sent him back to Paul to serve Paul. And Paul, in turn, sent him out with others to the scattered congregations to encourage them to minister to the scattered congregations on behalf of Paul. So it's a good end of the story. He indeed was set free. Let's take a look now, brethren, at a final scripture here. Let's go to Romans chapter 1 and verse 7. Final scripture for the day. Romans chapter 1 beginning in verse 7. And here's the point of this scripture, and that is, mature people, especially people that have God's Holy Spirit, are more motivated by encouragement and a positive example rather than by commands and demands made on them. Romans chapter 1 beginning in verse 7. He says, to all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints, grace to you, peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Again, his affirmation begins most of his books with. He says, first, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all that your faith spoken of throughout the whole world. Again, he's writing to the congregation in Rome. That is the heart of the Roman Empire. That is the heart of paganism.

So he's complimenting them. He says, your faith, in spite of all obstacles to hold a little congregation together in the city of Rome, your faith is spoken of throughout all the churches in the world. What a marvel you are! Verse 9, for God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the Gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers. Isn't that the exact same thing he told Philemon? It is, because Paul did it. And he knew how important it was to encourage mature people, to encourage people who have God's Holy Spirit, rather than making demands on them, rather than commanding them what to do. Verse 10, he says, making myself, if by some means now, at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you, for I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established. That is, I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith of both you and me. So he says to them, I want to come and visit you in Rome. And why does he want to come and visit them in Rome? To correct them?

To tell them everything they're doing that's wrong? To command them to do something? To demand something out of them? No. He says that we may be encouraged together by our mutual faith. Verse 13, now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you, but was hindered until now. That I might have some fruit among you also, just among the other Gentiles. Verse 14, I am a debtor, he says, meaning that he has an obligation, both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and unwise, so as much as in me, I'm ready to preach the gospel to you, who are in Rome also. He said, so I have a calling, I have an obligation to go to everybody in the world, barbarians, Gentiles, people who, you know, speak various languages. Paul says, I have a heavy responsibility in my shoulders. I'm supposed to be everywhere at the same time. He says, but I'm going to try to come to visit this beloved congregation in Rome. So again, I want you to focus on the fact that he motivated them by encouragement and by personal example, rather than making demands and commands on them. Today, we've studied an excellent biblical example in how to get something accomplished in an effective way, especially when you're dealing with believers, when you're dealing with others who have God's Spirit. Paul has shown us in his writings that having an attitude of a servant and logically appealing to someone of faith is far more helpful, far more beneficial than simply telling them or commanding or demanding that they do something. In our own relationships in the Church of God, let us always remember this very powerful example. Have a wonderful Sabbath day. We will be clearing the hall. Probably ask everyone to remove your belongings from your chairs so that we can reconfigure the hall up, set the tables out, and we look forward to seeing everyone during the potluck.