OPENING THOUGHT:
Last Sunday, in part one of our Three Sundays with Philemon, we continued looking at the dividing walls that separate us from other people.

Philemon was a slave master with property and wealth and a nice home, and even though he believed in Jesus and had a church family meeting in his home, there was still this big, looming question: Would he ever welcome a runaway slave named Onesimus back into his home, no longer as a slave, but as a Christian brother? This must have seemed like an impossible request in light of Philemon's position and the power that he held over a slave like Onesimus.

But we also saw last Sunday how God begins to do the impossible when we put our faith in Him. Only God can put us in our rightful place, first of all by reminding us that, no matter how big we get, we belong to Him and that we all are in the same human boat of being accountable to Him. Why would we ever think that we are better than or above other people when we all share the same God and are equally accountable to Him?

That wrecking ball called humility is a big first step in removing the barriers that often divide us from other people. But today we will see and hopefully experience perhaps the greatest wrecking ball of them all with the wrecking ball called love!

On the Basis of Love...
Why do you think Paul was appealing to Philemon on the basis of love? He was not talking about love at the human level. He was not appealing to romantic love or “touchy-feely” love or even the brother-to-brother love, because if it all depended on that level of love, then Philemon would never do what Paul was asking him to do.

The truth is that our love at the human level is broken because each one of us is broken. We tend to think of love as a feeling that comes and goes. Our love comes with strings attached, and we often change our minds about it or only share it if we are getting something in return. When it comes to human love, the default mode at our level becomes the lo

You may say that you love someone, but when push comes to shove, it is more about you! Even when we say that we love God, our love is broken. You may say that you love God, but do you love him the way Adam & Eve loved him? Do you love him the way that Jonah loved him or the way Peter loved him?

If Paul had been appealing to our human love, then there would have been no way that Philemon would do what Paul was asking him to do. But Paul was not appealing to our human level of love. The love he was appealing to was the God-level of love, what we call agape love. This is the love that Paul earlier described in 1 Corinthians 13:4–8...

We must appeal to this greater love that is only available from God. He alone is the source, but He is pouring out this great love in abundance when…

Paul wrote this letter knowing that he had led Philemon to Jesus. And so, he wrote this letter also knowing that Philemon had experienced this greater love from Jesus, demonstrated in how Jesus sacrificed His life on the cross.

The first step for you to experience this greater love from God is to experience Jesus. Think about all that he did over 2,000 years ago, coming into this world as God in the flesh - from baby to manhood - living in this world, and then dying on the cross. He did all of that for you... Even you when you have been at your worst!

This love will save you just as it had saved Philemon and Onesimus. But the question was… Would this love make a difference between Philemon and Onesimus? You begin to experience this greater love when you say yes to Jesus, but the experience will continue to grow…

Paul had modeled this love when he shared the gospel with Onesimus and when he offered to pay the debt to Philemon that should have been paid by Onesimus. But did you see that Philemon had also been a model for this love.

Philemon had already been showing this love to other believers, so why would he stop there and suddenly put up barriers to keep that same love from flowing out to other people, like Onesimus? This is something that we do all the time, almost like we think it is up to us who should receive God's love. If it belongs to God and He is sharing it with us, then why would we ever think that it is ours to withhold from other people?

This is where we need to remember how much God’s love has saved us. When you were a slave to your sin and heading on a path of separation and destruction, God reached out to you and saved you to make a new way for you. And because of what God has done for you, you now have a second chance to live differently, to forgive more, and to love greater. This love is great enough to cover even those people whom you consider to be enemies!

Were you not once an enemy of God and yet He still shared His love with you? And now you have all the love you will ever need from Him. It is an endless supply so that all you have to do is be willing to share it with others. What is something you can do to share this love from Jesus?

In all those years before Onesimus ran away, Philemon had never shared his faith with him. It took Paul in prison to be the one to share his faith with him. But look again at what Paul writes to Philemon in verse 6.

There is no greater way to experience the love of God than to see it come alive in another person and to know that you had a part in that happening! Do you want to have a greater understanding of Jesus and a greater experience of His love? If so, then let His love flow through you by sharing your faith with others. And if you truly believe that Jesus is the only way, then the greatest act of love you could possibly show is to share that way with others by what you say and how you live, just as Paul was urging Philemon to do with Onesimus... Forgiving more, serving more, and loving greater!

What would be the final verdict between Philemon and Onesimus? Would Philemon do what Paul urged him to do in verse 15 & 16… To welcome him back into his home as a Christian brother? The fact that the answer is left open is an invitation for us to put ourselves in this story and to consider the hope and the possibilities for our own relationships.

So, what about you this morning?