February 26, 2025 • 36 mins
From a thief to a brother— Onesimus' journey is proof that change is possible. Join us as we explore the power of forgiveness in our recent episode! What's your story of redemption? 🎧
#Faith #inspirational #Hope #Life #PersonalityTraits #FromTheBible #ChristianPodcasts #CheerUpPodcast #Cheer #CheriSwalwell #KaraRHunt
https://cheeruppodcast.buzzsprout.com
Would you like to support the Cheer UP! Podcast? You can do so by clicking here
Kara's website - click here.
Cheri's website- here.
Email - cheeruppodcast@gmail.com
Instagram - @kararhunt
Leave reviews on - Apple, Spotify, iHeart, Google Podcasts,
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Hi and welcome to the Cheer Up Podcast.
I am your host, Kara R Hunt,and with me is the sweet and
savvy Sherri Swalwell.
How are you doing today, Sherri?
I?
Speaker 2 (00:34):
am doing really, really good and I'm trying to
think I haven't read any.
Well, right now I'm readingAmish fiction, which is amazing.
I absolutely love ShelleyShepard Gray.
Well, I love a lot of Amishfiction, which is amazing.
I absolutely love ShelleyShepard Gray.
Well, I love a lot of Amishwriters, to be honest.
But it's just like what youwere talking about last week,
tara.
I love reading Christianfiction, regardless of the genre
(00:56):
.
There's a couple of genres Ijust am not super interested in,
just simply because of mypersonality, but I love when God
is involved and when it's abiblical like, when it brings me
back to just a relationshipwith God.
Honestly, every area of my lifeif it points back to him, I'm
happy.
(01:16):
So, yes, I am fantastic today.
How about you?
Speaker 1 (01:23):
For those of you who don't know, last week we kind of
just had a brief discussion,before we got into the topic of
the disciples, about novels thatreally kind of pique our
attention, and especiallyChristian novels that really
really emphasize faith withinthe characters and or in the
storyline, and so, and that'swhat we were and that's exactly
(01:45):
what we were talking about.
And there's different types ofnovels out there and, like she
was saying, there's even Amishnovel writers and things like
that.
It kind of just depends on whatyou like to read.
I'm more of a political andlegal thriller kind of gal, a
little mystery and suspensethrown in.
But I know others aren't.
They like romance or cleanromance.
(02:07):
I should say sweet, cleanromances and things like that.
But yeah, and for those of youwho don't know, sherry and I are
both authors and she would tellyou more about that at the end
of the podcast.
But right now I just want to saythank you to all of our new
(02:28):
listeners on the Chirp podcast.
Thank you so much.
We see you guys, we see thedifferent countries being added
excuse me, the different nationsthat are being added, and the
different cities and thedifferent states, and it just
continues to grow and recentlyChirp Nation.
You just blew us away.
You just blew us away with theamount of downloads and
(02:50):
everything else that we've beenhaving recently.
So thank you, thank you, thankyou, thank you.
I don't want any of ourlisteners to ever think we take
you for granted.
We don't.
We appreciate each and everylast one of you and if you've
been blessed by the ChairPodcast, we just ask that you
continue to share it, each andevery last one of you.
And if you've been blessed bythe Churro podcast, we just ask
that you continue to share it,download like it, share it Again
(03:12):
.
That helps in the algorithm,especially for those who are
just looking for inspirational,christian-filled, topic-type
podcasts.
So that really helps it.
If you download it, like it andor share it, especially share
it with your friends who arelooking for a podcast like this.
If you've it, like it and orshare it, especially share with
your friends who are looking fora podcast like this.
If you've been blessed by it,and for those of you who are new
, welcome.
We are so excited to be able tohave you join True Nation and
(03:34):
we again, we appreciate you morethan we could ever express with
words and right now we'regetting ready to go into.
So last week and for the pastcouple of months, as you guys
know, we have been doingbiblical figures of the Old
Testament, and right now, excuseme, let me take that back.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
New.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Testament, new Testament I am so sorry, we did
the Old Testament too, but thatwas earlier in the year.
But no, we're doing the NewTestament, the Old Testament too
, but that was earlier in theyear.
So, but no, we're doing the NewTestament and we're just
talking about some of thebiblical figures there that just
were really prominent not soprominent, but made a huge
impact on the early Christianchurch and how they are still
(04:17):
and what they've been throughand what they've done, how they
can still make an impact in ourlives today.
And today we're going to talkabout and again, I was talking
to Sherry about this beforehand,because I don't know, my
pronunciation of some of thesewords, of some of these names,
is a little bit different but sotoday we're going to talk about
Philemon, am I right, sherry?
Speaker 2 (04:40):
That's how I say him.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Okay, Philemon.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
If we're wrong, Philemon, we apologize.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Oh, yes, you know, because I think I wanted to say
Philemon or something like that.
So Philemon, Philemon, andwe're going to talk about
Onesimus, and I'm saying that.
Right, sherry, right, I think,onesimus, that's how I say it,
okay.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Onesimus, and I'm saying that right, sherry, right
, I think.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Onesimus, Okay, onesimus.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
When we go up to heaven, one of the or well, when
we go up to heaven, Kara, we'rejust going to have to go up and
just with an apology on ourmouths, we are so sorry.
We are so sorry.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
We're so sorry.
We butchered your names.
We tried, we really did Jesussees our heart.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Do you see our heart?
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Yes, we were trying and we're hoping we're not
offending anyone by gettingthese wrong.
No, honestly, we are really,really trying, and I just ask
for your mercy and grace if Ihappen to slip up and say them
incorrectly, but right now we'retalking about this particular
episode.
We're talking about PhilemonP-H-I-L-E-M-O-N and we're
(05:52):
talking about OnesimusO-N-E-S-I-M-U-S.
We are talking about these twotogether and, honestly, we
really can't talk about thesetwo together without mentioning
Paul.
However, we already discussedhim in a previous episode.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
So we're not going to go.
I'm interrupting for one secondonly because and I'm so sorry
about the interrupting part butthat just goes to show you how
God took somebody who was anamazing sinner and flooded him
throughout the entire Bible.
You can't talk about most ofthe New Testament without Paul
(06:32):
being a part of it.
Like that speaks volumes in andof itself.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
So okay, now I'll shut up, Right, Well you got a
point because he was also whenwe talked about Priscilla and
Aquila.
Remember Yep and Silas yes, andSilas yeah and Timothy yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
So you're right, and Barnabas and Barnabas, don't
forget him, right.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
So it's like whenever we, these characters, these
biblical figures, come up in theNew Testament, sherry's right,
it's like you just can't.
They were so Paul was justeverywhere, okay, and he was
doing his job and he was such asinner.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
He was such a sinner, but yet, god, when God gets a
hold of our lives, watch out,watch him Exactly.
Yes, and we even talked, butyet, god, when God gets a hold
of our lives, watch out, watchand see what happens.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Exactly yes, and we even talked about that a little
bit in last week's episode whenwe talked about the disciples.
Right, and it is just amazing.
You can't go wrong you justabsolutely can't go wrong with
having a relationship with Jesus, and Paul is one of the perfect
New Testament examples of that.
But I'm going to break themdown because they're actually
(07:43):
two very different people,philemon and Onesimus.
They're actually obviouslythey're two different people,
but one is they're justcompletely different.
So I'm going to start withPhilemon and just kind of give
you a little.
First of all, philemon is inthe New Testament.
A lot of people may not realizethat because it is the shortest
(08:06):
book of the Bible.
I believe it is.
I am almost positive.
It is only one chapter.
It's maybe a couple of verses,but I believe it's only one
chapter, but it is absolutelythe shortest book in the entire
Bible, but definitely the NewTestament.
So he is in there, philemon.
Yeah, philemon, sorry.
(08:27):
So among all the converts ofPaul, perhaps while at Ephesus,
was one whom he called a fellowworker and that was Philemon.
Philemon, I am so sorry.
That was Philemon and that istalked about in one of the first
(08:48):
verses of Philemon and he wasprobably.
Philemon was probably a man ofsome means and he was celebrated
for his hospitality Again, youcan read all of this in the
first chapter of Philemon.
And it was also at his house.
It was at Philemon's house thatthe Colossian Christians met as
(09:08):
a center, so all of theChristians and Colossians kind
of gathered at Philemon's houseand it is more probable, it is
probably more than probable thatthis was a group of the
Colossian church rather than theentire ecclesia.
I should say he was married.
Philemon was married, his wifewas named Aphia and he had a son
(09:31):
who was named Archippus,a-r-c-h-i-p-p-u-s, p-u-s.
And from Colossians 4, 17,.
From Colossians the book ofColossians, chapter 4, 17, we
learn that Archippus, philemon'sson, also held an office of
some importance in the city ofColossus.
(09:53):
So his son was also a veryimportant man.
Some think he may.
It's not clear whether he wasjust a presbyter or an
evangelist, but in Philemon heis also called Paul's fellow
soldier.
The relationship between theapostle and Philemon was so
close and intimate that Pauldoes not hesitate okay, he does
(10:17):
not hesitate to press him toforgive his slave, his slave
Onesimus, for stealing from himand for running away.
And that shows you how closetheir relationship was right,
and we will talk about this alittle bit more.
But I mean, you have to have agood friend that comes to you
and be like hey, I know thisperson did wrong or whatever,
(10:40):
but here I am, I'm kind of likestanding in.
I know this person did wrong orwhatever, but here I am, I'm
kind of like standing in the gapfor this person right here.
So now tradition says Philemon,who they say you know was a
bishop of Colossus, and in theGreek martyrology
M-A-R-T-Y-R-O-L-O-G-Y it's likea book of martyrs tells us that
(11:04):
he, that Philemon, and his wifeand his son and his slave
Onesimus, were martyred bystoning before Androcles the
governor in the days of Nero,hercules, the governor in the
days of Nero.
Now, that's just what the Greekmartyrology says, but I just
kind of want to throw that inthere.
So it looks like all of themwere martyred together.
(11:27):
They were stoned together, him,his wife, his son and his slave
, onesimus.
Okay, so now Philemon, like Isaid, he was a person in good
standing, he was in highstanding, probably high ranking.
It sounds like here he may havebeen a bishop and he had a
(11:49):
slave, and that was Onesimus,and Onesimus was a slave.
Again, that's talked about inPhilemon 1, chapter 1, verse 16.
And he belonged to Philemon,who was a wealthy citizen of
Colossus and a prominent memberof the church there.
Onosimus was still a heathenwhen he defrauded his master and
ran off from Colossus.
He found his way to Rome, whereevil men tended to flock back
(12:12):
then as a common place to go, asa lot of the historical
journals kind of tells us thatthey did around that period.
But in Rome, while he was inRome, he came in contact with
Paul, who was then in militarycustody.
That is just amazing, right,because even while Paul is in
(12:32):
well, let me just let me finish.
So, anyway, what brought himinto contact with Paul?
No one really knows, because,again, paul was in military
custody.
But if God has plans anddesigns on your life, he will
play chess and make moves thatwill put you together with that
person.
So it may have been pangs ofhunger, it may have been the
(12:53):
pangs of conscience, but youknow, for some reason Onesimus
could not forget, right, that inhis master's house, in
Philemon's house in Colossus,was where all the Christians met
in their weekly assemblies forthe worship of Christ.
So obviously he couldn't forgethow Philemon had many times
(13:14):
spoken of Paul to whom he owedhis conversion.
Philemon did.
And so now we have Onesimus inRome which I don't believe in
coincidences and Paul is also inRome, and as a result of that,
onesimus becomes a Christian.
He is converted from hisheathenistic lifestyle and he
(13:36):
becomes, you know, a Christian.
He becomes, you know, aChristian and he, which is like
a big deal, is a big deal.
And at the time, becauseOnesimus not only became
converted with Paul toChristianity, but he also worked
with Paul quite a lot, and Paulends up writing this letter to
(14:00):
he always was writing letters,but he ended up writing this
letter anyway to Philemon,saying, hey, I'm sending
Onesimus back to you and this iswhy, and, by the way, don't
kill him.
Okay so, but he furnishesOnesimus with a letter before he
sends him back to his master,philemon.
(14:22):
And I just want to say thisthing Slavery in biblical days
was different than like,especially if you're thinking
American slavery and a historyof that.
It wasn't back then due to likethe color of your skin.
There were so many ways youcould have become a slave of
someone If your family owed thema debt of someone, if your
(14:47):
family owed them a debt, if youwere a foreigner, for example,
and your nation was conquered byanother nation and they took
prisoners, they often becameslaves.
So there were so many differentways that a person could become
a slave back then and most ofthe times, biblically, it had
nothing to do with the color ofyour skin.
It probably had to do more ofif you were captured or if you
were in debt and other thingslike that.
So but he furnishes Onesimus aletter written by Titholaman and
(15:16):
he says you know, I need you toreturn.
But Onesimus was scared, right,because, returning to a city
where it was well known thatOnesimus was not a Christian or
even an honest man, he neededsomeone to vouch for the reality
of the change which had takenplace in his life, because
otherwise they would have saidyou're just a liar, you're a
(15:36):
defrauder and a liar and you'rea runaway and you know.
So no one can trust you.
But Paul had given him thisletter to give to Philemon and
when you read in Philemon, thebook in the Bible, he talks
about how he says Receive him,says the apostle, for he is my
(15:57):
own very heart.
So this shows you thesignificant change in Onesimus
after his contact with Paul andafter his conversion to
Christianity.
It goes on to say the man whomthe Colossians had only known if
they knew him at all as aworthless, runaway slave, is now
commended to them as he was nolonger a slave but a brother in
(16:19):
Christ, because before they knewhim as this hedonistic person,
he was a thief.
He had done all these badthings, which is probably one of
the reasons he may have endedup a slave, and so they knew him
as this way.
But now he's returningdifferent, and he has this
letter from the Apostle Paulthat's saying hey, I can vouch
for this man.
And having a letter from theApostle Paul saying that was
(16:42):
huge, was huge, just to put itin today's terms.
It's almost as if you weregoing for a government job and
the President of the UnitedStates himself highly
recommended you, for example.
Or if you're in England, likethe Queen sent a letter with you
, because in a Christian earlychurch there was, like, no one
else who could seriously vouchfor you any better than Paul,
(17:07):
and so and he says that to them.
So now they're like wait, he'snot dishonest and faithless, but
now you're telling us that he'strustworthy and not worthy of
contempt but of love.
So, and this is quickly howthings change.
And then the apostle begsPhilemon, paul begs Philemon, to
give Onesimus the samereception as he would give to
(17:27):
himself, that he would give toPaul.
And he said whatever he hasdone, pay that to mine account,
or some other phrases that headded in a letter.
He's saying I will repay it.
So, but all of that has changed.
So Onesimus goes back and wehave to remember that if
(17:47):
Onesimus had just went back onhis own, if he just had like a
sway of conscience and be likeyou know what, I'm just going to
go back and just face theconsequences, the consequences
would have been dire, would havebeen dire.
It was allowable back then tostone a runaway slave, to kill
them, a runaway slave to harmthem in other types of ways.
(18:12):
So if Philemon, even though hewas a Christian and he was like
the Bishop of Colossus orwhatever, he was still within
his rights to be able to, whenOnesimus returned, to be able to
do all these sorts of things tohim, he could have had him
killed and no one, probably eventhe Christians in the church,
would have blinked an eyebecause that is the way that
(18:33):
they dealt with them back then.
So he couldn't if he had wentback without that.
He faced that possibility.
So he couldn't if he had wentback without that.
He faced that possibility.
Actually, he still faced thatpossibility.
But he had this letter from Paulsaying hey, I vouched for him.
You know, pay this to myaccount, whatever he's done, you
know, and everything else.
And this is a changed man.
(18:55):
So the layman knew that, wow,if Paul is vouching for him,
then this must indeed be achanged man.
So what am I going to do now?
Like he stole from me, like heembarrassed me, Like he ran away
from me, as a Christian, do Isit here and do I do what is my
right and just have him killed?
(19:17):
Because what about my otherslaves?
They're going to be like oh, heaccepted Onesimus back, so if I
run away and then I decide lifeis too hard and I come back,
then you know, maybe he'll dothe same to me.
His reputation is at stake anda lot of other things.
So it's one of those things towhere God has orchestrated all
of this.
Because Philemon, he has to makethat choice, and so does
(19:41):
Onesimus.
He has to make that choice, hehas to trust in God that
Philemon will accept Paul's wordand that he will accept him
back and he will be a part ofthe family again.
And according to the Greek bookof Martyrology, that he was
(20:03):
massacred with them, stoned todeath with them, it seems as
though he actually accepted himback as a slave.
Now I don't know how long afterthat happened that they were
martyred.
I'm going to guess a couple ofyears, if not decades.
So if he was martyred alongwith the son and the wife and
Philemon, that means that heaccepted him back.
(20:23):
And so it just once again goesto show you that when God enters
a person's life, you could be aheathen, as the scripture, I
believe, had described Onesimus.
He was a thief.
He had stole from.
It wasn't just bad enough thathe ran away, but he stole from
Philemon and everything else,and so they both had decisions
(20:44):
to make.
As a Christian, philemon waslike do I show him mercy, do I
show him grace?
Do I accept him back?
At a sacrifice to me of mebeing looked down and mocked up
on by, you know, my people insociety, because they're going
to say, oh my gosh, you'reacting so weak.
And at a sacrifice to me thatsome of the other slaves may
(21:08):
actually think that it's okayfor them to run so a great
personal sacrifice.
It seems like he acceptedOnesimus back, accepted him as a
brother in Christ and acceptedhim in love.
And Onesimus had to do thatsame thing.
He had to put his faith in God.
That Paul actually vouching forhim and standing up for him
(21:28):
would be enough for Philemon toaccept him back.
Because again, onesimus couldhave said no and he could have
said I'm not going back.
He could still kill me, but hehad to put his faith in God.
He had Paul's letter, but thatwas not a guarantee.
Philemon could have stillkilled him, you know, and so a
lot of times.
But look, if he was martyredwith them, if you, you know,
(21:51):
according to the Greek book ofmartyrology, then that means
that they were together and so I.
That just goes to show you onboth sides.
Sometimes we have to, not allthe time, when we people have
hurt us in our past and they'vedone some damage to our family
and our lives and to our careers.
Not often do they come with aletter from someone we highly
(22:13):
esteem and say, hey, I can vouchfor this person.
I know they did you wrong.
I know they stole from you.
I know they ruined your career.
I know that they broke up yourchurch and everything else, but
this is a changed man.
I know that they broke up yourchurch and everything else, but
this is a changed man.
So not a lot of times do wehave that, but we do have the
(22:33):
Holy Spirit that can help uswhen they do come back to us and
they say I am sincerely sorry,please forgive me, I was wrong.
I have you know, I have nowseen the light.
Just, please forgive me.
I would never, ever do thatagain and everything else.
And it's up to us, you know, asChristians, to be able to accept
that Of course you know, ifthey don't have someone like
that who could say that wereally have to trust the Holy
(22:53):
Spirit and say, lord, are theyfor real?
Are they for real?
Because I'm more than willingto forgive, but I can't invite
them back into my life.
I can't invite them back intomy kids' life or back into the
job, the business I run, knowingthat they have done this in the
past.
But if they have truly acceptedyou as their Savior, then let
(23:14):
me know.
So back then they didn't havethe Holy Spirit at that time,
but we have it now.
So if you've done somethingwrong and you're like, my family
will never forgive me.
My employer will never forgiveme.
I can never go back.
I can never ask my job back.
I can never go back to myspouse after what I've done.
My kids will never forgive me.
I'll probably never see themagain.
(23:34):
So if you think that that's thecase and if you have truly
given your life to Christ, hewill make a way for it to happen
, if you truly honestly desirethis.
So don't ever feel like you'retoo far gone that God can help
you.
And that's what I kind ofwanted to say about Onesimus and
Philemon.
What did you want to ask,sherry?
Speaker 2 (23:55):
I think you did an amazing job.
The only thing that my pastordid a sermon on this series, or
did a sermon series on thisstory, this physical event, and
he talked about the choice thatPaul had.
Paul really wanted Onesimus tostay with him, because Paul oh,
that's right.
(24:15):
Yes, he took him on as a mentor,as a brother, as a son.
Not as a brother, but as a son.
He really wanted Onesimus tostay with him and Paul, like you
were talking talking about, hadso much influence in the early
church he could have said well,you know, those rules don't
apply in this situation he couldhave.
He could have swung it so thathe could have um, kept an
(24:37):
estimate with him and put somekind of rule or exception or
something behind it and hopethat it stuck.
But he didn't.
He was a man of integrity andhe knew that he was, that there
was a chance that philemon wouldnot accept him, that philemon
could kill him.
He, I'm sure, said to anathemasyou know what dude I'm?
(24:58):
I'm recommending this becausethis is what the bible says.
Speaker 1 (25:02):
But it might not end well.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
I, like I'm going to do my part and do as much as I
can to help it end well, but I'mnot in charge here.
Ultimately, it's the layman'schoice.
So everyone in this situationhad a choice, and I really.
We pray the sinner's prayer alot of times on this podcast,
and there's a part of thesinner's prayer that we pray
(25:25):
that talks about forgive me forall that I have done wrong, and
I choose to forgive all others.
And every time I pray thatprayer, I always think oh, I
want to talk about that part.
When we choose to surrender ourlives to God, we are choosing
to forgive all others.
Like you said, that doesn'tmean inviting them back into our
(25:47):
lives and sitting them at ourtable and giving them our best
meal.
It doesn't mean not doing that,but it means God wants us to
have healthy boundaries, and soit doesn't mean that we're
opening ourselves up tocontinual hurt.
But God, there is no choice.
God tells us, god commands usto forgive, and this is one of
(26:11):
the great examples of thatforgiveness.
We need to forgive, regardlessof how it makes us look.
We need to forgive, andactually, to be honest with you,
there's more respect when youforgive, when you do the right
thing, whether people are not,and who really cares what people
(26:31):
think.
Ultimately, you might losefollowers.
You might lose whatever.
I don't even know what all thewords are, but that, ultimately,
isn't what matters.
What matters is whether or notwe're pleasing God, and in this
situation, all three of thesemen had a choice to make, and
all three of these men nailed it.
(26:51):
They made the choice thatpleased God.
They ultimately didn't carewhat other people thought about
them and instead they did whatthey knew God wanted them to do,
and it turned out well for themin this situation.
It doesn't mean it will always,but it did in this situation.
But even when it doesn't turnout well, we can lay our heads
(27:15):
down at the end of the day andclose our eyes and say God, I
did what you wanted me to do.
My life looks like it'simploding right now, but I did
what you wanted me to do.
Life looks like it's implodingright now, but I did what you
wanted me to do, and for that Ican.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
I can close my eyes and I can.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
I can sleep peacefully, knowing that I made
the right choice, and so I thinkthat's the only part that I
wanted to add, because you didsuch a great job.
It was amazing and, on thatnote, next week, when we come
back back, we're going to betalking about the sermon of the
mount, so this is what jesuslike this is an event, not a
person.
I mean, jesus is the person, butthe sermon on the mount is what
(27:56):
we're going to be talking about, and jesus is the one that gave
the sermon on the mount.
And, um, I'm like reallyexcited because the Sermon on
the Mount is something that isone of those parts of the Bible
that has so much meat to it thatyou can read it every single
day for a month and you stillwill pick it up on day 31 or day
(28:20):
32, and you'll find somethingnew.
Like that's how I feel aboutthe Sermon on the Mount Like
it's so much meat that Godgivesermon on the Mount, like
it's just so much that God givesus in that.
But thank you, tara, like thankyou for breaking down Paul and
Philemon and Anathemus, and likewhat a brotherhood.
Like what started out as a bossand a slave and an apostle and
(28:45):
they all became family.
Isn't that like the epitome ofthe church?
Isn't that the epitome of whatGod wants us to experience, the
community that God wants us toexperience?
Speaker 1 (29:00):
But get this too, though, onesimus if Philemon
hadn't been having all thosechurch services in his house,
his slave wouldn't have heardabout him or Paul.
I mean, heard about God or Paul?
Right, that's right, you know,and it's just so.
If you're one of those people,one of our listeners, that hosts
Bible studies and everything,you're like oh, yai, yai,
nothing's changing.
(29:21):
These people will never change,you know, or People will never
change, you know, or nothing'shappening, or anything.
The seeds are being planted andyou have no idea how God's
going to use that.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
Okay, I'm done.
Well, you know, and you can saythat even about your children
Like if you're hosting a Biblestudy and say you have young
kids running all around, youcould be like, yeah, I'm not
getting through to anybody, yourkids are listening.
You are making a difference andeven if your kids are
understanding a word of whatyou're saying, you are setting
(29:53):
the example of we put God firstin our lives and it makes a
difference and it will come backand bloom and blossom and be
fertilized, just like that seedthat we talked about last week.
The seeds need a chance togerminate before they can grow
the fruit and before they canproduce the harvest.
But, on that note.
(30:13):
John 16, 33 is our verse, andJesus says these things I have
spoken to you that in me you mayhave peace In the world.
You will have tribulation, butbe of good cheer.
I have overcome the world.
You will have tribulation, butbe of good cheer.
I have overcome the world.
There are no sweeter words thanthat and no more apt words with
(30:34):
the historical event that wetalked about today.
They had no idea they were allin tribulation.
Paul was in prison, clement hadlost his slave and anathemas
was like oh great, I gotta goback and pay my dues.
There was tribulation and godsaid even in this tribulation,
(30:56):
have peace, be of good cheerbecause I have overcome, and he
does time and time and timeagain.
Jesus overcomes.
I love Exodus 14, 14.
Be still, I will fight for you,says Jesus.
All you have to do is be still,and I love that.
(31:17):
Sometimes we have to put ourfoot in the river, sometimes we
have to do the fighting, butmore often than not, god just
wants us to give up control, tosurrender to him, and he will
fight for us.
We just need to sit back andlisten and let the Holy Spirit
speak to us.
As Tara said at the beginning ofthe podcast today, she and I
(31:40):
are both writers, so I amencouraging you and inviting you
to go check out her website,tararhuntcom.
You can see the series thatshe's working on the Habakkuk
series.
Go check out her books.
They are amazing.
You can also come over andcheck out my books.
I have fiction and nonfiction.
(32:01):
But I also want to encourageyou to check out the membership
on my website,sherryswellwellcom.
If you want to grow yourrelationship with God as well as
build a community with fellowbelievers who are growing their
relationship with God, then I amencouraging you to check out
the Bees in the Everydaymembership, the monthly
(32:23):
membership.
If you need prayer or you needencouragement, drop us a line
and email over atcheeruppodcasts at gmailcom, and
we talk a lot about the HolySpirit on the podcast and the
way to get the Holy Spirit andthe power of the Holy Spirit
into our lives is first we haveto surrender our lives to God.
(32:47):
First we have to become abeliever.
We have to pray the prayer, asit says in Romans 10, 9, if we
believe in, if we confess withour mouth and believe in our
hearts that Jesus is Lord, jesussays you will be saved.
We have that assurance.
So first it takes a prayer ofsurrender and then after that it
(33:08):
takes a prayer of receiving theHoly Spirit himself.
So if you are at that place inyour life where you want to
become a believer, then I justwant to encourage you to pray
this prayer from the heart withme right now.
And if you once you have donethat, or if you have already
done that and you're like, well,I don't understand this whole
Holy Spirit thing, drop us aline, an email at
(33:31):
cheeruppodcastgmailcom and wewill be more than happy to have
a conversation with you.
It's just as easy assurrendering your life to God as
it is to ignite the power ofthe Holy Spirit, that the Holy
Spirit who comes into our liveswhen we surrender our lives to
God.
So he is already there.
(33:51):
But there is a way to ignitethat power, and I'll tell you I
have lived before igniting thepower of the Holy Spirit and I
have lived after igniting thepower of the Holy Spirit.
Do trials and tribulationsstill happen?
Yep, sometimes more so becauseI've made the enemy even more
mad, but that's a story foranother day.
But there's nothing like havingthe power of the Holy Spirit.
(34:22):
It made it so that when theywere being faced, when they were
facing persecution, they wereable to um, to withstand it, and
not just withstand it butpraise God through it.
Like.
The power of the Holy Spirit islike nothing else, um.
But before you can have thatand experience that, you need to
surrender your life to God.
(34:42):
So if that is something that ison your heart and that you want
to do, I want to end our podcasttoday with the prayer of
salvation.
So repeat this prayer with meif that is where you're at in
your life right now.
Oh heavenly father, I come toyou in Jesus' name.
I believe you died on the crossand that you rose again and
you're seated on the throne.
(35:03):
Jesus, forgive me for all thatI have done wrong, and I choose
to forgive all others.
Come into my life today andforever.
I am yours In Jesus' name, amen.
I want to say welcome to thefamily.
If you just prayed that prayer,let us know over on the in our
(35:23):
email, cheeruppodcasts atgmailcom, or head over to the
Facebook group Cheer Up Podcastand let us all know and become a
part of that community and thatfamily there as well.
Also, we encourage you to joinour Bible Believer Church and if
you have questions about how toreceive the baptism of the Holy
Spirit, email us, put it intothe Facebook group, but don't
(35:46):
let those questions stayunanswered.
Have a wonderful rest of yourday.
I hope you enjoyed ourdiscussion about Paul, philemon
and Onesimus.
Carol, I thought, did anamazing job telling us all about
them.
I feel like they're my friendsnow.
Can't wait to meet them up inheaven and join us again for
another exciting episode nextweek when we start to talk about
(36:09):
the sermon on the mountain.
Hi and welcome to the Cheer Up Podcast.
I am your host, Kara R Hunt,and with me is the sweet and
savvy Sherri Swalwell.
How are you doing today, Sherri?
I?
Speaker 2 (00:34):
am doing really, really good and I'm trying to
think I haven't read any.
Well, right now I'm readingAmish fiction, which is amazing.
I absolutely love ShelleyShepard Gray.
Well, I love a lot of Amishfiction, which is amazing.
I absolutely love ShelleyShepard Gray.
Well, I love a lot of Amishwriters, to be honest.
But it's just like what youwere talking about last week,
tara.
I love reading Christianfiction, regardless of the genre
(00:56):
.
There's a couple of genres Ijust am not super interested in,
just simply because of mypersonality, but I love when God
is involved and when it's abiblical like, when it brings me
back to just a relationshipwith God.
Honestly, every area of my lifeif it points back to him, I'm
happy.
(01:16):
So, yes, I am fantastic today.
How about you?
Speaker 1 (01:23):
For those of you who don't know, last week we kind of
just had a brief discussion,before we got into the topic of
the disciples, about novels thatreally kind of pique our
attention, and especiallyChristian novels that really
really emphasize faith withinthe characters and or in the
storyline, and so, and that'swhat we were and that's exactly
(01:45):
what we were talking about.
And there's different types ofnovels out there and, like she
was saying, there's even Amishnovel writers and things like
that.
It kind of just depends on whatyou like to read.
I'm more of a political andlegal thriller kind of gal, a
little mystery and suspensethrown in.
But I know others aren't.
They like romance or cleanromance.
(02:07):
I should say sweet, cleanromances and things like that.
But yeah, and for those of youwho don't know, sherry and I are
both authors and she would tellyou more about that at the end
of the podcast.
But right now I just want to saythank you to all of our new
(02:28):
listeners on the Chirp podcast.
Thank you so much.
We see you guys, we see thedifferent countries being added
excuse me, the different nationsthat are being added, and the
different cities and thedifferent states, and it just
continues to grow and recentlyChirp Nation.
You just blew us away.
You just blew us away with theamount of downloads and
(02:50):
everything else that we've beenhaving recently.
So thank you, thank you, thankyou, thank you.
I don't want any of ourlisteners to ever think we take
you for granted.
We don't.
We appreciate each and everylast one of you and if you've
been blessed by the ChairPodcast, we just ask that you
continue to share it, each andevery last one of you.
And if you've been blessed bythe Churro podcast, we just ask
that you continue to share it,download like it, share it Again
(03:12):
.
That helps in the algorithm,especially for those who are
just looking for inspirational,christian-filled, topic-type
podcasts.
So that really helps it.
If you download it, like it andor share it, especially share
it with your friends who arelooking for a podcast like this.
If you've it, like it and orshare it, especially share with
your friends who are looking fora podcast like this.
If you've been blessed by it,and for those of you who are new
, welcome.
We are so excited to be able tohave you join True Nation and
(03:34):
we again, we appreciate you morethan we could ever express with
words and right now we'regetting ready to go into.
So last week and for the pastcouple of months, as you guys
know, we have been doingbiblical figures of the Old
Testament, and right now, excuseme, let me take that back.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
New.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Testament, new Testament I am so sorry, we did
the Old Testament too, but thatwas earlier in the year.
But no, we're doing the NewTestament, the Old Testament too
, but that was earlier in theyear.
So, but no, we're doing the NewTestament and we're just
talking about some of thebiblical figures there that just
were really prominent not soprominent, but made a huge
impact on the early Christianchurch and how they are still
(04:17):
and what they've been throughand what they've done, how they
can still make an impact in ourlives today.
And today we're going to talkabout and again, I was talking
to Sherry about this beforehand,because I don't know, my
pronunciation of some of thesewords, of some of these names,
is a little bit different but sotoday we're going to talk about
Philemon, am I right, sherry?
Speaker 2 (04:40):
That's how I say him.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Okay, Philemon.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
If we're wrong, Philemon, we apologize.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Oh, yes, you know, because I think I wanted to say
Philemon or something like that.
So Philemon, Philemon, andwe're going to talk about
Onesimus, and I'm saying that.
Right, sherry, right, I think,onesimus, that's how I say it,
okay.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Onesimus, and I'm saying that right, sherry, right
, I think.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Onesimus, Okay, onesimus.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
When we go up to heaven, one of the or well, when
we go up to heaven, Kara, we'rejust going to have to go up and
just with an apology on ourmouths, we are so sorry.
We are so sorry.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
We're so sorry.
We butchered your names.
We tried, we really did Jesussees our heart.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Do you see our heart?
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Yes, we were trying and we're hoping we're not
offending anyone by gettingthese wrong.
No, honestly, we are really,really trying, and I just ask
for your mercy and grace if Ihappen to slip up and say them
incorrectly, but right now we'retalking about this particular
episode.
We're talking about PhilemonP-H-I-L-E-M-O-N and we're
(05:52):
talking about OnesimusO-N-E-S-I-M-U-S.
We are talking about these twotogether and, honestly, we
really can't talk about thesetwo together without mentioning
Paul.
However, we already discussedhim in a previous episode.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
So we're not going to go.
I'm interrupting for one secondonly because and I'm so sorry
about the interrupting part butthat just goes to show you how
God took somebody who was anamazing sinner and flooded him
throughout the entire Bible.
You can't talk about most ofthe New Testament without Paul
(06:32):
being a part of it.
Like that speaks volumes in andof itself.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
So okay, now I'll shut up, Right, Well you got a
point because he was also whenwe talked about Priscilla and
Aquila.
Remember Yep and Silas yes, andSilas yeah and Timothy yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
So you're right, and Barnabas and Barnabas, don't
forget him, right.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
So it's like whenever we, these characters, these
biblical figures, come up in theNew Testament, sherry's right,
it's like you just can't.
They were so Paul was justeverywhere, okay, and he was
doing his job and he was such asinner.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
He was such a sinner, but yet, god, when God gets a
hold of our lives, watch out,watch him Exactly.
Yes, and we even talked, butyet, god, when God gets a hold
of our lives, watch out, watchand see what happens.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Exactly yes, and we even talked about that a little
bit in last week's episode whenwe talked about the disciples.
Right, and it is just amazing.
You can't go wrong you justabsolutely can't go wrong with
having a relationship with Jesus, and Paul is one of the perfect
New Testament examples of that.
But I'm going to break themdown because they're actually
(07:43):
two very different people,philemon and Onesimus.
They're actually obviouslythey're two different people,
but one is they're justcompletely different.
So I'm going to start withPhilemon and just kind of give
you a little.
First of all, philemon is inthe New Testament.
A lot of people may not realizethat because it is the shortest
(08:06):
book of the Bible.
I believe it is.
I am almost positive.
It is only one chapter.
It's maybe a couple of verses,but I believe it's only one
chapter, but it is absolutelythe shortest book in the entire
Bible, but definitely the NewTestament.
So he is in there, philemon.
Yeah, philemon, sorry.
(08:27):
So among all the converts ofPaul, perhaps while at Ephesus,
was one whom he called a fellowworker and that was Philemon.
Philemon, I am so sorry.
That was Philemon and that istalked about in one of the first
(08:48):
verses of Philemon and he wasprobably.
Philemon was probably a man ofsome means and he was celebrated
for his hospitality Again, youcan read all of this in the
first chapter of Philemon.
And it was also at his house.
It was at Philemon's house thatthe Colossian Christians met as
(09:08):
a center, so all of theChristians and Colossians kind
of gathered at Philemon's houseand it is more probable, it is
probably more than probable thatthis was a group of the
Colossian church rather than theentire ecclesia.
I should say he was married.
Philemon was married, his wifewas named Aphia and he had a son
(09:31):
who was named Archippus,a-r-c-h-i-p-p-u-s, p-u-s.
And from Colossians 4, 17,.
From Colossians the book ofColossians, chapter 4, 17, we
learn that Archippus, philemon'sson, also held an office of
some importance in the city ofColossus.
(09:53):
So his son was also a veryimportant man.
Some think he may.
It's not clear whether he wasjust a presbyter or an
evangelist, but in Philemon heis also called Paul's fellow
soldier.
The relationship between theapostle and Philemon was so
close and intimate that Pauldoes not hesitate okay, he does
(10:17):
not hesitate to press him toforgive his slave, his slave
Onesimus, for stealing from himand for running away.
And that shows you how closetheir relationship was right,
and we will talk about this alittle bit more.
But I mean, you have to have agood friend that comes to you
and be like hey, I know thisperson did wrong or whatever,
(10:40):
but here I am, I'm kind of likestanding in.
I know this person did wrong orwhatever, but here I am, I'm
kind of like standing in the gapfor this person right here.
So now tradition says Philemon,who they say you know was a
bishop of Colossus, and in theGreek martyrology
M-A-R-T-Y-R-O-L-O-G-Y it's likea book of martyrs tells us that
(11:04):
he, that Philemon, and his wifeand his son and his slave
Onesimus, were martyred bystoning before Androcles the
governor in the days of Nero,hercules, the governor in the
days of Nero.
Now, that's just what the Greekmartyrology says, but I just
kind of want to throw that inthere.
So it looks like all of themwere martyred together.
(11:27):
They were stoned together, him,his wife, his son and his slave
, onesimus.
Okay, so now Philemon, like Isaid, he was a person in good
standing, he was in highstanding, probably high ranking.
It sounds like here he may havebeen a bishop and he had a
(11:49):
slave, and that was Onesimus,and Onesimus was a slave.
Again, that's talked about inPhilemon 1, chapter 1, verse 16.
And he belonged to Philemon,who was a wealthy citizen of
Colossus and a prominent memberof the church there.
Onosimus was still a heathenwhen he defrauded his master and
ran off from Colossus.
He found his way to Rome, whereevil men tended to flock back
(12:12):
then as a common place to go, asa lot of the historical
journals kind of tells us thatthey did around that period.
But in Rome, while he was inRome, he came in contact with
Paul, who was then in militarycustody.
That is just amazing, right,because even while Paul is in
(12:32):
well, let me just let me finish.
So, anyway, what brought himinto contact with Paul?
No one really knows, because,again, paul was in military
custody.
But if God has plans anddesigns on your life, he will
play chess and make moves thatwill put you together with that
person.
So it may have been pangs ofhunger, it may have been the
(12:53):
pangs of conscience, but youknow, for some reason Onesimus
could not forget, right, that inhis master's house, in
Philemon's house in Colossus,was where all the Christians met
in their weekly assemblies forthe worship of Christ.
So obviously he couldn't forgethow Philemon had many times
(13:14):
spoken of Paul to whom he owedhis conversion.
Philemon did.
And so now we have Onesimus inRome which I don't believe in
coincidences and Paul is also inRome, and as a result of that,
onesimus becomes a Christian.
He is converted from hisheathenistic lifestyle and he
(13:36):
becomes, you know, a Christian.
He becomes, you know, aChristian and he, which is like
a big deal, is a big deal.
And at the time, becauseOnesimus not only became
converted with Paul toChristianity, but he also worked
with Paul quite a lot, and Paulends up writing this letter to
(14:00):
he always was writing letters,but he ended up writing this
letter anyway to Philemon,saying, hey, I'm sending
Onesimus back to you and this iswhy, and, by the way, don't
kill him.
Okay so, but he furnishesOnesimus with a letter before he
sends him back to his master,philemon.
(14:22):
And I just want to say thisthing Slavery in biblical days
was different than like,especially if you're thinking
American slavery and a historyof that.
It wasn't back then due to likethe color of your skin.
There were so many ways youcould have become a slave of
someone If your family owed thema debt of someone, if your
(14:47):
family owed them a debt, if youwere a foreigner, for example,
and your nation was conquered byanother nation and they took
prisoners, they often becameslaves.
So there were so many differentways that a person could become
a slave back then and most ofthe times, biblically, it had
nothing to do with the color ofyour skin.
It probably had to do more ofif you were captured or if you
were in debt and other thingslike that.
So but he furnishes Onesimus aletter written by Titholaman and
(15:16):
he says you know, I need you toreturn.
But Onesimus was scared, right,because, returning to a city
where it was well known thatOnesimus was not a Christian or
even an honest man, he neededsomeone to vouch for the reality
of the change which had takenplace in his life, because
otherwise they would have saidyou're just a liar, you're a
(15:36):
defrauder and a liar and you'rea runaway and you know.
So no one can trust you.
But Paul had given him thisletter to give to Philemon and
when you read in Philemon, thebook in the Bible, he talks
about how he says Receive him,says the apostle, for he is my
(15:57):
own very heart.
So this shows you thesignificant change in Onesimus
after his contact with Paul andafter his conversion to
Christianity.
It goes on to say the man whomthe Colossians had only known if
they knew him at all as aworthless, runaway slave, is now
commended to them as he was nolonger a slave but a brother in
(16:19):
Christ, because before they knewhim as this hedonistic person,
he was a thief.
He had done all these badthings, which is probably one of
the reasons he may have endedup a slave, and so they knew him
as this way.
But now he's returningdifferent, and he has this
letter from the Apostle Paulthat's saying hey, I can vouch
for this man.
And having a letter from theApostle Paul saying that was
(16:42):
huge, was huge, just to put itin today's terms.
It's almost as if you weregoing for a government job and
the President of the UnitedStates himself highly
recommended you, for example.
Or if you're in England, likethe Queen sent a letter with you
, because in a Christian earlychurch there was, like, no one
else who could seriously vouchfor you any better than Paul,
(17:07):
and so and he says that to them.
So now they're like wait, he'snot dishonest and faithless, but
now you're telling us that he'strustworthy and not worthy of
contempt but of love.
So, and this is quickly howthings change.
And then the apostle begsPhilemon, paul begs Philemon, to
give Onesimus the samereception as he would give to
(17:27):
himself, that he would give toPaul.
And he said whatever he hasdone, pay that to mine account,
or some other phrases that headded in a letter.
He's saying I will repay it.
So, but all of that has changed.
So Onesimus goes back and wehave to remember that if
(17:47):
Onesimus had just went back onhis own, if he just had like a
sway of conscience and be likeyou know what, I'm just going to
go back and just face theconsequences, the consequences
would have been dire, would havebeen dire.
It was allowable back then tostone a runaway slave, to kill
them, a runaway slave to harmthem in other types of ways.
(18:12):
So if Philemon, even though hewas a Christian and he was like
the Bishop of Colossus orwhatever, he was still within
his rights to be able to, whenOnesimus returned, to be able to
do all these sorts of things tohim, he could have had him
killed and no one, probably eventhe Christians in the church,
would have blinked an eyebecause that is the way that
(18:33):
they dealt with them back then.
So he couldn't if he had wentback without that.
He faced that possibility.
So he couldn't if he had wentback without that.
He faced that possibility.
Actually, he still faced thatpossibility.
But he had this letter from Paulsaying hey, I vouched for him.
You know, pay this to myaccount, whatever he's done, you
know, and everything else.
And this is a changed man.
(18:55):
So the layman knew that, wow,if Paul is vouching for him,
then this must indeed be achanged man.
So what am I going to do now?
Like he stole from me, like heembarrassed me, Like he ran away
from me, as a Christian, do Isit here and do I do what is my
right and just have him killed?
(19:17):
Because what about my otherslaves?
They're going to be like oh, heaccepted Onesimus back, so if I
run away and then I decide lifeis too hard and I come back,
then you know, maybe he'll dothe same to me.
His reputation is at stake anda lot of other things.
So it's one of those things towhere God has orchestrated all
of this.
Because Philemon, he has to makethat choice, and so does
(19:41):
Onesimus.
He has to make that choice, hehas to trust in God that
Philemon will accept Paul's wordand that he will accept him
back and he will be a part ofthe family again.
And according to the Greek bookof Martyrology, that he was
(20:03):
massacred with them, stoned todeath with them, it seems as
though he actually accepted himback as a slave.
Now I don't know how long afterthat happened that they were
martyred.
I'm going to guess a couple ofyears, if not decades.
So if he was martyred alongwith the son and the wife and
Philemon, that means that heaccepted him back.
(20:23):
And so it just once again goesto show you that when God enters
a person's life, you could be aheathen, as the scripture, I
believe, had described Onesimus.
He was a thief.
He had stole from.
It wasn't just bad enough thathe ran away, but he stole from
Philemon and everything else,and so they both had decisions
(20:44):
to make.
As a Christian, philemon waslike do I show him mercy, do I
show him grace?
Do I accept him back?
At a sacrifice to me of mebeing looked down and mocked up
on by, you know, my people insociety, because they're going
to say, oh my gosh, you'reacting so weak.
And at a sacrifice to me thatsome of the other slaves may
(21:08):
actually think that it's okayfor them to run so a great
personal sacrifice.
It seems like he acceptedOnesimus back, accepted him as a
brother in Christ and acceptedhim in love.
And Onesimus had to do thatsame thing.
He had to put his faith in God.
That Paul actually vouching forhim and standing up for him
(21:28):
would be enough for Philemon toaccept him back.
Because again, onesimus couldhave said no and he could have
said I'm not going back.
He could still kill me, but hehad to put his faith in God.
He had Paul's letter, but thatwas not a guarantee.
Philemon could have stillkilled him, you know, and so a
lot of times.
But look, if he was martyredwith them, if you, you know,
(21:51):
according to the Greek book ofmartyrology, then that means
that they were together and so I.
That just goes to show you onboth sides.
Sometimes we have to, not allthe time, when we people have
hurt us in our past and they'vedone some damage to our family
and our lives and to our careers.
Not often do they come with aletter from someone we highly
(22:13):
esteem and say, hey, I can vouchfor this person.
I know they did you wrong.
I know they stole from you.
I know they ruined your career.
I know that they broke up yourchurch and everything else, but
this is a changed man.
I know that they broke up yourchurch and everything else, but
this is a changed man.
So not a lot of times do wehave that, but we do have the
(22:33):
Holy Spirit that can help uswhen they do come back to us and
they say I am sincerely sorry,please forgive me, I was wrong.
I have you know, I have nowseen the light.
Just, please forgive me.
I would never, ever do thatagain and everything else.
And it's up to us, you know, asChristians, to be able to accept
that Of course you know, ifthey don't have someone like
that who could say that wereally have to trust the Holy
(22:53):
Spirit and say, lord, are theyfor real?
Are they for real?
Because I'm more than willingto forgive, but I can't invite
them back into my life.
I can't invite them back intomy kids' life or back into the
job, the business I run, knowingthat they have done this in the
past.
But if they have truly acceptedyou as their Savior, then let
(23:14):
me know.
So back then they didn't havethe Holy Spirit at that time,
but we have it now.
So if you've done somethingwrong and you're like, my family
will never forgive me.
My employer will never forgiveme.
I can never go back.
I can never ask my job back.
I can never go back to myspouse after what I've done.
My kids will never forgive me.
I'll probably never see themagain.
(23:34):
So if you think that that's thecase and if you have truly
given your life to Christ, hewill make a way for it to happen
, if you truly honestly desirethis.
So don't ever feel like you'retoo far gone that God can help
you.
And that's what I kind ofwanted to say about Onesimus and
Philemon.
What did you want to ask,sherry?
Speaker 2 (23:55):
I think you did an amazing job.
The only thing that my pastordid a sermon on this series, or
did a sermon series on thisstory, this physical event, and
he talked about the choice thatPaul had.
Paul really wanted Onesimus tostay with him, because Paul oh,
that's right.
(24:15):
Yes, he took him on as a mentor,as a brother, as a son.
Not as a brother, but as a son.
He really wanted Onesimus tostay with him and Paul, like you
were talking talking about, hadso much influence in the early
church he could have said well,you know, those rules don't
apply in this situation he couldhave.
He could have swung it so thathe could have um, kept an
(24:37):
estimate with him and put somekind of rule or exception or
something behind it and hopethat it stuck.
But he didn't.
He was a man of integrity andhe knew that he was, that there
was a chance that philemon wouldnot accept him, that philemon
could kill him.
He, I'm sure, said to anathemasyou know what dude I'm?
(24:58):
I'm recommending this becausethis is what the bible says.
Speaker 1 (25:02):
But it might not end well.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
I, like I'm going to do my part and do as much as I
can to help it end well, but I'mnot in charge here.
Ultimately, it's the layman'schoice.
So everyone in this situationhad a choice, and I really.
We pray the sinner's prayer alot of times on this podcast,
and there's a part of thesinner's prayer that we pray
(25:25):
that talks about forgive me forall that I have done wrong, and
I choose to forgive all others.
And every time I pray thatprayer, I always think oh, I
want to talk about that part.
When we choose to surrender ourlives to God, we are choosing
to forgive all others.
Like you said, that doesn'tmean inviting them back into our
(25:47):
lives and sitting them at ourtable and giving them our best
meal.
It doesn't mean not doing that,but it means God wants us to
have healthy boundaries, and soit doesn't mean that we're
opening ourselves up tocontinual hurt.
But God, there is no choice.
God tells us, god commands usto forgive, and this is one of
(26:11):
the great examples of thatforgiveness.
We need to forgive, regardlessof how it makes us look.
We need to forgive, andactually, to be honest with you,
there's more respect when youforgive, when you do the right
thing, whether people are not,and who really cares what people
(26:31):
think.
Ultimately, you might losefollowers.
You might lose whatever.
I don't even know what all thewords are, but that, ultimately,
isn't what matters.
What matters is whether or notwe're pleasing God, and in this
situation, all three of thesemen had a choice to make, and
all three of these men nailed it.
(26:51):
They made the choice thatpleased God.
They ultimately didn't carewhat other people thought about
them and instead they did whatthey knew God wanted them to do,
and it turned out well for themin this situation.
It doesn't mean it will always,but it did in this situation.
But even when it doesn't turnout well, we can lay our heads
(27:15):
down at the end of the day andclose our eyes and say God, I
did what you wanted me to do.
My life looks like it'simploding right now, but I did
what you wanted me to do.
Life looks like it's implodingright now, but I did what you
wanted me to do, and for that Ican.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
I can close my eyes and I can.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
I can sleep peacefully, knowing that I made
the right choice, and so I thinkthat's the only part that I
wanted to add, because you didsuch a great job.
It was amazing and, on thatnote, next week, when we come
back back, we're going to betalking about the sermon of the
mount, so this is what jesuslike this is an event, not a
person.
I mean, jesus is the person, butthe sermon on the mount is what
(27:56):
we're going to be talking about, and jesus is the one that gave
the sermon on the mount.
And, um, I'm like reallyexcited because the Sermon on
the Mount is something that isone of those parts of the Bible
that has so much meat to it thatyou can read it every single
day for a month and you stillwill pick it up on day 31 or day
(28:20):
32, and you'll find somethingnew.
Like that's how I feel aboutthe Sermon on the Mount Like
it's so much meat that Godgivesermon on the Mount, like
it's just so much that God givesus in that.
But thank you, tara, like thankyou for breaking down Paul and
Philemon and Anathemus, and likewhat a brotherhood.
Like what started out as a bossand a slave and an apostle and
(28:45):
they all became family.
Isn't that like the epitome ofthe church?
Isn't that the epitome of whatGod wants us to experience, the
community that God wants us toexperience?
Speaker 1 (29:00):
But get this too, though, onesimus if Philemon
hadn't been having all thosechurch services in his house,
his slave wouldn't have heardabout him or Paul.
I mean, heard about God or Paul?
Right, that's right, you know,and it's just so.
If you're one of those people,one of our listeners, that hosts
Bible studies and everything,you're like oh, yai, yai,
nothing's changing.
(29:21):
These people will never change,you know, or People will never
change, you know, or nothing'shappening, or anything.
The seeds are being planted andyou have no idea how God's
going to use that.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
Okay, I'm done.
Well, you know, and you can saythat even about your children
Like if you're hosting a Biblestudy and say you have young
kids running all around, youcould be like, yeah, I'm not
getting through to anybody, yourkids are listening.
You are making a difference andeven if your kids are
understanding a word of whatyou're saying, you are setting
(29:53):
the example of we put God firstin our lives and it makes a
difference and it will come backand bloom and blossom and be
fertilized, just like that seedthat we talked about last week.
The seeds need a chance togerminate before they can grow
the fruit and before they canproduce the harvest.
But, on that note.
(30:13):
John 16, 33 is our verse, andJesus says these things I have
spoken to you that in me you mayhave peace In the world.
You will have tribulation, butbe of good cheer.
I have overcome the world.
You will have tribulation, butbe of good cheer.
I have overcome the world.
There are no sweeter words thanthat and no more apt words with
(30:34):
the historical event that wetalked about today.
They had no idea they were allin tribulation.
Paul was in prison, clement hadlost his slave and anathemas
was like oh great, I gotta goback and pay my dues.
There was tribulation and godsaid even in this tribulation,
(30:56):
have peace, be of good cheerbecause I have overcome, and he
does time and time and timeagain.
Jesus overcomes.
I love Exodus 14, 14.
Be still, I will fight for you,says Jesus.
All you have to do is be still,and I love that.
(31:17):
Sometimes we have to put ourfoot in the river, sometimes we
have to do the fighting, butmore often than not, god just
wants us to give up control, tosurrender to him, and he will
fight for us.
We just need to sit back andlisten and let the Holy Spirit
speak to us.
As Tara said at the beginning ofthe podcast today, she and I
(31:40):
are both writers, so I amencouraging you and inviting you
to go check out her website,tararhuntcom.
You can see the series thatshe's working on the Habakkuk
series.
Go check out her books.
They are amazing.
You can also come over andcheck out my books.
I have fiction and nonfiction.
(32:01):
But I also want to encourageyou to check out the membership
on my website,sherryswellwellcom.
If you want to grow yourrelationship with God as well as
build a community with fellowbelievers who are growing their
relationship with God, then I amencouraging you to check out
the Bees in the Everydaymembership, the monthly
(32:23):
membership.
If you need prayer or you needencouragement, drop us a line
and email over atcheeruppodcasts at gmailcom, and
we talk a lot about the HolySpirit on the podcast and the
way to get the Holy Spirit andthe power of the Holy Spirit
into our lives is first we haveto surrender our lives to God.
(32:47):
First we have to become abeliever.
We have to pray the prayer, asit says in Romans 10, 9, if we
believe in, if we confess withour mouth and believe in our
hearts that Jesus is Lord, jesussays you will be saved.
We have that assurance.
So first it takes a prayer ofsurrender and then after that it
(33:08):
takes a prayer of receiving theHoly Spirit himself.
So if you are at that place inyour life where you want to
become a believer, then I justwant to encourage you to pray
this prayer from the heart withme right now.
And if you once you have donethat, or if you have already
done that and you're like, well,I don't understand this whole
Holy Spirit thing, drop us aline, an email at
(33:31):
cheeruppodcastgmailcom and wewill be more than happy to have
a conversation with you.
It's just as easy assurrendering your life to God as
it is to ignite the power ofthe Holy Spirit, that the Holy
Spirit who comes into our liveswhen we surrender our lives to
God.
So he is already there.
(33:51):
But there is a way to ignitethat power, and I'll tell you I
have lived before igniting thepower of the Holy Spirit and I
have lived after igniting thepower of the Holy Spirit.
Do trials and tribulationsstill happen?
Yep, sometimes more so becauseI've made the enemy even more
mad, but that's a story foranother day.
But there's nothing like havingthe power of the Holy Spirit.
(34:22):
It made it so that when theywere being faced, when they were
facing persecution, they wereable to um, to withstand it, and
not just withstand it butpraise God through it.
Like.
The power of the Holy Spirit islike nothing else, um.
But before you can have thatand experience that, you need to
surrender your life to God.
(34:42):
So if that is something that ison your heart and that you want
to do, I want to end our podcasttoday with the prayer of
salvation.
So repeat this prayer with meif that is where you're at in
your life right now.
Oh heavenly father, I come toyou in Jesus' name.
I believe you died on the crossand that you rose again and
you're seated on the throne.
(35:03):
Jesus, forgive me for all thatI have done wrong, and I choose
to forgive all others.
Come into my life today andforever.
I am yours In Jesus' name, amen.
I want to say welcome to thefamily.
If you just prayed that prayer,let us know over on the in our
(35:23):
email, cheeruppodcasts atgmailcom, or head over to the
Facebook group Cheer Up Podcastand let us all know and become a
part of that community and thatfamily there as well.
Also, we encourage you to joinour Bible Believer Church and if
you have questions about how toreceive the baptism of the Holy
Spirit, email us, put it intothe Facebook group, but don't
(35:46):
let those questions stayunanswered.
Have a wonderful rest of yourday.
I hope you enjoyed ourdiscussion about Paul, philemon
and Onesimus.
Carol, I thought, did anamazing job telling us all about
them.
I feel like they're my friendsnow.
Can't wait to meet them up inheaven and join us again for
another exciting episode nextweek when we start to talk about
(36:09):
the sermon on the mountain.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!