Episode Transcript
[00:00:09] Mark W. Williams: Hello and welcome to another episode of the Line Upon Line Ministries Podcast, a podcast committed to the expository ministry of God's Word for the life of the local church. I am your host, Mark Williams, and on today's episode we have some very exciting things for you today.
I have recently been able to sit down and interview with a good brother, Brother Jonathan Jono Sims, and talk with him about his relationship with Brother David Miller and about ministry and life. And so I'm going to share the first part of that interview with you today. And there was enough of that interview where we will definitely have part two in the next episode and potentially even a third part in a future episode. But we'll see. I'll also share another classic sermon from Brother David Miller in his Philemon series. This one is entitled the Biblical Doctrine of Forgiveness.
Before we jump into the interview, I would just remind you that you can check out our website@ lineuponlineministries.com and we are posting more and more of the sermons in Brother David Miller's sermon archive there. And so go there and check those out. You'll also you can also go to YouTube, our YouTube channel page for Line Upon Line Ministries, and we post some new sermons there frequently. So you'll want to go and check out all of our different social media pages and especially that website as we continue to update it with more and more of David Miller's resources.
So let's get to the interview. Brother John O. Sims recently came to our church here at Tumbling Shoals Baptist Church in Tumbling Shoals, Arkansas to speak at our Wild Game Supper. And so we took the time and the opportunity to sit down with him. Brother John O. Sims, if you are familiar with him, has been a long time pastor. He is the pastor of Shelbyville Mills Baptist church in Shelbyville, Tennessee. He's been there. I think he just celebrated his 25th anniversary at that church. Many of you may know Brother Jono from being part of the Anchored in Truth Network or being a regular speaker and part of setting up and putting together the true Church conference that happens every year in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, there at Grace Life Church. Brother Jono also hosts his own podcast, the Faithful Expositor. So you'll want to go and check out that podcast as well. A lot of very helpful topics and ministry ideas. Just a faithful brother. So you want to go check out his podcast, the Faithful Expositor. Brother Jono has been a longtime friend of Brother David and and so this is a good opportunity to sit down and talk with him about Brother David about some memories he's had with him, things that he's learned, things that he's going to miss about Brother David, but also to talk about ministry and life of the church, expository ministry specifically. So in today's episode, we'll share the first half of the interview where we talk about Brother David, and then next episode, we'll look at expository ministry and preaching in particular. So enjoy this interview with Brother Jono Sims.
[00:03:46] Mark W. Williams: Jono, man, it's good to have you. I have been looking forward to this since even when David mentioned trying to invite you to come back for Wild Game Supper again this year. It's always a joy to do these kinds of things, but it's even more fun when you get to do it with guys that you really look up to and have, like, having around. Yes, you've been a big encouragement to me. You know, two years ago, you came for the first time, and, you know, since then, we've just kind of been connected, you know, text messages or on Twitter or whatever it is. But, you know, watching your videos online for your church and your podcast, the Faithful Expositor, and then the True Church Conference just now, a few weeks ago, and that message that you gave, man that lit a fire under me. That was so good.
Jono Sims: I appreciate that.
[00:04:48] Mark W. Williams: And so I'm grateful that you're here. Not just for our Wild Game Supper, but also that you wanted to. You're willing to sit down and talk on our podcast, this new thing. One of the things we want to do on the podcast is interview guys that knew David so we can get some background, some other points of view from people who knew him well. And then also to try to sit down with guys who are in ministry, doing expository ministry, whether that's preaching or counseling or whatever that might look like. And so you kind of fit both bills. So this is good. I'm excited. Like I said, I'm grateful for you. As just a brother in Christ, you're an encouragement. And even with all the stress of this week with the Wild Game Supper, it's a joy to have you here. Just you being here has kind of lifted my spirits.
[00:05:33] Jono Sims: Praise the Lord, Brother. Amen. That's very encouraging to me.
[00:05:37] Mark W. Williams: Yeah, well, so like I said, just want to do a couple things here. However long it takes, we'll just go with it. But I know you knew Brother David for a long time, and so let's just start out with that. We'll talk about David and just see where that takes us. When did you first meet David Miller.
[00:06:00] Jono Sims: You know, when I got your text, I began to think about that. And it would go back 32, 33 plus years, or even longer than that because I've been in the ministry for 35. I first encountered David. Let me say that when I would have been in elementary school to early junior high, I went to a church in northwest Alabama at that time. Church is still there, Highland Baptist Church in Florence. And every so often they would have Brother David in to preach. And I was just a young boy. And at that time, I. I think Brother Bill Williams was still traveling with him. And David could actually.
They could actually stand David up and he could lock his knees and stand in the pulpit and preach. And so just as a young boy, I fell in love with him and his preaching. And then God saved me, called me to preach.
And I was pastoring a church in Talladega, Alabama.
[00:07:12] Mark W. Williams: Talladega.
[00:07:13] Jono Sims: People not from there say Talladega.
[00:07:15] Mark W. Williams: Oh, okay.
[00:07:16] Jono Sims: Where the racetrack is.
[00:07:17] Mark W. Williams: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:07:18] Jono Sims: Okay. Yeah.
[00:07:19] Mark W. Williams: I've never heard it.
[00:07:20] Jono Sims: If I said Talladega, they'd laugh at me. So being from there, you say Talladega.
[00:07:24] Mark W. Williams: Okay.
[00:07:25] Jono Sims: And I pastored a church called Ridgeview Baptist and just always love Brother David, listen to him, you know, and get some of his CDs in the mail. And I just wondered if he would come to our small church and preach. And, you know, David called himself a country preacher at large. He loved to go to country churches, and that's what ours was. And he and Bill Williams loaded up and brought the motor coach over, and they stayed there in our parking lot at that small church. And David preached all week long. And, man, it was wonderful. It was just wonderful.
And, you know, as David's custom, he's just always washing you with the water of the Word. And I was just a young guy in my 20s pastoring this church, and we just sat down one day and just started talking. And I don't think David had any agenda, but we were talking about salvation. And I don't know that the term, the doctrine of salvation, and definitely soteriology. I wouldn't have even known what that word was. But David just asked me, you know, what say ye about salvation? And, brother, I just went on a rant about, man, you can't be saved unless the Holy Spirit of God draws you. And you don't just get saved anytime you want to. When the spirit of God awakens you, you. He gives you faith to believe, and his goodness leads you to repentance. And that just came through expository preaching. And I'll never forget, Brother David looked over at Bill Williams and he just kind of raised his eyebrows and he said, the boy ain't far from the doctrines.
And I didn't even know what he was talking about, but he was talking about the doctrines of grace. And throughout that week, David just more formally unpacked for me some systematic theology, for lack of a better word, and kind of taught me the doctrines of grace. Frankly, brother, I don't know that he ever used the term Calvinism, you know, which me and you don't very much, because there's a lot of baggage that comes along with it, but certainly plumb the depths on the sovereign grace of God in regeneration.
And it was just solid gold to me. I never forgot that conversation.
And then.
[00:09:56] Mark W. Williams: So you got. You got like a little mini term seminar.
[00:09:59] Jono Sims: I did. And, you know, here's the thing.
Three years in seminary at Southwestern Theological Seminary. I got more in that week with David on a systematic theology than I did three years in seminary. And so it was just rich.
[00:10:17] Mark W. Williams: Yeah.
[00:10:18] Jono Sims: And then anybody that's been around the Talladega area knows that Baptist encampments, they're called Shocko Springs, okay? And every year at Shocko Springs, they would have a. What they called. I think Phil Waldrop put it on, called a deacons retreat. And, man, that thing would be 6, 7, 800 people or more guys from all over the United States would come to that thing. And so my church was three miles from Chaco Springs, so I noticed they were having David Miller. And I told Kayla, I said, I've got to go to this. And I drove over there, and brother, he preached rechabite religion from Jeremiah 35, quoted it word for word. And there's a lot of brothers that don't agree with me on this, and that's okay. But, man, I've always been a teetotaler. I just don't. I teach that to my children. I've taught it to my church. And when David preached that rechabite religion message, man, I just. It just. My heart just exploded. And so all throughout my ministry, that's been a message that I've gone back to and gone back to. And a few years ago at the True Church Conference, I requested that David preach that message. And Brother Jeff signed off on it, and he preached it. And, you know, that one is an Ebenezer in my life. And I really appreciate David preaching that and taking that stand. It's one that I think we need to return to, and I just appreciate his zeal and passion. So that's kind of how I got introduced to him. And then from there, literally, Brother, I think it would be safe to. To say that we became, I think you could say, best friends. We just started. David would just call me and we would just talk sometimes. Conversation might last a couple hours, and he would just tell me what he was. He would always call me a couple of weeks before the true church conference. And I got. I mean, I get his whole sermon, and we would just chew the fat back and forth, and he would just say, here's my points, here's my outline. Now, Brother Sims, what do you have to add to that? Absolutely nothing to add to it, Brother. I just. I'm blessed by listening to it. But David has preached at Shelbyville Mills multiple times. He's done men's retreats. He's done what we call fall outreaches, which would be similar to a revival and just a favorite of our church. The last time he preached at our church, Ms. Glenda came with him, and she was already showing the great signs of dementia and Alzheimer's. But they got to. He. He came with Brother Eric and they pulled his Polaris, and he said, I want to ride over your property, brother. I want to see it. And we were able to do that. And Ms. Kayla made a big old pot of chicken stew and homemade cornbread. And we just had a time. Just all the staff came. They. They were able to hang out with Brother David, and. And it was just glorious. And, you know, that was one of the last times he traveled very much.
[00:13:45] Mark W. Williams: Right.
[00:13:45] Jono Sims: So just. Just that's kind of how we got to be good friends.
[00:13:49] Mark W. Williams: Sure, sure. Well, I mean, that. That's. That's the kind of stuff I like to hear. I mean, I've only gotten to really know David over the last couple years personally. Right. And. And. And so I have a very small view of his, you know, overall life. And. And, you know, I got to spend time with him like you did, you know, a little bit of a.
Systematic theology courses, as you put it. And, you know, I'll go over to his house and it'll be three hours later before I leave.
But it's good to hear some of these kind of other things. And so I know you've been. So you've been a friends for, goodness, 30 years or something like that.
What were some of the things besides ministry that you guys enjoyed doing? I mean, what did that friendship look like outside the church kind of preaching, ministry functions?
[00:14:49] Jono Sims: You can pretty much sum it up in everything. Hunting and fishing. Yeah, I was Raised that way. That's where I cut my teeth. And, man, I just was one of those kids that. My mom would put me out in the morning and she'd whistle. She'd get out on the back porch at dark, whistle. For me, it was time to come in. And I just. I'm my happiest, and I'm still that way when I'm outside. I'm looking out through your. When I can see the sunshine out there, this beautiful spring day. And there's something in my heart just pulling me out there. And that was David.
And so we had a connection over deer hunting.
We had a connection over turkey hunting and all things hunting. And David owned a beautiful hunting farm down in Duck Hill, Mississippi.
And we would meet down there every few years. And I met so many wonderful people down there that had become friends that we still talk and that I would have never met without that.
[00:15:56] Mark W. Williams: Sure.
[00:15:57] Jono sims: And David would have us in.
Me and brother Jeff Noblett and David Young were invited down one time, and there was several other guys there. And we all went out early in the morning, deer hunting. We would come in and brother David would have a big fire going. David was cerebral and he thought things through. And he had constructed this fire pit, and he had built this cast iron dome to make a chimney effect.
And it was all. He had laid cobblestone, big area for you to have chairs, and built that big fire pit with that flue type system that he had all thought up. And, man, the way that thing worked, it would pull that smoke up so you could sit right by the fire and never have smoke on you. It was amazing. And, man, the way the fire would burn was just incredible. And he just got a kick out of it. We would throw aluminum cans in there and literally, they would just melt like water. That's how hot it was. And we would sit around that fire and sing hymns. Brother, just start singing hymns. And then David would just launch out into just an exposition of scripture. I guess he would just choose a text in his mind and take off. It was amazing. Yeah. And I remember specifically one time we got down to Duck Hill and we got around the campfire the first day, and he was giving all of us instructions on where we were going to go, what we were going to do, what section we were going to hunt. And he said, okay, boys, he said, here's the deal. He said, take your Bibles with you. And he said, we're going to memorize the Book of Jude. He said, now, that's a small book. One chapter. We ought to ought to be able to do that. And he rattled off the entire book of Jude right there. He said, now, at the end of the week, that's what I expect from y'all.
And so he said every time we come in, and he had divided it up, he said, you're going to quote for me your four verses for that day. And so we all just gulped and said, here we go. And so every day when we would come in from hunting, we would quote our verses until we completed the book of Jude. But that's iron sharpening iron, you know, just. That's the way brother David was. And I remember Malachi just being just a young boy. I've got tons of pictures on my phone of me and him and Eric fishing. And, you know, Malachi caught some pretty big bass that day, and he's holding them up and just so many, many, many fond memories. But two years ago, and I just had a sense before I left home, I told Kayla, I said, I just believe this may be brother David's last hunting trip. And it proved to be, me and brother David and Doug and brother Jeff, we drove out here, we got David's motorhome, and we drove all the way to Pie Town, New Mexico.
[00:19:00] Mark W. Williams: Wow.
[00:19:00] Jono Sims: With that big RV and a Polaris on a trailer behind it, going down through the middle of, you know, Santa Fe, New Mexico, and down through a lot of other big cities as well.
But, brother, we just had a wonderful time of our lives. And that week, I knew in going I was going as a servant. It wasn't so much about the hunting. It was really more about us accommodating David to be able to get to hunt again. And so, brother, for a week, I got a taste of what brother Bill Williams did for years, what brother Eric did, what Doug did. And basically, I just kind of purposed in my heart to take care of brother David for that week. And so I did all things brother David, you know, taking care of him, helping him get up, helping him lie down, feeding, because David couldn't do anything like that. And just our relationship even went to an even deeper level. And I didn't think that was possible.
And I just knew that that was probably. He was getting very, very weak. He was losing his lung capacity.
There were long stints on that trip when he was on a breathing apparatus to help him breathe. And so that was his last elk hunt.
[00:20:24] Mark W. Williams: Did y'all get anything?
[00:20:25] Jono Sims: We didn't. We didn't. I had a shot at a small bull, but it really wasn't what we were looking for.
But, man, the fellowship and the time together was just golden.
Sitting here today, I wouldn't take anything for that, that I got to spend that week with him just around the things of God.
And if I could say one other thing, my son, who I love with all my heart, when he graduated high school, went astray and had to be disciplined by our church and very, very painful. Brother David was right there through all that with me and loved on me and encouraged me, and I never will forget. He set me and Kayla down one day, and he said, brother, he said, I want to say something to you. And he kind of went through a season like that with Josh. And he said, don't you ever get used to your son being lost? Don't you ever get used to it? He said, don't you ever let up in prayer. Don't you ever let up in sharing the gospel. He said, don't ever get used to your son being lost. And me and Kayla have clung to that till this very day. We pray for our son and we see a lot of movement. We see, you know, our son and his wife are coming to church a good bit now, and we're very thankful for that. But David was very, very encouraging to us through that, because he had walked through it.
[00:21:58] Mark W. Williams: Sure. Yeah.
[00:21:59] Jono Sims: And he. Much like a father to me, Much like a father to me.
[00:22:05] Mark W. Williams: Man. He definitely had some good counsel. He did. How can you not if you fill your heart with the word of God like you did?
[00:22:15] Jono Sims: He feasted on it and meditated on it day and night.
I'll never forget when he came to Shelbyville Mills for that men's retreat.
My dad, David Miller. The day David Miller died, I was on the phone with Malachi, and he actually said, papa, I've got this phone on speaker, and Papa can hear you tell him whatever you want to tell him.
And that's just a precious gift from God to be able to do that. I told him that my dad was at the point of death.
Within a few hours, Malachi called me and said, papa is going to be with Jesus. The next day, my dad died.
And that's part of what I was talking to you about before we started recording, Brother. It's been a very difficult year for me.
But when David came to preach that men's retreat, my dad was struggling with the doctrines of grace.
The most authentic Christian man I've ever known in my life. My dad was just a godly Christian man, but like we all do, he struggled with, you know, the doctrines of grace and predestination. Election, foreknowledge.
But he loved brother David. And I never forget at that men's retreat, dad just walked up to brother David and he said, david, I'm struggling with this. How could this be? And how could this be? And, man, Brother David just patiently, lovingly said, brother Gerald, let me just tell you what God. How God led me here. And, man, after that conversation, my dad was. I got it. I see it. And, brother, that's such a gift. I just wouldn't take anything for that. And for the rest of my dad's life, not that my dad was ever antagonistic, sure, but for the rest of my dad's life, we had deep, rich, robust conversation about the sovereignty of God. I'm not sure that chapter would have been opened up in my dad's life without David Miller.
[00:24:09] Mark W. Williams: Wow.
Yeah, man, that's good.
I mean, I know you've shared some of this in what we've already discussed, but since you were such a close friend and you got to have maybe conversations with David that he didn't have with others, or, you know, you tend to be more open and authentic when you're with people who you're close to. Since you knew him so well, how would you describe David Miller? Was he the same guy that you saw on the stage or that you saw, you know, talking in the. In the foyer at the church as he was sitting by the campfire? I mean, what. How would you describe David as a Friend, as somebody that was close to him?
[00:24:59] Jono Sims: Totally no difference.
[00:25:00] Mark W. Williams: Yeah.
[00:25:02] Jono Sims: David Miller was a country preacher.
There was no put on. There was no pretense. There was no high fluting. He wasn't trying to impress anybody. He just was what he was.
And he gloried in that.
That God made him a boy from Cleburne County, Arkansas. And he just talked the way he talked, and his diction and tone and accent was what it was. And he's up there at Southern seminary dealing with PhD professors and men that are cerebrally brainiacs. And, man, Brother David just. It wasn't arrogance and wasn't pride, but he just was not intimidated nor impressed. And he loved his Lord. He loved the word of God. And, you know, the Bible says, the wicked flees when no man pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion. And that was Brother David. Brother. His walk with the Lord and the lifestyle he lived, personal holiness, made him authentic and bold in a way that some people didn't know what to do with it, but guys like us love it because we see his fortitude and strength and courage. But, brother, I'm telling you, the conversations he would have with you around the campfire, the way he preached in the pulpit, or if he's sitting in a. In a board meeting at Southern Seminary, he was David Miller. He was. He never forgot where he was from.
He never forgot. And I've got a picture on my phone of Granny Miller. I asked Brother David to let me take her picture. Cause all I'd ever heard was Granny Miller. And I'm so glad I've got a face to go with the name.
[00:26:50] Mark W. Williams: And you'll have to show me that later. I still don't have a face to the name. I've heard all about what Granny Miller said.
[00:26:57] Jono Sims: And sometimes Granny Miller could be a little rough, but, you know, that was just the way it was.
But David was real. And there was no pretense and put on. There was no fake. There was no phony.
And I'll tell you something else about him and Glenda.
Everybody was always welcome. It didn't matter if, you know, we were at the hunting lodge and there was something going on. If three, four, six, five people stopped by and wanted to join in, they put another plate out. There was always room at their table, always room at their home. Didn't matter if it was Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year's, whatever. There was just an openness. And I think that's why people love Brother David. Everybody felt welcomed at Brother David's table, at Brother David's wheelchair.
David might have had some people that counted him their enemy, but I don't think he counted any man his enemy. I think he. I think he genuinely loved his enemies. I think he prayed for them.
And so, man, he was the same, no matter what.
What. The environment was always the same.
[00:28:12] Mark W. Williams: So, I guess, you know, last thing on. On Brother David, just as a way to kind of transition over, you know, now that he's gone.
What are you gonna miss most, man?
[00:28:29] Jono Sims: The drive over here, brother, just.
I mean, I am so thankful that Brother David is in heaven.
[00:28:37] Mark W. Williams: Oh, yeah.
[00:28:38] Jono Sims: I'm so thankful, brother, that he's released from the body that he had here that was just in such difficult shape. And the way David lived his life, though he squeezed every ounce of life out. He did. And he just pressed on for the glory of God. But, man, I miss him and I miss my dad. They were so much alike. And.
But the drive over, just coming back down these highways and seeing all the places where David grew up and where he lived and had his being just sad that he's not here. And I Guess the thing that I miss the most, brother, is the phone calls.
Just the fellowship.
I've got his voicemails on my phone. I've got the voicemail from when he called me and asked me to come preach the first wild game dinner.
[00:29:37] Mark W. Williams: Really?
[00:29:37] Jono Sims: And with David, there's always a little bit of smack talk on the front end, and then he gets down to the serious stuff. And, man, I miss that. The jawing and the cutting up and, you know, just being hunting buddies. We're, you know, always talking about how, you know, he told me when he called me to preach, I was wild game dinner. He said, now, brother Sims, you don't have much of a resume as a hunter, but I do want you to come preach our wild game dinner. And so I miss that, brother. I miss the jawing and I miss the picking at each other.
I miss those phone calls where we get down to talking about the word of the Lord. I miss his counsel and I miss his friendship and. And Ms. Ms. Glenda. And by the way, I had Ms. Glenda come do a ladies retreat.
[00:30:31] Mark W. Williams: Oh, really?
[00:30:32] Jono Sims: Yep, sure did. She came and taught a women's retreat at my church in Alabama and just did a marvelous job, I bet. And it was just the practical things of what it is to be a wife and a mother, which is what we need. And she did a marvelous job at doing that, brother. I'm so thankful she was able to come do that. But I just miss him, brother. I miss him as a friend.
I miss him as a partner in ministry. I miss the iron. Sharpening iron. But hopefully, by God's grace, I won't ever forget any of the things he taught me.
[00:31:07] Mark W. Williams: Yeah. You know, praise the Lord. Yeah, Definitely, definitely miss him. He's.
But of course, he. Like you said, he's now he's whole and absolutely. And happy and enjoying the presence of his. Of his Savior that he loved so much while he was here.
[00:31:28] Jono Sims: He wanted to go home.
[00:31:29] Mark W. Williams: Yeah, he was ready.
[00:31:30] Jono Sims: He wanted to go home. There's no doubt about it.
[00:31:32] Mark W. Williams: Yeah. I was there with him those last, last minutes.
I wasn't in there for the final. That was just Josh and Malachi.
[00:31:42] Jono Sims: Right.
[00:31:43] Mark W. Williams: We were there in the hospital that morning, and he was ready.
[00:31:46] Jono Sims: Yes.
[00:31:47] Mark W. Williams: You could tell. Yep.
[00:31:48] Jono Sims: Yep.
[00:31:49] Mark W. Williams: Thankful for him.
[00:31:50] Jono Sims: Yes, sir.
[00:31:53] Mark W. Williams: Before we hear Brother David's sermon in his Philemon series, I do want to share one recommended resource with you, which is actually multiple resources. Brother Jono publishes his sermons in commentaries. And so most recently, he has put out a commentary on Psalm 23, a series of messages that he preached through his church. Such an encouragement. I would highly recommend picking up this one, but he has many others as well. I've got one here on the book of Ephesians, got Philippians, Romans, Matthew for sure, and some of the Old Testament books, things that he's preached through over the years at Shelbyville Mills. And so I would encourage you again, find that in the link in a description here. Go to our website lineuponlineministries.com store today's sermon from brother David Miller is on the biblical doctrine of forgiveness from his Philemon series. Forgiveness is such an important and often misunderstood element in our churches and so brother David does a wonderful job of sharing from this short book important truths for us today. So please enjoy this classic sermon from brother David and then stick around at the end for some closing thoughts.
[00:33:18] Bro. David Miller: And we're going to begin in verse one.
The theme of the book of Philemon is forgiveness.
Ones the slave has run away from Colossae and he has gone to Rome where he was converted and he has been forgiven himself of the Lord. And Paul sends him back and he entreats Philemon to receive him, to forgive him, to release him of this debt that he owes.
I think you'll be blessed. Let's read beginning at verse one.
Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy, our brother unto Philemon, our dearly beloved and fellow laborer, and to our beloved Apthea and Archippus, our fellow soldier, and to the church in thy house, 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, hearing of thy love and faith which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus and toward all saints that the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you, in Christ Jesus.
For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother.
Wherefore though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient, being such an one as. That's not right.
Y'all would have sat there and let me go on, wouldn't you? Being I'll start over.
Marsha has kept looking at me. She hasn't found the text since I began. Marcia, we're in the book of Philemon.
Marsha is the very reason I got off track there. Marcia kept looking. She's looking at Bessie's notes on her page and she asked Bessie, is that right?
All right, I'm on verse eight again. Are you with me now, Marsha?
I think Marsha was reading Hebrews and wondering why it wasn't jiving with what I was saying.
Verse 8.
Wherefore, though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient, yet for love's sake, I rather beseech thee, being such an one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ, I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my barns, which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee, and to me whom I have sent again.
Thou therefore receive him that is as mine own bowels, whom I would have retained with me that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the Gospel. But without thy mind I would do nothing. That thy benefit should not be, as it were of necessity, but willingly. For perhaps he therefore departed for a season that thou shouldest receive him forever, not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother, beloved, especially unto me.
But how much more unto thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord?
If thou therefore count me a partner, receive him as myself. If he hath wronged thee or oweth thee, ought put that on mine.
I, Paul, have written it with mine own hand. I will repay it. Albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest me thine own self. Besides, yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord, refresh my bowels in the Lord.
Having confidence in thy obedience, I wrote to you, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I ask, but withal. Prepare me also a lodging, for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you.
There. Salute thee, Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus.
Marcus Aristarchus Demas Lucas, My fellow laborers, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
Philemon is a textbook in how to deal with difficult relationships. The tact and the diplomacy that is manifested in this book serves the saints well. It is a model. It is an example of how to go about resolving difficult issues.
I want to quote for you a little poem that I saw the other day before I began my sermon.
A cruel word may kindle strife.
A bitter word may wreck a life.
A gracious word may smooth the way.
A joyous word may light the way.
A timely word may lessen strife.
A loving word may heal and bless. Is that good that that rebuked me?
I have been guilty at times of being short and abrasive and wanting to get my 2 cents worth in right now get to jump on them.
That's not the theme of my sermon tonight. But I want you to see the way Paul handles this difficulty. Now I have four items in my sermon. Don't you love a good four point sermon?
And then I have an addendum at the end of the outline. We're going to begin with the reputation of Philemon acknowledged in verses two through seven.
Now you have heard it said that sometimes our reputation precedes us.
Sometimes people have heard about us even though we don't know about them.
What do others say about us?
Kind of spooky, isn't it? What are the impressions that people have about us? Well, the reputation of Philemon had traveled far and wide. People knew about this wealthy, opulent man.
The text mentions three things in particular about his reputation.
He honored the Christ of God, he hosted the church of God, and he helped the children of God.
That's a good reputation to have, isn't it?
People knew that Philemon loved the Lord Jesus Christ.
I pray that's the case with me. Don't you pray that when folks think about us they think in those terms that Bill Williams and Oneida love Jesus? They wouldn't do the stuff they do if they didn't just love the Christ of God. Why else would you sacrifice your time and energies to try to get the gospel to other people if you didn't love the Lord Jesus Christ?
I think of so many here in our church.
I often tell folks that while our church is not a large church, probably half of our adults at one time or another in the last five or ten years have gone out of the country, left the continental United States to go and serve and preach the gospel or build buildings or just go out of the love of God. Love for Christ. Isn't that a good reputation for a church to have, for an individual to have? They love Jesus and don't you love him because he first loved us.
And herein is the love of Christ manifested that while we were yet without strength and ungodly, he died for us. Why shouldn't we love him in return? Philemon loved the Christ of God and he hosted the church of God. He had a home big enough to receive his family members and his extended family, his servants and others there at Colosse who had placed faith in Christ. They had organized themselves into a local visible church of baptized disciples. They were united in the belief of what the Lord had said and were coveting to do what the Lord had commanded. Just a house church but can you think of a finer way to use your home than to have the church of God meet at your place?
Let us not disparage or despise the day of small things. I told you Sunday evening. It was into the third Sunday century before the church ever met in a. In a house or building dedicated for that purpose. They met in homes.
And then thirdly, I was going to say other things, but I'll preach way too long if I say everything that's on my mind.
Philemon's reputation was this. He helped the children of God. Paul says, we have great joy and consolation in your love, in your love to Christ and in your love to the saints, because the bowels, the hearts of the children of God are refreshed by thee. Philemon obviously had not only provided his home as a meeting place, but he had helped others who were in need and by so doing had caused them to rejoice and be glad in the Lord.
I read a quote by Adam Clark in my preparations for this sermon and Adam Clark said this about those who are wealthy and opulent.
Seldom are they willing to serve and be used.
Often they are willing to teach and govern the church.
Not so with Philemon. He was wealthy and he was willing to be used and to be served and not one hint, not one pentilla of evidence that he felt any real compulsion that he had to govern and control everything that went on in the church. Boy, that would be tempting if it was meeting at your house, wouldn't it, Wayne?
Boy, you just be.
There's a little bit of this in all of us. Sometimes the deacons want to rule. Sometimes there are matriarchs that want to rule.
Boy, when you put these residual aspects of our depravity into a house church, where you are the owner of the house, well, that might let that bit of depravity come out even easier. But not so with Philemon. He loved the Lord's church and he loved the Lord's children and went out of his way to serve them.
So that's the reputation of Philemon. Now, number two, we shall look at the request of Paul articulated a We have the bases of the request. Three things.
One, he could have made his request on the grounds of his apostolic authority. He says in verse eight, I could be much bold in Christ to tell you to do what's right in this case, I could use that authority.
But he indicates I'm not going to do that.
Paul has a way with words, doesn't he?
He says later in this chapter, I do not Say to thee how thou owest to me thine own self. I'm just. I'm not going to bring that up.
But he did. And so he. He could have made his request on the basis of authority.
But you know what?
Often a person who's mature and in possession of authority finds little occasion to have to use it.
They find other ways.
It's just not the best approach much of the time. Now, there are times when with authority you have to speak and deal with certain issues. And sometimes with certain people, you just have to, as Granny Miller would say, lay the law down and hold to your guns. But not so with Paul. He appeals rather on the basis of love, love of God and love for the saints.
I beseech thee for love's sake. And then he mentions his age. He says, I have been at this for a while.
I have had my nose to the grindstone and my shoulder to the wheel, you know, of my ministry.
The scholars tell us that Paul probably met Philemon when he was in Ephesus.
Perhaps Philemon had been among those who had come to Miletus to hear Paul's farewell address.
Paul wasn't that old. In reality, he was only maybe 56 to 58 years old. And you normally wouldn't think of that as being aged or old age. I certainly don't.
I'm going to turn 62 on the seventh day of this month. That's not old.
But Paul had a lot of mileage. Did you know you can have a car that's not all that old, but it's got a lot of miles on it? And it's as old in reality because of wear and tear, as a car, maybe 10 years older chronologically. And that's the case here with Paul.
The Philemon knows that Paul deserves respect and he deserves honor because of his ministry, because of his position, and because of his own ministry to Philemon. So this is the basis of the request. Now, here are the basics.
In the request, he says in verse 17, receive ones as myself, regard him as a brother, and refresh my heart, the Lord. That is the request.
[00:51:48] Mark W. Williams: As I mentioned before the sermon, forgiveness is one of those issues that's very important yet often misunderstood in our churches. Over the years, as I have helped people in the church through counseling and different issues that they have been facing. Forgiveness is one that constantly comes up as necessary to. To. As an element to deal with the problem at hand. And so let me encourage you, first Of all, that you're not alone in Dealing with forgiveness and understanding it. But let me also offer some helpful resources. There are some things that I have found that have been helpful in my own ministry, and so there are links in the description to a few blog articles, podcasts, and even a book or two that will help you to think through forgiveness. But also not just forgiveness, but conflict in the church, reconciliation in particular. So let me encourage you to check out some of those resources. I'll have those links in the description or comments wherever you're listening to this podcast to below, and please take advantage of those. If I can help in any way, please reach out to me Line upon line ministries gmail.com now let's head back to the rest of Brother David's classic sermon, the Biblical Doctrine of Forgiveness.
[00:53:14] Bro. David Miller: Let's move now to number three. The reconciliation of Onesimus is anticipated. In verse 12 he says, I am sending Onesimus back to you.
I wonder why.
Onesimus had traveled a thousand miles, perhaps 1100 miles, to Rome, that great metropolis, probably thinking that he would not be discovered there among the multitudes. But Providence brought him into contact with Paul, and he was converted.
When he was running away, the furthest thing from his mind was, I ought to return.
What drove him was, I want to get away.
He was like Jonah when God told him to go to Nineveh. Instead, he went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish in the opposite direction from where God told him to go.
That's Onesimus. He didn't want to go back. He wanted to get away. That's why he left to begin with.
But when he got saved, God gave him a new heart.
I want to tell you tonight, beloved, conversion is a miracle of the sovereign spirit, spirit of the living God. It changes men.
It gives them a new desire, a new perspective. And after he got saved, Paul began to see a difference in him.
Probably one day old Nehemiah said to you, what do you think I ought to do?
And Paul, knowing what he meant, said, what do you mean?
And Onesimus says, you think I ought to go back to my master Philemon?
And Paul said, well, what do you think?
And old Nessima said, it's been on my mind, it's been on my heart for several days.
And Paul said, I I think you ought to go back.
That's evidence that you've been converted, that you want to go back, that you want to get things right. And so Paul says, I'm sending him back.
And he says, I want you, Philemon, to receive him and to release him. That's what forgiveness is. If I owe Nathan a Debt.
And I come to Nathan and he says, david, I know that you owe me this debt and you aren't able to pay.
I'm going to release you. I'm going to forgive you this debt. That's what Philemon is being asked to do in regard to his slave Onesimus, to release him, forgive him of this debt. And then number C, there is this possible return of Onesimus to Paul. Paul says, I would have kept him with me, that in your stead he would have ministered unto me in the bonds of the Gospel. But I didn't want to do this without your approval. I didn't want you to have to do this out of necessity. I've sent him back, and now it's up to you whether you return him to me or not. That's reconciliation.
Now number four. We have restitution by Paul. Announced. Verses 18 and 19. Two items here. One is the idea of substitution and the other of satisfaction. In verse 18, Paul says, if he has wronged you or oweth you aught, put that on my account, receive him as myself.
Substitution.
And then in verse 19, we have satisfaction. He says, I will repay it. Now, if it is within our means and our ability, we ought to make restitution for the wrongs that have been committed. Now I want to move to the addendum, which I am calling an analogy of the Gospel. Have you seen the Gospel in this story?
Look at it first. We have ones as the sinner.
And does that not represent every one of us in this room tonight? We're not each one of us running from God.
We did not want him ruling over us, and we were trying to get as far away from him as we could.
That's where the Gospel begins, with the depravity of the human heart, the lostness of men. And then Philemon is the sovereign.
Slaves in those days were nothing more than a piece of chattel.
The owner of the slave had sovereign rights. He could kill the slave, destroy him with impunity.
And does not Philemon represent God in his relationship to men? And how much more in God's case, did he have the sovereign right and the might to have slain each one of us and given us no reprieve for repentance or faith? Is that true?
Well, look at Paul. He is the substitute. And as the substitute, he makes satisfaction and supplication. And is that not what Christ has done for each one of us? He who knew no sin became sin for us. And as our substitute, he represents us in heaven, making supplication and intercession before the Father. He has satisfied the claims of God's law and the demands of God's holy justice. And we've been released, we've been forgiven of our sins and we've been received as the children, the living God. Glory.
Glory. Let's pray. Father, thank you for this book of Philemon. Lord. To look at it on the surface, there's no great theological issue that comes to mind. Many have wondered why it was placed in the canon of Holy Scripture. And yet, Lord, when we see the tender compassion of the Apostle Paul in dealing with this issue of the slave who had been converted and needed to be returned, Lord, we learned so many lessons that are so clear and plain and are so needful in our own lives.
Now, Lord, this analogy that the story provides of the Gospel of Christ, it causes us to rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory that as the sovereign God, you would send your Son to be our substitute and to make satisfaction to your justice. And thank you, Lord, that Christ our Redeemer sits at the right hand of God this very moment to make intercession and supplications on our behalf. We rejoice in thee in Jesus name. Amen.
[01:01:45] Mark W. Williams: I hope today's episode has been an encouragement to you in both the interview with Brother Jono and the sermon from Brother David. Be sure to come back next time. For more of the interview with Brother Jono and another classic sermon from Brother David. If there's anything I can do to help encourage you, or if you have any ideas for future podcasts, if you have any resources from Brother David from over the years, pictures, audio CDs, whatever, you might have video of Brother David's sermons that we could utilize on the website. Be sure to send those our way. Lineuponlineministriesmail.com or if we could pray for you about anything, we'd love to be able to minister to you in that way as well. Thank you for joining us today on this episode of the LineupOn Line Ministries podcast. I'm your host, Mark Williams. God bless you. As you continue to study and to minister his efficient word, line upon line.
