From Ruthless to Generous and Enslaved to Empowered

Welcome summer church good morning at our campuses across the triangle. What you should have gotten this piece here.

It is an incredible piece of her annual report. I hope you will spend some time in it. Over the next week or so, preferably not during the sermon, but you have a look at it, saw an incredible piece. What the reason that we do an annual report by the way is not only so that you can be aware of what God is doing here in the triangle and what is doing in our church, but that you might be amazed that he's doing it through you, hope you have the same sense that I had reading fillet of who am I that God would choose and blessed me and allow me to be the vehicle of blessing for the people. The way that he is and I hope that you will see your role in it and that many of you will make a decision that you were no longer going to be spectators in this movement you're going to actually be disciples that we've always said what the summit church not to be an institution wanted to be a movement and movements, by definition, move, and so if you're not moving you're not part of the movement and we want to see many of you go from being sidelined spectators to be active participants in the mission of God, and I think you'll see the invitation to do that in their Honduras is an amazing statistic Senate atmospheric a few them with you right out of the highlights, but not all of them you have to do that later on as I share these.

I know that at some point you feel like clapping, but it will probably be best to the second way to the ends of you to sort of hold any any sort of affirmation or anything this year started off with a bang. Our first Sunday of the year we had 9217 in attendance at our Blue Ridge campus launch that weekend. On Sunday morning was 650 in attendance.

Over the last year last 12 months we seen a 19% increase in membership at this church.

As I explained you had a lot of common-law members are to shack up with us on the weekend and we made honest Christians out of some of you so you know, that was an answer by the way to a prayer that we prayed a year ago that God would make this less of an event. People attend on the weekend and more of a community that they belong to and you see a nearly 20% increase in membership is an answer to that prayer.

Along with that we now have 450 active, small groups, I'm going into January.

The Blue Ridge campus had more than 100% of their average weekend attendance that was involved in a small group. I'm not even sure how that's possible but they're doing it and it's now the new standard for all of our campuses. The last year we seen a 34% increase in weekly attendance, for family ministries, which also represents growth in the community aspect of our church we baptized last year, nearly 100 students, high school middle school students. Again all that's in answer to a prayer that we would be a community, not an event our ministries to our community have really grown over the last year get this.

We now have 119 families at this church that are involved in foster or adoptive orphan care in our city here hundred and 19 families of you that have reached out and taken into your homes, children that you could love and and where you can disciple, we have a heart we we just gave 1/2 $1 million grant to launch re-city which is a new ministry that we started to at risk teens in downtown Durham, we have a thriving ministry to our prison communities here in Raleigh-Durham.glassful monthly baptized 11 of our brothers in Christ.

Now right here at the summit church who come from the prison on the weekend and we baptized 11 I'm right here on church planting nearly 500 of you one on short-term mission trips in the last 12 months.

Currently we have 202 summit members living overseas right now on an international church planting team. Most of them.

By the way, listen to the podcast so hello to all of you, but 202 of us that right now have a current international address because there there as a part of an international intentional team to plant churches.

They have started now more than 90 churches overseas, which is a 176% increase over last year someone others churches by the way was started last summer in Serbia by a, short-term college mission team that we sent their this year we sent a team of college graduates that is going to live there on a two-year assignment to work with that church. Speaking of college missions.

You know that we encourage college students unless they've heard from God audibly. By the time to graduate at the office for the first two years living on one of our mission projects around the world told you we call that our organization strategy. Give us your first two years will change your life.

We now have eight city project locations and five second city locations. We are doing this domestic church planting. Last year we sent out from this church 115 of our members to plant for churches domestically, which brings the number of US domestic church plans to 23. For those right here in Raleigh-Durham or most recent church plant in Wilmington called the bridge church launched two weeks ago get this with 420 people they overflowed into the lobby.

I think I have a picture of it here.

That was their first service, Pastor Ethan, that that the planting pastor there said most exciting was that we had a lot of non-Christians there that we been building relationships with over the past few months, including the owner of the building and the construction crew that renovated get this one of the construction workers grew up at Homestead Heights Baptist Church, which is your discharge report in the summit church he had fallen away from the faith and moved to Wilmington.

Now he's coming back to faith in Christ through the relationships in this plan. That means you can leave us but we will find you and right now we would have services in the prison you know around Raleigh-Durham so you can even go there will were to get to you on that brings Otto Elizabeth last year our US church plants baptized 317 people. That brings the total number of churches that God is planted through the summit side church planting efforts to hundred and 13. By the way you look on the back page. There we have a goal of thousand churches hundred 13 this is where we are we are 11% of the way to our goal. How did you break your silence by the way, I think that something worth celebrating Siri for last two years; all in is a goal we had of bringing in $26 million. I told you earlier last year that saw we were projecting not only were we going to meet our goal 26 million women exceeded by about $5 million.

We projected 30.9 million and I'm pleased to tell you that a December 31. We concluded all in with $32 million that came in over there's two years now. Some your life. Call me were dumb Avolio and I am so glad that all it is gone because I am all out. Well I hope that you will hear this is good news.

But we are never going to be done with things like all in why because there is still 1.5 million people in Raleigh-Durham who are not connected to any church at all and we assume are not connected to the gospel. There are still 2.2 billion people in the world who have yet to even hear the name of Jesus Christ and for us to cease doing all that we can to reach them with the gospel is the day that we cease to be followers of Jesus Christ.

You see, Jesus said that saw the good Shepherd does not rejoice over the 99 that are his figures after the one that is lost.

We rejoice that we are 9000 people here on the weekend but we mourn for the 1.5 million in our city who have yet to hear the gospel and ordinary followers of Jesus. They were going to every day of our lives use every breath that we have in order to reach out to them. Listen, if your idea of a church is a country club or were we affirm the status quo_to go and tell you this is probably not the church for you and I always think of the words of the missionary to India CT stud. Some people want to live in the sound of chapel bells. I want to run a mission, a yard from the gates of hell to feel like one tire to be employed to sacrifice and serve in all this.

I'm screwed when say you might make it easier on you might make it easier on me should probably just find somewhere else because this is not a church will were just going to have a country club for Christians. This is a place were we believe that God is called us on a mission to bless our community with the gospel and to bless the world mount I'm preaching and I promised myself I would not do that during the annual report, but as you spend time with this Vista business magazine under a lot of great articles in it that not just explain what happened, but who we are. Were going in and and what we believe God is putting into our hearts to see stuff in there about how we were trying to grow in our love for God through intentionality in prayer and MM Bible study, you'll see articles Amera how are trying to grow in our love for one another, not just through through through more and and better small groups but also, it celebrates and they are on the progress of God is made in this church regarding the diversification of our church. I want things I'm really excited about is this year we had a crucial benchmark now 15% of the people that attend the summit church on the weekend are non-Caucasian, which may not seem like a big deal to you about five years ago, the number like 4% or something like that God is doing this in our church is a reflection of the unity that he brings the harmony that he brings in his kingdom and we want to see that continue to grow your to see stuff in there, but I will try to love our world seems something about a new initiative in the summit church we call serve 365. Up until now we call to serve our do you still use that name to refer to bigger events, but there serve 365 implies that it's not something we do a few times a year, but we do every single day. What about leap year. That's 300 you get that day off, but otherwise every single day reaching out to your community. You'll see stuff in there about short-term mission trips and college missions are what's happening to those things come to see something in there about exciting thing called the Sam James Institute, which is the next step in our leadership. Leadership development arm near the summit. I think of it like a ministry college that offers courses on topics ranging from how to answer tough questions about the Christian faith how to preach or teach the Bible better if if that's something you want to do to how to become a better parent comets can offer a full slate of things you can check all that out later is will tell you that my prayer for this year, give you a few things I'm praying for.

I will put them on my blog tomorrow if it you want to print with me over the next few weeks covering the guy would continue the grace that he is given this church and these things that we would continue to grow in our diversity that we would reflect the beauty of the body of Christ and praying that we would be a community of disciples and not an event that people attend.

I'm praying that that that that that while the hundred percent of people in small groups will begin to characterize every campus employment will be up church that grows in his generosity that we would be a place that is rich with prayer like that if you had to choose three words to describe the summit church that prayer would be one of those three. I'm praying that God would give us wisdom for strategic decisions. We need to make about growth where women and and where to do new campuses on how to get permanent facilities for existing campuses or renovate there's campuses. Maybe most of all I'm praying that we would never lose our evangelistic ads as a church because I'm telling you guys listen without that, we are nothing. That is what God called us to do is to seek and save the lost, and I want you to be involved don't you come watch other people do what I want you to ask who is your one who is your one that you're going to reach this year and that you're going to bring and expose students into the gospel the other day in my my personal time with God. God brought me to Genesis 12 one of those promises in the Bible that God just renewed in the ascent that I needed a prayer for us in our church yelled that promise. This promise is true for all Christians anywhere but I just since the guy was saying. I'm saying this to you. Genesis 12 on the promise to Abraham I have chosen you and I'm gonna bless you, and I'm in a make your name great, but it's not for the sake your name is not for the sake of your blessing. I'm doing that to make my name great and I'm doing that to make you a blessing to those that are around you summit church. This is the invitation that I believe God is given to us is he is going to bless us. That is his promise, but is not doing it for our sake. He's going to do it so that we can be a blessing to people in Raleigh-Durham and all over the world and if you are ready to receive that letter you just say amen and I must pray together yet.

Are you glad that's created wherever James got up pray together. Father, we are so very grateful and who are we that you would not only love us and save us for now use this as a blessing. And so God we open our mouths why the Psalm 27 says to receive it. That God you would do exceedingly abundantly above all, we would ask or think in a God, people would not talk about us that they would talk about you, for the glory of your name for the renown of your name. As Paul said in Ephesians 3 for the glory of Jesus Christ in his church throughout all ages forever and ever, world without end. In Jesus name in all God's people all over campuses said amen. Today we are going to briefly look with the remainder of our time at a New Testament book that I think captures the heart of our vision is the book of Philemon in your Bible.

So if you have a Bible what you take it out to get open at the Philemon. The book comes right after the book of Titus.

So, if you will been here last few weeks and got good at finding Titus.

It's the very next page, we just finished our study Titus and really Philemon is an extension of the thought in Titus so you could consider this like a bonus track in the everyday theology series. We just technically concluded. Philemon is one of the shortest books in the Bible on one page 335 words in Greek. It's actually a postscript that was attached to the book of Colossians a really interesting story behind this book. Philemon was a Roman nobleman who lived in Colossae, whom Paul had led to Christ on a mission trip there will Philemon was was was really wealthy and he had a bunch of servants and one of them named an SMS had stolen a bunch of stuff from Philemon's house and then ran away to Rome.

What a crazy twister Providence an SMS runs into the apostle Paul in Rome. Rome was a huge city, but he just happens right into Paul, who is being held in a minimum-security prison there in Rome. So Paul leads Ernesto Mr. Christ. Then he finds out that an SMS is a runaway slave who installed a bunch of stuff from Paul from Philemon. So Paul thins him back to Philemon to turn himself in, and as he is going. He says Asia one attorneys over the Philemon. I want you to take this letter to the church in Colossae which is the book of Colossians in your Bible, and many attached is this little postscript to that letter as a private letter to Philemon. That's the book of Philemon and so this is what Paul says in a private letter to Philemon. Verse six is will pick up. Paul says I'm praying that you Philemon will put into action the generosity that come from your faith as you understand and experience all the good things we have in Christ.

Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required.

Yet, for love's sake.

I prefer to appeal to you, so I Paul, an old man now in our prisoner also for Christ Jesus. I appeal to you for my child, an SMS father. I became in my imprisonment. You let in the crisis. What he means. Formerly, he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful. There is a play on words happening in Greek because an SMS in Greek literally means useful in SMS as a thief had become used less now. Paul says he's living up to his name useful, but he's not just useful to you is also useful to me more than just his previous usefulness as a servant in your house Philemon God has a role for him and his kingdom is gone way beyond his previous usefulness.

God has chosen him to be an instrument of blessing verse 12 and someday I am sending him back to you and sending my very heart when I do so I would have been glad to have Capt. with me in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, but I prefer to do nothing without your consent. In order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but all of your own accord for this is perhaps why he was parted from you for a while that you might have been back forever. Not as a bondservant, however, but more than a bondservant that you would have them back is a beloved brother.

Verse 17. So if you consider me your partner receive him as you would receive me.

If he is wrong to it all grows you anything charge that to my account. I Paul write this with my own hand, I will repay it to say nothing of you owing me even her own self since, after all, I let you Christ life's are both pretty good and that the guilt trip every Jewish Christian friend who says clearly here. Paul had a Jewish mother laying on the kind of guilt trip because that's a talent Paul baseball says so Philemon while you languish around in your luxurious house with all your servants.

I and old man in here in prison for the gospel. I let own estimates to Christ and now you really feel the Cold War ministry and I could really use a cell. But if you really want to come back. I guess you can, by the way, did I remind you that that I led you to Christ about me you would be on your way to help. Well, if you can find it in your heart to do that great. If not, when I get out of prison.

I'll personally company his debts. It's up to you Philemon and then Paul concludes with this verse 22.

One more thing please repair a guestroom for me, for I'm hoping that God will answer your prayers and let me return to you soon. In other words, oh yeah, I met you to be there in a few months. This can be really really awkward if you do not do what I am saying.

Furthermore, this letter is going to go in the Bible, which means that for the rest of Christian history you don't do. I say you're going to be known as that guy, but no pressure man totally up to you and of course an SMS is the one who actually delivers this letter so I Philemon is reading that an estimate is going to stand there grinning like you know what you say uncle five you know what can happen here. Right before we go any farther. Let's deal with an obvious question that some of you had as I have been reading through this question is does the Bible here condone slavery because it seems pretty clear that there is some kind of ownership that Philemon has over an SMS and recognizing that is Paul legitimizing slavery. Great question.

Sadly, some Christians throughout history have interpreted it that way but that is a very simplistic, very twisted and quite frankly, very wrong. Understanding three things to remember number one. The bondservant here is nothing like what we think of when we say slave when we think slave we think he takes muddy captive and force them into labor.

That kind of slavery is explicitly condemned in the Bible.

Exodus 2116 anyone who kidnaps another and sells him shall be put to death, or in first Timothy chapter 1 verse eight Paul put slave traders in the same category as those who kill their parents.

Adulterers per jurors or perverts so that cannot be the kind of servant. An SMS was this scholar say it was more like what we think of as indentured servant hood and it was part of the economic system in Rome for some your translations say bondservant sums a servant, someplace labeled one word in Greek the community number of things.

The word was due to loss in those days.

If somebody became extremely poor for they had a lot of data they can provide for their family.

The only thing left for them to sell was there labor soon agreement to pay off their data for the promise of provision then people would often sell themselves to a wealthy person like Philemon. Now that is not to say that it was a good system or that it was ever part of God's plan in the original creation. God never intended us to own each other. He told us to have dominion over the earth, not other humans.

Which leads me to number two.

The New Testament subverts the entire premise of any form of slavery you can summarize the entire New Testament at think about how we are to treat one another in love your neighbor as yourself and you want others as you would have been doing to you. It calls us to treat one another as brothers and sisters and tells us that in Christ there is neither slave nor free, you can see the details. We are all family. There is no hierarchy in the kingdom of God, and you can see that in the verse, Paul often uses to close his letters, he will say greet one another with a holy kiss as a teenager in church. I wondered why does no one ever preach on that verse because there were several girls I wanted to apply that verse with that very morning, but then my dad explained to me that Paul said it is a holy kiss which is not what you have in mind when you want to apply that verse.

Secondly, he said you have to apply to men and women alike which the care of any desire that I had to apply that verse at church.

But what Paul meant through that command was treat one another like family. When you come into the kingdom of God, there is neither Jew nor Greek, black nor white, rich nor poor employer employee. There is no educated uneducated prisoner free incarcerate.

None of that is that in Christ we are one race of people. The human race.

We are one class of people center. There is one solution.

Jesus there is one future of the resurrection.

There is one fortune and that is the eternal riches of Jesus Christ.

So he says when we come into this place. We leave any distinctions behind because we have been made one in Jesus Christ. We are family.

The ground is level at the foot of the cross.

In Christ masters and servants become brothers and sisters that new view of humanity would ultimately undo any form of slavery which leads me to number three, rather than issuing a political manifesto. God planted seeds which undid the current order. She had God said the system is wrong.

Get rid of it now Jesus followers may have focused is focused exclusively on political action and there is a time to work politically but God had a different way of going about his agenda on earth he was transforming the world from within. In in the place that he started that transformation was in his church. Eventually this new vision of humanity would transform the whole society.

But God started it through the gospel in the church, DA Carson, the historian and theologian says that the best work on slavery in his opinion, is by an African-American scholar named Thomas soul. It's massive it's three volumes of look through it. It's it's really impressive soul points out that slavery was a universal problem going up to about the 17th century. He says the terrible European slave trade with which we are familiar that traffic over 11 million Africans.

He said twice that many were bought and sold on the Arabian Peninsula.

During that same time.

Furthermore, he says almost every slave sold in the European slave trade were taken captive and sold to them by other Africans. So another words he says.

Slavery was a nearly universal problem yet. He points out, you have an enormous amount of guilt, literature, coming out of the West, yet not out of Arabia and all the efforts to stop slavery came from the West why he asked if slavery was universal.

What stopped it in the West. His answer, he said, undeniably, it was the great awakening. There was the preaching of men like John Wesley and the reforms of Christian statesmen like William Wilberforce. The gospel planted seeds that ultimately undid the broken systems of the world from within.

Yes, Christians have been hypocritical about that at various times throughout history, but the point was when people began to awake to what the gospel actually taught it did undid the entire world system from within. That's what Paul is doing here Philemon.

He says in verse eight I could command you to be generous.

I will be required. I could drop the apostle bomb in order.

Your around, but I would rather press the gospel in your heart and tell you a baby implications to see that's real change. I would rather see you transform my log liberated with all because I can't change is permanent and beautiful and I can't change leads to an entirely new world order. So that's the way that I am going to press this into your heart to the question then is what it Philemon do with this letter you bet never tells us, but ask yourself this. How did this little letter get in the Bible. It was a private letter Olson only to Philemon, which means that he would have the only copy to get into wide circulation. Philemon would've had to put it there and I just don't think the Philemon would've said hey your letter, Paul wrote me with counsel that I completely ignored the David into circulation because he heated it for himself or gave an estimate of his debts and released him. Even though it came at great personal cost himself even circulated a letter is a picture of the new world order that the gospel would create in the churches and here is where it gets even more interesting to me. A few decades later a church leader named Ignatius refers to an elderly bishop of Ephesus, which was one of the leading churches in the ancient world named an SMS which scholars say would have been a very uncommon name among people in leadership positions in that day so many scholars based on the timing and the context of Ignatius's reference believe that to be the anastomosis of Philemon. So what you see in the book of Philemon is a beautiful picture of the gospel and a perfect picture of the mission of this and really any church. Philemon is a self-centered businessman transformed into a beautiful picture of generosity and an SMS is a pilfering fee transformed into the leader of one of the most important churches in the ancient world, can you see why I think there is no better picture of the vision of our church than this book.

Write this down to taken notes. A. We as a church want to see Philemon's become radically generous participants in the mission of God. I would say that we have a lot of Philemon's in this church who are sincere in their faith like Philemon was a regular at the church. The pastor knows their name like Paul Newman. Philemon was but they have yet to ask the really hard questions about how God wants to use their lives in the mission to give and serve where it is costly.

It's not that they are evil, just that life for them has been about building their kingdom and so they use people like Philemon used an SMS. It's not that it's illegal, it's just self focused.

God wants you to become a person who is characterized by grace and generosity were you don't just ask what do I have to give you start to ask how can I best leverage my life for the kingdom of God. What do I have Betty's use goal for God's kingdom and not just useful in my two last November I presented you; generosity ladder on it. We try to chart how people grow in generosity throughout their lives.

The idea is that God has called us to grow more and more in Christ likeness. The discipleship is not just about meeting some minimum requirement like the time that you just check often are done with you on to say to God, it's all yours, got everything I have is yours.

You poured out everything for me. Where would I be without you. You didn't hide your blood for me. You poured out everything to God. I don't want to just be faithful to 10% how to be faithful with all of it. He said I was always my mistake. I was, I got your 10% bone check that all pay my tax to God not to do whatever I want. Got the note I didn't hide my blood for you on it all to the question of the believer is God. How do I level what you had to choose full what resource do I have what what how do I have what time do I have been is useful in your kingdom because I want my life like Philemon to be a response not just of the minimum requirement. I wanted to be poured out to the measure the Jesus for his out for me. There's a couple in our church in their mid-30s with young kids about my kids his age that felt led by the Lord during all in two years ago to grow their generosity year-by-year for as long as they can sustain it by 5% per year. At the start of all in beginning 2013 they were giving away 12% in 2013 they achieved 20% in 2014.

They tried to get 25% but ended up at 22%. So I asked them how high are you going to go. They said well if we can get our business to the right place. We like to one day give 100% of our annual income into the kingdom of God. Now I'm not saying that your plan has to look exactly like bears what you see.

A mentality and that mentality is God. I'm not just meeting the minimum requirement and then going back to figure out how life becomes useful for me.I want to leverage what I have all that I have for yours. It's all yours.

God I want to grow yearly in my generosity. I want to become more and more like Jesus because I think about, and I understand where I would be without him is the same place. Millions of people or the world without me leveraging what God has given to me to let me encourage you now that all in is over. Don't slide back in the old sporadic giving patterns, if anything, increase your commitment to the kingdom of God.

That's what it's always been about, Philemon, and by the way this applies to all areas of your life, not just your resources when you begin to look at all of your life as time, treasure counts, what do I have what Vanessa must do. I have that would be useful in God's kingdom and God do you want to use that in your kingdom. Show me how you see what I realize is we do this is there's a lot of Philemon thing here that need to actually get engaged in the mission of God, because Jesus listen Philemon.

Jesus did not save you to sideline you he saves you with the intent of putting you in the prime spot in his game and say believers just a blessed and he blesses you to be a blessing as a question you gotta start asking yourself is God I am Philemon how you want to use me.

I told you before that I am in. Yes, I love you how God is grow in our church. I told you that often. I thought the quarterback were in the middle you hide football season, so make this analogy is pretty like a quarterback in a hot so this is so, I'm Tom Brady.

Can you guys.

I worry laughing is at that heartedly right so we come in here each week as a quarterback in the huddle, I called worry and like, what happens is a lot of people like little man.

I was an awesome play number to play down was a great play Matilda friends about it and then they'll come back over and sit down on the bench we mail field by myself so I can deflate the ball among not getting he didn't do that and like a couple minutes later you run back onto the field you like. Call us another play cyclone of the play.

I know I will, wow, that was an awesome play goosebumps when you call, not what you do best play: the city and immerse Michael play like you, podcast that play throughout the week, listen to it again and again and back you go over and sit on the bench and this is what we do, week by week at some point I want to say it's not me calling play. The point is you running play only call the place of you will run the place. Am I excited about how many people come here is Coldplay.

I'm excited about how many people throughout the week are actually running the play in the place that God has placed them to run the play was like our pastor used to say much, only to get off your blessed assurance and start doing something you need is for you to start standing on the promises he would say not just sitting on the premises sitting on the premises and somebody else say for pay for. By the way you said you you need to cease to be spectators and start to be movers in the movement.

It starts with small steps, giving financially the kingdom for the first time reaching out to somebody in your neighborhood or workplace, and inviting them to come with you in this journey of faith here volunteering join in a small group at the end of our service campus pastors tell you more about how you specifically can act on that, but I would counsel you with what Paul said the Philemon.

I am praying that you will put into action the generosity that comes from your faith as you understand and experience all the good things we have in Christ. Generosity that comes from your faith translation. What kind of generosity was your faith demand. Think about how much your life is going to grace near you really like your self-made man Philemon were to be without Jesus. Would you be had God not sent me to preach the gospel to you.

Where would you be jealous and I'm an American through and through. I believe in personal initiative and I God is given us the ability to prosper and do great things in the governments of mostly to stay out of her way but think for a minute about how much of your success, you owe to others. You had no real control the talent you inherited. That was us in your DNA. Your parents gave you union control the country of your birth. You didn't really control about the makeup in your body and your health. These things are a gift that's not even to mention the price Jesus paid to free you from sin and Paul would say to Philemon. I would say to you that demands something that demands something. Those who have received that kind of grace those who feel how helpless they were no longer look at live their lives have something to acquire could make them your good tribute to putting the useful service for them.

They say God how does what I have, how can it blessed someone else's. You have blessed me minute for about extreme statement here are harsh self-made men go to hell. Why, because what you may, by yourself, was a mess of condemnation. What Jesus gave to you when you are helpless was his grace, not what only the concept of handouts, you better learn. If you go to heaven because God's grace was God giving you what you could never earn on your own. You were helpless you were dead and God saved you and he says if you have received that kind of grace you will give that kind of grace as he loved you, brothers and sisters, we ought also to love one another. We are not self-made.

We are blood bought and that makes us grace filled B. We want to see mostly Philemon's become radically generous participants missing dollar may want to see Vanessa Mrs. was a total little about Vanessa my better or if you're Greek Vanessa Moy. Maybe that's right. We want to see the Vanessa Moy of our community become world changing leaders. Slavery is a picture of sin is not many in our community are enslaved to sinful passions idolatries slots and things like drugs. Many of you are or were in that category.

Send the slavery of sin destroys our usefulness. God created you. You seem to be useful, but sin made you use less our church at our church.

We believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ can liberate you to become what God has created you to be and that he has an intention to use you as a useful instrument in his kingdom larger than anything. You probably have ever realized that's what Paul said to Philemon, an estimate is not just useful as a servant in your household.

God has a plan for him and his kingdom is you think here of a gun in Dennis, a prisoner who the process of rehabilitation baptized right here at the summit church is now leading in our services that we hold on one of the prison campuses. They are in has said that he wants to go overseas on the mission field. After he is out to carry the gospel to others. The world tells Dennis get a job be useful to society. And God says Yep but I got something a whole lot more for you. I'm going to use you as a blessing to make an eternal difference in people. I have chosen you. I have selected you. I have ordained you. I put my Spirit in you. I put the very power of heaven itself. You're not just a release prisoner your son of God with the future that I have for you and/or in our church. I think of her on the girl who leads in our unwed leaves a lot of her ministries, unwed mothers here in the church, she said recently to me. I was a rebel teen who partied hard, sold, and did drugs. I had an abortion and now became a high dollar hooker. And then Jesus called me to himself and now I leave the ministry to unwed mothers helping them put back together their lives after making disastrous decisions and as I said, she now leaves a lot of her ministries here. The summit church unwed mothers from use less to useful. She now rebuilds the very lives.

She wants had destroyed his ears. What excites me summit church. What enslaved person while rehabilitating prisoner what high school dropout. What rebellious teenager. One hunger for college student what girl they just had an abortion is here this weekend will be here next weekend. That is the next generation's great Christian leader Vanessa Mrs. God has a plan for you. God chased you to Rome he put Paul in your life and I Paul begin to preach the gospel to you and it wouldn't so that you can just go back to your former life.

It was because he wanted to make you useful in his kingdom. And if you see what he had planned for you. It would blow your mind.

There was a church in Ephesus that needed a leader and God shows a runaway pilfering the thief to become the leader of that church. That's what he wants to do with many of you Philemon's God has a plan for you. You think about how much you owe to grace and then begin to treat others as you been treated using the truth is we are all an SMS and we are all Philemon's we were all enslaved to sin.

We've all done great wrong and we are all people who have been shown some lavish generosity that makes us a community of equals.

It makes us a people great grace makes us people that are all in an urgent mission because Paul said in Romans 1011. There is no difference in the Jew or the Greek or the black and white of the rich and poor, young, the old educated, the uneducated, the incarcerated of the free, there is one Lord over all Banff who is extended the same salvation all them or whomsoever he says will call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

The ground is level at the foot of the cross and the mission is the same you receive grace saved by grace you dispense grace the gospel transforms the ruthless into the generous me enslaved into the empowered levels. The oppressor and the oppressed life exalting one out of slavery and humbling the other with grace. It redeems us both with mercy and make a sit down together as brothers in Christ, in whom there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, no hierarchy. We are all one in Christ Jesus, all redeemed by his blood, all given the mission of reconciliation and for many of you that starts by taking a step to get engaged in the mission for some of you it's gonna start on a personal level.

Maybe you're in the position of an SMS. Maybe you've done wrong.

You gotta repent.

Even if you felt justified in the wrong that you did the how but you know I'm sure Vanessa was felt justified. You gotta go make it right. This weekend, you got to repent you use, it is because I might lose my job. An SMS could have been thrown in prison or worse if you're in the position of a Philemon somebody has wronged you. You need to let it go. I'm not saying it would be easy for spouse.

You gotta forgive this apparent you gotta forgive others a business partner. You gotta forgive your site. You gotta think about it, how gracious is Jesus been to you.

Where would your life be without his grace.

Can you say like Paul charge it to my account because that's what forgiveness is is and it you did wrong, I pay for it your policy that who said that to him who said you did wrong charge of the my account.

Paul would say, a second within 521 BC God made him Jesus, who knew no sin become my sin, so that I could be made the righteousness of God in him.

Surely it is a truth he said that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief I did wrong. Jesus said to my account and Paul said if I have received that kind of grace. And surely I'm I'm one who has been bought by this blood.

That ought to spend my life saying let me pay for your salvation out of my account to the question is how are you treating your Vanessa messes in your life. Last thing which you think for a minute about how crazy the situation one Paul stumbled onto him and Roman smaller then than it is today. It was the largest in the world just as many my favorite personal Philemon 15. This perhaps is why he was part of from you for a while, she might haven't gone forever. You sense maybe that's happening with you this weekend is he I know us and that there are some of Vanessa messes that are here, but Johnson up all your life. Recently, one that one random conversation, you have the person that invited you this weekend that didn't doubt you would have in the questions and fears.

The main stuff is random, not God pursuing you in Rome since I had a plan for you. You should not kingdom make money. I wanted to be just a prosperous life is boring when use you in my eternal kingdom that usually starts when you repent you and receiving grace. The receiving blessing and becoming was started that Johnny cannot begins with perception, arrange them in turn you into a receptacle in the wanted by your hands and enter As you would. This incredible transformation is incredible journey starts with receiving the price in Jesus name. Your sin would say something him like this. Jesus, I cannot say myself. You must save me. I receive your salvation said that doing this will all be importing interest in it right. Jesus, I can save myself.

You say me I receiving Jesus I surrender to you. You're in charge of my life not mean you say you do in your own words I surrender to you. You're in charge on that begins the already are believer, you continue on this journey is by going deeper into the knowledge of experiencing and understanding things are gotta giving you in Christ progress.

Martin Luther said is always the beginning thing about pricing pain rears and then offer yourself as a living sound. In Jesus name. Father, we turn arising as