To Live is Christ

Well, now we come to the preaching of God's Word, and we're going to pick up where we left off a couple weeks ago looking in the book of Timothy.

Excuse me, Timothy.

The book of Philippians, chapter 1, starting in verse 18 through 26.

Philippians 1 · chapter mention

So if you have your Bibles, you can turn there or look on the screen behind me.

As you turn there, I wonder, have you ever struggled with making a big decision?

Maybe you've been confident in the outcome that you want, but you don't exactly know how that's going to come to pass.

And so there's different strategies for making decisions.

Maybe you've done a pros and cons list before.

There's a lot of things to consider.

There's a lot of uncertainty.

So you write on one side of the paper all the considerations, a positive aspect of one consideration.

On the other side, you write the cons, why this may be a bad idea, something you want to avoid, something that's not ideal for you.

You may do this for a variety of situations, thinking about being an adult.

There's lots of these kind of decisions you have to make.

Maybe it's the purchase of a car.

You know your family needs a car, so how are you going to make this decision?

Are you going to get a smaller vehicle or a larger vehicle?

Are you going to get something that is maybe the color is important to you or the gas mileage is important to you?

Probably the price or if it's a used car, the mileage that's on the car is important.

Perhaps buying a house, you may consider the pros and cons of different choices that you have.

Maybe something that's close to the city center is important to you.

Or maybe you want new construction that's a little bit further out.

Maybe how many bedrooms it has or whether it has a garage or a garden.

All these things you may take into account.

Maybe if you're a student or youth, you think about the future for yourself.

Where you might go to university.

What you want your career to be.

There's a lot of uncertainty.

A lot of decisions to be made.

Where do you want to go to school?

Close to home or do you want to be far from family?

Are you going to study a particular subject that will lead to a certain career like a doctor or a nurse?

Or would you rather be a teacher or an engineer?

There's a lot of uncertainty in the decisions that we face on a daily basis.

And so that's what we see in our passage today.

This uncertainty that Paul faces with when he's faced with this big decision.

But it's not a decision about what house he's going to buy or his future at university.

It's something much more important.

It's his future regarding his life and death.

Because we see as Paul writes this letter, he's sitting under house arrest.

It remains certain.

There's a certainty that he knows as to his continued purpose.

That God may be honored in his life.

But he also is faced with great uncertainty.

Because he doesn't know what's going to happen to him.

He's awaiting trial in Rome.

What is the outcome of that trial going to be?

Is he going to be found innocent and released and receive his freedom?

Is he going to be convicted?

And sentenced to death?

What's going to happen to the church while he's in prison?

What happens to the church and the spread of the gospel if he is killed for his faith?

And so we see in this passage today this struggle that he has between what is certain and what is uncertain.

But even though there is uncertainty in his life, we see that there is great confidence.

That whatever happens in his life, that whatever happens in life and in death,

he is certain of this, that he will receive Christ's joy.

And that Christ will receive the glory.

And so that's what we're going to look at today as we turn to our passage in Philippians chapter 1,

Philippians 1 · chapter mention

picking up on verse 18, the second part of verse 18.

Follow along as I read.

Yes, and I will rejoice.

For I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

this will turn out for my deliverance.

As it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed,

but that with full courage, now as always, Christ will be honored in my body,

whether by life or by death.

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me.

Yet which I should choose, I cannot tell.

I am hard-pressed between the two.

My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.

Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all

for your progress and joy and faith.

So that you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus

because of my coming to you again.

This is the Word of God.

Pray with me again.

God, we ask as we turn to the study of your Word

that you may grant us your wisdom.

That you may grant us not only understanding,

but the desire to apply these truths to our lives.

We ask, Lord, that this passage may convict us and encourage us,

that it also may provide comfort to us.

And, Lord, I pray that the words of my mouth

and the meditations of all of our hearts will be pleasing in your sight.

O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Amen.

Well, as we've been going through the book of Philippians

during the month of June,

you may recognize how we've kind of very slowly moving through chapter 1.

We've kind of are coming out of the introduction.

And as we do, we start to see Paul's focus start to shift somewhat.

The subject of matter of what he's addressing is starting to move

because we know that he began by kind of looking at the past.

He's talked about the help that he's received from the church,

the struggle that he has endured.

And then he looks at the present,

what he is currently enduring in imprisonment

and how the gospel is continuing to go forth.

And now it's another pivot.

He's looking toward the future.

And so as we previously discussed,

the church at Philippi, they had great affection for Paul.

They were the first church to provide financial support to him in his ministry.

They had every desire to know how he is doing.

They're eager to get this letter from him,

to know his condition, the progress of the gospel.

And so with that, we know that there was great uncertainty

as to what was going to happen to Paul.

What was the outcome of his trial going to be?

Was he going to live?

Was he going to die?

What was going to happen to the spread of the gospel either way?

And so we see here in this passage that Paul is really trying to address a lot of their concerns.

And he does so not by merely focusing on his current circumstances,

but he focuses again on the advancement of the gospel.

He focuses on both the certainty that he has in that,

but also is vulnerable enough to express the uncertainty that he has with how that is going to come to pass.

And so that's what I want us to look at today as we look to Paul's future,

as Paul thinks into the future,

what is going to happen to him,

what is going to happen to the future of the church.

I want us to look at the certainty that Paul has in the result.

And I also want to look at the uncertainty in the root to that result.

And so let's first consider Paul's certainty in the result.

Look again at verse 19.

Yes, I will rejoice,

for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

this will turn out for my deliverance.

Now, if you remember from a couple of weeks ago,

Paul has just finished talking about the fact that he can rejoice in the spread of the gospel,

even when it's coming through envy and rivalry of other preachers.

And then he immediately follows up in the second part of verse 18 and on

with a second reason for having joy,

the reason being his deliverance.

This word in the Greek can also be translated as his salvation.

And so we see this joy that comes through Christ's word being proclaimed

and through the fact that he recognized that he is being saved.

And so it's not him actually being saved from his current circumstances.

We know there's great hardship that he's endured,

not only imprisonment, but before that,

beatings and floggings and stonings that he's been shipwrecked

and now is waiting trial at Rome.

So he's not necessarily addressing being saved from his current situation.

He has a much greater picture.

As he looks to the future, he's looking at the final judgment of Christ

and the salvation that comes to him there.

And so that's why he looks to the book of Job.

That's why we read those verses from Job 13.

If you're not familiar with the story of Job,

Job was a man who was a man of God in the Old Testament.

He had great material wealth,

great blessing of family and wealth and livestock.

And we see that Satan comes to God and says,

ask for permission to tempt Job.

Because he thinks that if you take all his things away,

Job is going to curse you and die.

And so God allows it.

And we see as a result, everything is taken away from him.

His children, his livestock, his servants, his wealth, his health.

And so even we see as he sits in misery,

his friends come to him.

And they want to give him comfort,

but instead they give him some bad counsel instead.

And they say, Job, look,

if all this bad stuff has happened to you,

you've obviously done something wrong.

You've obviously done something to anger God.

So you need to figure out what that is.

You need to apologize for your sin

so all this bad stuff will stop happening to you.

And Job responds with that passage that we read earlier.

He responds in a way that shows the wisdom that he has of God

to recognize that suffering can come,

and it's not always because of a form of punishment.

It can be a part of God's sovereign plan,

that his hope in God is not shaken,

regardless of what his circumstances are.

And so he says, as we read in verse 15,

though he slay me, yet I will hope in him.

I will surely defend my ways to his face.

Indeed, this will turn out for my deliverance,

for no godless person would dare come before me.

And so this is the exact phrase that Paul uses here

when he says, this will turn out for my deliverance.

Paul recognizes that his suffering,

just like Job's, was not meaningless.

It was not a result of his own sin.

It wasn't punishment for that sin.

It was a part of God's plan in producing fruit in his life.

And so as a result, Paul is eager,

just like Job was, to go before Christ

on that final judgment day,

when he will give account before God,

when he is certain that he will be vindicated,

regardless of what happens in his current life,

regardless of the trial that he will face in Rome.

And so we see when Paul is talking about salvation,

the subject has come up several times already

in just these first few verses of chapter 1.

And we see when he talks about salvation,

it's just not a one-time act of Christ

in the past on our behalf.

It's salvation that is ongoing in process.

And so when we looked at verse 6 a few weeks ago,

it says that he who began a good work in you

will be faithful to bring it to completion

at the day of Jesus Christ.

And so what does that mean,

that our salvation is ongoing in nature?

Yes, as saints, we presently possess salvation.

But the full enjoyment of that salvation

lies in the future.

And so that's why Paul can say in Romans 13, 11,

he says salvation is nearer now

than when we first believed.

It's something that we look forward to,

the consummation of that salvation

when we experience the full enjoyment of Christ.

And so how does Paul say then in this passage

that deliverance, that salvation will occur?

He says, through your prayers

and the help of the Holy Spirit.

Now, we may think this seems weird.

If we're praying for salvation,

we may think, well, I have to pray myself

for my own salvation,

for my own help that comes from the Holy Spirit.

But Paul says, no, he's not focusing on his own prayer.

He's talking about the prayers

that he desires from the church at Philippi.

He's already voiced his prayers

for the church at Philippi a few verses ago.

And now he says, not only am I praying for you,

but I need you to pray for me.

And so through this,

we see that our faith is not individualistic in nature.

We are connected as the body of Christ to one another.

John Calvin said this,

he who depends for help on the prayers of the saints

relies on the promise of God.

And so God desires to hear our prayers,

not only the ones that we submit on our own behalf,

but the prayers that we pray for one another

because we see the result.

The result of these prayers

is that we receive the help of the Holy Spirit.

And so we see there's a direct link

between our prayers and the work of the Holy Spirit.

The presence of the Spirit in Paul's life

is supplied through the prayers of the Philippian church.

Both are instruments.

Both the prayer and the work of the Spirit

are instruments, are used

in order to bring about God's salvation.

And so that doesn't mean

that our prayers for others save them.

We don't rely on other people praying for us

that we can be saved and justified before the Father.

But it demonstrates our need

for the Holy Spirit in our lives,

that we can maintain our faith,

that we can grow like Christ.

That's why Paul gives the command later in Philippians

to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

So in order to do this,

we need to pray for the abundant supply

of the Spirit in our lives for that to happen.

Because it's the Spirit who empowers us

to persevere.

And so let us not grow complacent in our faith

to think there's nothing more we have to do.

Yes, we have been saved by the blood of Jesus.

But we are called,

after that justification,

to a life of sanctification,

to grow more and more like Christ.

So that should be our prayer,

not only for ourselves,

but our prayers for our brothers and sisters as well.

Paul's certainty continues in verse 20

when he says,

As it is my eager expectation and hope

that I will not be ashamed,

but that with full courage,

now as always,

Christ will be honored in my body,

whether by life or by death.

And so this word, eager anticipation,

in the Greek it really creates this word picture for us

of our turning our heads,

of kind of craning our necks to see something.

And so kids,

if you've ever been in a large crowd

and you want to see something,

there's people taller than you,

what do you have to do?

You kind of have to look up and around them

and between them to figure out what's going on.

You think of the story of Zacchaeus.

What did he have to do in order to see Jesus?

He had to climb a tree,

strain his neck to kind of see Jesus coming his way.

And so that's the idea that Paul is getting at here

at looking toward the future

with this eager anticipation.

And we see here that it's paired with hope.

Now in the English language,

we normally kind of just throw around that word hope

as just a kind of a means of wishing something good.

You know, I hope you have a good day.

I hope it doesn't rain today.

Well, that doesn't really,

it may not be grounded in reality,

it's just kind of a wish that we're expressing

to ourselves or to others.

But that's not how hope is used in this passage.

We see when Paul says hope,

he's looking forward with certainty,

having this reasonable confidence

that his hope will be fulfilled.

And so when we pair together

this eager anticipation and this hope,

we understand the longing that Paul has,

this desperate, unshakable expectation

that Paul has in the future.

And what's that expectation in?

What's that longing for?

It says that Christ will be honored in his body,

whether by life or by death.

And so that word honored,

it means to be magnified.

It means to be enlarged.

That's what we sang about in Psalm 34,

to magnify the Lord with me.

Let us exalt his name together.

And so when Paul,

when Paul is recognizing

others are looking to him for leadership,

others are looking for him for direction,

he doesn't want them to just see him.

He wants them to see Christ.

Just like John the Baptist,

when Christ was beginning his ministry,

some of John the Baptist's disciples

come to him and say,

hey, what's going on here?

I thought you were going to be a leader.

And what does John the Baptist say in response?

He must increase,

and I must decrease.

This is Paul's ultimate goal,

that Christ will be honored,

that Christ will be magnified in his body.

In any way possible,

in good times and in bad,

in suffering and in sickness,

in life and in death,

in all ways,

Paul wants Christ magnified in his body.

And this is the result that he is certain of.

This is the result that he strives for.

And so then that leads us to the second consideration.

If he is certain in the result that is to come,

he still experiences uncertainty in the root,

in the means for how that result is going to come about.

And so look in verse 21.

For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.

If I am to live in the flesh,

that means fruitful labor for me.

Which yet I should choose,

I cannot tell.

I am hard pressed between the two.

So Paul here is certain about Christ's work.

And so the issues of life and death in his life,

they don't really threaten his faith whatsoever.

They don't tear down his confidence.

The uncertainty of this earthly faith,

it doesn't hinder him in any way.

Because he has been set free from the tyranny of fear,

of wondering what is going to happen to him,

how this is going to affect his physical body.

And so even though he doesn't experience fear,

we still see he has to wrestle with this uncertainty.

And he does so in a very open manner in this letter

that he presents to the church at Philippi.

And so as we examine this uncertainty,

we need to consider this phrase that he uses.

We've certainly heard this phrase

if you've been anywhere around the church

for any amount of time.

To live is Christ and to die is gain.

What in the world is Paul trying to say?

And so let's take that in two bits

to consider what does it mean to live as Christ.

And it may be worth thinking about first,

what does society,

what does the world around us think about life and living?

To the world, life is what people value most.

It's what we desire to protect,

desire to preserve above all else.

And so no one wants to die young.

Our desire for most people is to live

till you are a ripe old age

and at some point be able to die in your sleep.

And it's all that comes in between our birth and our death

that we are so concerned about,

seeking our own enjoyment,

seeking our own satisfaction and comfort.

We want a good job.

We want to make lots of money.

We want to be able to afford a nice house

and drive a nice car.

We want to have lots of friends.

We want an attractive spouse

and to make a family.

We want to be able to go on good holidays.

We want to avoid suffering and pain.

We want to make the most of every moment,

make great memories,

gain knowledge,

be kind.

The list goes on and on, right?

Right?

That's what the world thinks that life is meant for.

That's how we find fulfillment in life,

by these things.

But we only need to go back to the book of Ecclesiastes

in the Old Testament,

where we see the author of that book

talk about these pursuits.

And what does he say about them all?

He says they're all vanity.

They're all meaningless.

They have no value whatsoever.

It's like striving after the wind.

And so that's what Paul gets out here

in Philippians as well.

He speaks of the worthlessness

of all these pursuits

when compared to Christ.

If we look ahead to Philippians 3.8,

he says,

And so to Paul,

living is not about self

and personal satisfaction.

Living is about Christ.

We see over and over again

that Paul emphasizes this connection,

this personal connection

that we as believers have with Christ.

That's why when he uses this phrase

over and over again,

in Christ, in Christ,

we are in Christ.

In all his epistles,

we see this repeated.

We see it in various forms

when he talks about

we have fellowship with Christ,

that we are hidden in Christ,

that we are united with Christ,

that we are crucified with him,

raised with him,

made alive with him.

Over and over again,

Paul repeats this.

And so it's no different

when he's talking in general terms

about life as a whole.

He boils it down for us.

He doesn't even use

a preposition here.

There's actually no verb

in the Greek.

If you read it,

it just says,

To live Christ.

Our entire life

means Christ.

And so therefore,

knowing Christ

is our highest goal.

Gaining him

is worth

the loss of all else.

And so that's why

Paul can say

in Acts 24,

or 20-24,

I do not count

my life

of any value

nor as precious

to myself.

If only I may finish

my course in ministry

that I received

from the Lord Jesus

to testify

to the gospel

of the grace of God.

And so listen

to these words

of the Scottish theologian,

John Eady,

who summarizes

Paul's thoughts

like this.

He says,

when thinking about

what Paul means

by to live is Christ,

he says,

the preaching of Christ,

the business of my life,

the presence of Christ,

the cheer of my life,

the image of Christ,

the crown of my life,

the spirit of Christ,

the life of my life,

the love of Christ,

the power of my life,

the will of Christ,

the law of my life,

and the glory of Christ,

the end of my life.

Christ was the absorbing

element of Paul's life.

If he traveled,

it was on Christ's errand.

If he suffered,

it was in Christ's service.

When he spoke,

his theme was

Christ.

When he wrote,

Christ filled his letters.

And so we have to ask,

does that describe our lives?

Is Christ the very essence

of our lives?

Do we view worldly possessions

and pursuits

as meaningless

compared to gaining Christ?

We really need to answer

these questions.

We have to face these questions

even though they're difficult

because what we think

about life

has everything to do

with how we face death.

So what does Paul mean

when he says

that death is gain?

Charles Spurgeon,

who was a well-known minister

in England

in the 1800s,

he spoke a lot about this

and he says that

we fly like arrows

to that common target

of mankind,

the grave.

And so if death is inevitable

for all of us,

why is it such a fear

that the world has?

Well,

Spurgeon answers by saying this,

to an ungodly man to die

can never be a thing

to be desired

for what remains

to him after death.

His possessions

go from him

like birds

that have rested

for a little while

upon a field

but take to their wings

when travelers

clap their hands.

So all the worldlings' riches

must take to themselves

wings

and fly away.

And so if our lives

are preoccupied

with the collection

of these possessions

and pursuits,

then it's really understandable

to think why death

would want to be avoided

at all costs,

why the world

fears death.

Because it's the absence

of all security,

all that we've been trying

to build up in this world

for our own comfort,

for our own safety,

is stripped from us.

And so how then

can Paul say

that death is gain?

As we've discussed,

to live in Christ,

if that's our goal,

if that's our mindset

just like Paul says,

then we're striving

for sanctification

to become more

and more like Christ.

Our goal in life

brings us to abandon

all else

in order that we can

gain Christ.

And so if that is

our desire,

if that is our result

that we want,

that we can gain Christ,

then by that reasoning

death is ultimate gain

for us.

Because not only

are we striving

to be like Christ anymore,

we have Christ.

That's why Paul says

in 2 Corinthians,

to be absent from the body

is to be present

with the Lord.

This is what Paul wants

more than anything else.

When he's stating

his preferences

between whether he lives

and he dies,

what does he say

in verse 23?

My desire is to depart

and to be with Christ,

for that is far better.

If we go back to Spurgeon again,

he says this,

what a believer

loses of comfort here

is made up to him

a thousandfold

by the joys

of the hereafter.

He knows that for him

there is a crown

of triumph

and a palm of victory,

for him a harp

of ecstatic joy,

for him the robe

of immaculate purity,

for him a place

at the right hand of God,

even the Father,

in eternal security

and indescribable delight.

Therefore,

the Christian

not only regards death

as a necessity

through which he hopes

to be supported

as a patient

through a painful operation,

but he looks

for his departure

as an heir looks forward

to the day

of his majority,

as a bride anticipates

her wedding day.

And so is that our heart?

Certainly at some point

or another,

we've all considered

our own mortality.

Maybe we've had

some sort of close brush

with death before.

Maybe an accident

or an illness.

Maybe even just

our emotions

or a bad dream

that we've had

that we recognize

that death is imminent

in our lives

at some point in time.

And so in that moment,

is there fear

or do we stand ready

and eager even

to gain the personal presence

of the Lord?

Does the thought

of spending eternity

with the one true living God

give us that desire,

as Paul says,

to depart immediately

and be with him?

And Paul's not saying this

in such a way

to be morbid,

to think that he's going

to take his life

because he so wants

to be with Christ.

But he says this

as a means

of encouragement.

For as believers,

we have no fear

in death

because the result

of death

is Christ.

But although Paul

longs to be present

with the Lord,

we still see that

he faces this

internal struggle.

He has to choose

between life and death

and know that's not

his choice to make.

He's expressing,

what is my preference here?

What would I prefer?

If he's only thinking

about his own self-interest,

like he said,

he'd rather depart

and be with Christ.

But that's not

his own consideration here,

his only consideration.

He's also considering

the welfare of the church.

So if we go back

to verse 22,

if I am to live

in the flesh,

that means fruitful labor

for me.

Yet which I shall choose,

I cannot tell.

I am hard pressed

between the two.

And so Paul here,

he's being very vulnerable.

He's giving this

behind-the-scenes look

into his own thought process.

Much like we talked

about at the beginning,

making this list

of pros and cons.

This is what kind of

Paul is doing

as he's fleshing out

his thoughts in this letter.

And we may think,

man, if I were to write a letter,

I may be a little more certain

about my own feelings

before I write a letter

to the church.

But we see Paul is,

like I said,

being vulnerable here.

He wants the church

to learn from his struggle,

from his own thought process

because as we've talked

about before,

there's a theme

that runs through Philippians.

We know that theme

of joy is there,

but there's also

this theme of unity.

unity that's needed

within the church.

And so Paul wants

the saints of the church

to follow his lead,

to put their interests aside

and consider the interests

of others,

to be able to love

and serve others

in such a way

as Christ would.

And so Paul is leading

by example here.

It's his desire,

ultimately,

to do what is best

for the church.

And so if his life

will result in fruitful labor

that will benefit the church,

this is what he wants.

And he says specifically

what these benefits

will be to his labor.

It says in verse 25,

Convinced of this,

I know that I will remain

and continue with you all

for your progress

and joy in the faith.

And so Paul's two desires then

are for the church's progress

and for their joy.

Again, Paul's making the point here

that our faith is not

some static thing.

We don't come to salvation

simply by praying a prayer

and then going back to living

just as our lives were before.

Faith, true faith,

is something that's dynamic.

It's something that changes.

We are compelled to grow

in our faith with Christ.

As we read the word,

as we hear the word preached,

as we spend time

learning from one another,

spending time in fellowship

and in service with one another,

we don't want to be

who we were

when we first came to Christ.

We want to see evidence

of his work in our lives.

And so I've helped coach

my son's football team

for the last couple years,

their school team,

and when we started,

there's just tons of boys

that show up.

And over time,

that number kind of

dwindles down a bit.

Boys decide

it may not be their sport.

They may decide

to do something else.

And it's really,

it's common.

The boys that stop playing

are usually the boys

that haven't made

any progress in the sport,

whether because they're really

not that athletic

or that football

is just not their thing.

They realize that

if I'm making progress,

I'm not having fun,

there's no joy in it,

it's more frustration

than anything else.

And so the same

is true of us.

We experience joy

when we grow

in our faith.

We don't want to be

baby Christians forever.

And it's not this joy

of self-satisfaction

to say,

look how much I've grown,

look how great I've become.

No, it's a joy

in recognizing

the evidence

of Christ's work

in our life.

And so as our faith progresses,

our joy should deepen.

And so in this letter,

I just want to make clear,

because we've talked a lot

in recent weeks

about suffering of Paul,

the suffering

that we should expect.

Now we talk about

adversity and death.

I don't want this

to overshadow

Paul's whole theme

of this letter.

This is known

as the epistle of joy.

Paul is starting

this passage

and ending this passage

with his own joy.

Joy that regardless

of his circumstances,

regardless of his suffering,

he is confident

in the work of Christ.

He is confident

in the joy

that will come

to the church

through his ministry.

And so his joy

isn't held captive

by the unknown.

It's not hindered

by the uncertainty

around him.

Regardless of life

or death,

we see here

that Paul

can find joy.

And so the same

is true for us.

Do we rejoice

in the Lord?

Can we rejoice

in the midst

of uncertainty?

Even though we don't know

how long we're going to live,

what we might suffer,

when we might die,

can we hold on

to the joy

of knowing that Christ

is at work

in our lives?

That we can experience

the full joy

of that salvation

when we are united

with Christ again.

that's what Paul

wants us to see

in this letter.

But it's really not

singularly focused

on joy

because that's not

how this passage

ends.

Joy is not the

ultimate end here.

It's the means

to something more.

And so if we look

at verse 25

and 26,

it says,

Notice again

this progression

in Paul's reasoning here.

Paul is willing

to keep on living

because he knows

that his life

is going to lead to fruit.

And he knows

that that fruit

is going to lead

to progress in the church.

And he knows

that progress

is going to lead to joy

and that joy

ultimately will lead

to the glory of God.

And so we see

that the glory of God

goes hand in hand

with our joy.

And so this is

a good thing for us

because I think

this is one of the things

that the outside world

mistakes about the church.

When they think

about Christians,

they may think of us

as unhappy law keepers

that just have to do

what we can

to please

a judgmental,

upset God.

But that's not

what Paul is saying here.

It's basically

that God's glory

comes through

our joy.

When we realize

that to live

is Christ

and to die

is gain,

there is no sacrifice

that we have to make.

We get to hold on

to that joy.

And it's that joy

that's part of

Paul's commitment

to the glory of God.

It is the underlying

reasoning

for the decisions

that he makes.

He wants to see

the glory of God.

And he knows

that that will be paired

with his own joy.

And so if you're here today,

maybe you're not

a believer.

Maybe you can't say

to live is Christ

and to die is gain.

I ask you simply,

what's holding you back?

What is keeping you

from Christ?

Is it the things

of this world,

possessions

and pursuits

that the world says

brings purpose?

Christ said,

Paul says very clearly here

that these are both

temporary and worthless

compared to knowing Christ.

And so there is no

greater pursuit,

there is no greater possession

than having Christ.

In a world full of uncertainty,

he is the one

who gives joy

and he is the one

who we hope in,

both in life

and in death.

And so this is a reminder too

for you,

brother and sister,

that although there is

certainty in the root,

the result is certain.

And so we can be confident

in the work of Christ.

We can delight

in the joy of Christ.

And we can long

for the glory of Christ.

Let's pray.

Oh God,

how we long

for your glory.

Surrounded by uncertainty

in our lives,

it's so easy

to take our vision

away from you.

To be concerned

about our own welfare

could be scared of death.

Oh God,

but may we know

that to live is Christ

and to die

is gain.

May Christ

be our ultimate desire.

May your glory

be our ultimate passion.

may we experience

your joy

in honoring you

with our bodies.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Now will you stand with me

for our final hymn,

Christ,

our hope

in life and death.

and now of the promise

the filling

of our man

and the

love

and the

il Go

in