Philippians 1:18-30

lot of you guys know we're in Philippians. So turn to Philippians. I will be preaching out of

Philippians 18 to the end of the chapter. But I'm just going to give a brief overview of the chapter,

everything that is the priest on already. I'm going to get into it. So just note on verse 1,

Paul and Timothy, you can find where Paul meets the Philippians in Acts chapter 16.

Acts 16 · chapter mention

A great thing also is that you can find where Paul meets Timothy in Acts chapter 15.

Acts 15 · chapter mention

Paul and Timothy together, the first church planting that they did was the Philippians church,

which is amazing because now Paul and Timothy can ride back together to the Philippians church.

Philippi was a hub in Alexander the Great's empire. Then it was conquered by the Romans

and now it's a very militaristic place. It was almost a fort. It was a colony. It was where

a lot of Roman soldiers went to retire. It's a colony of the Romans. And so you're sending people there

to start the city, basically, to start a village, right? A lot of prominent people there.

Chapter 16, you learn of Lydia, who's a dealer in purple cloth,

which is mainly with kings and nobles. You learn of the jailer who gets saved. So the letter of

Philippians, bring all that up because Paul uses a lot of militaristic language whenever he's

addressing the Philippians. And then when Seth was preaching, one of the things that he highlighted was

partnership. We see that in verse 4, the partnership in the gospel. Then onward,

I have you in my heart. You are all partners with me in grace. Partnership is littered throughout this letter

because this is a modern day missionary support letter, right? The Philippians is providing funds

to Paul so that he can further his mission. And Paul, in turn, is also praying for them and partnering

with them in this regards as he prays for them there and as he prays for them in the section that

I'll read from. And then what Sam preached on is the advance of the gospel. The gospel is going forth.

Paul is in prison. Sam challenged us in how are we also not in chains, advancing the gospel.

So it's a brief introduction. Now we get to my section. I'll start reading from verse 18 onwards

and then begin. What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether from false motives or true,

Christ has proclaimed. And in this I rejoice. Yes, I will continue to rejoice because I know this will

lead to my salvation through your prayers and help from the spirit of Jesus Christ. My eager expectation,

hope, is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now, as always, with all courage,

Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For me to live is Christ and to

die is gain. Now, if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me, and I don't know which

one I should choose. I'm torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ, which is far

better, but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. Since I'm persuaded of this, I know

that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and join the faith so that because

of my coming to you again, your boasting in Christ Jesus may bound. Just one thing, as citizens of

heaven, live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then whether I come to you and see you

or am absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, in one accord,

contending together for the faith of the gospel, not being frightened away by your opponents.

This is a sign of destruction for them, but of your salvation, and this is from God. For it has

been granted to you on Christ's behalf, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him. Since

you're engaged in the same struggle that you saw I had, and now hear that I have.

What a great passage. It's kind of like two porterhouse that I was given to preach on. It's so rich.

So we might be spending a lot of time on this. Hopefully not. So verse 18b, starting in yes,

I will continue to rejoice. To verse 19. Yes, I will continue to rejoice because I know

this will lead to my salvation through your prayers and help from the spirit of Jesus Christ.

In Paul's life right now, he's in chains. He is under house arrest. He is awaiting trial

in front of Caesar, either to be free or to be executed. So he writes this asking for prayer. But he also says,

I know this will lead to my salvation through your prayers and help from the Holy Spirit. This

shows two different things. One is, Paul is asking for prayer as the elite apostle, but also saying that

the Holy Spirit works through our prayers. It's not like God can freely act however he chooses,

but one of his modes of acting is by our prayers. Paul knows this. Say, I need your prayers because

it's how God acts. The word there, salvation or deliverance is not a means of being saved, right?

Paul's already saved. Whenever the Lord is revealed to him, he is saved there. But this is just

deliverance from his chains, from his house arrest, right? From prison is what he's meaning.

And this is reminiscent of many that have gone before Paul for the sake of God, such as Daniel in the

lion's den, right? Daniel, betrayed by some of his fellow co-workers in a law that he could only pray

to the emperor. He prays to God and then is thrown into a den of lions. But the Lord delivers him.

Right? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego commanded to bow before a golden idol. But the Lord delivers them

in the fire. In the New Testament, the apostles are imprisoned, but then freed by an angel. And then Peter

is thrown into prison, but then freed by an angel again, comes, knocks on the door. And in their joy,

the people greet him and rejoice. This isn't abnormal to happen of someone being thrown into prison.

And Paul knows that he can be delivered by the help of the Spirit because it's happened before

many times. This form and Paul wanting prayers from these sins, right? Paul desiring their prayers to be

saved from his chains should drive us also to our knees to pray for God as well, to pray for ourselves,

to pray for fellow believers. Because it's how God chooses to act. Right? Prayer is how God chooses to

act. I would rather you all pray for my marriage, my kids' salvation, my leadership, freedom from sin,

than to be invited to your house for a meal. I would much rather that. Because it's how God chooses to act.

It's what I need. I need my marriage to be secured. I need you to be praying for me.

I need that more than I need a free meal.

Of course, I love fellowship.

So keep inviting me.

But my encouragement is to you to pray.

And if you're already praying for the saints on a daily basis, praise God.

Please keep doing that. I need that. We all need that.

But if you're convicted because you haven't been praying, please pray.

This is a new church plant. We need prayer.

And then keep on moving. Moving on to verse 20.

Again, Paul's under house arrest.

There's either salvation to come or death to come.

That I will be highly honored, whether that Christ will be highly honored, whether by life or by death.

Christ's greatest desire is not necessarily freedom.

It's not his greatest desire. He says it right there, Mike.

His greatest desire is that Christ will be honored in this body.

Right?

That Christ, supreme, would be honored.

That we would all forget about Paul, honestly.

And that Christ would be going forward.

As he says, even in the advance of the gospel.

Like, some preach out of just wanting to gain money.

But he rejoices because the gospel goes forth.

Because Christ is proclaimed.

We'll explore more of what Paul kind of means by life.

But if Paul dies at the hands of Caesar, he honors Christ in his martyrdom.

Right?

Whether by life or by death.

Because if we think about persecution, martyrdom, the gospel always spreads even more because of persecution and martyrdom.

Think about Stephen.

Stephen is preaching against and for all of these Jews.

Um, he, he, he's like, he's tearing them a new one, basically.

Um, but he, he wants them to repent and believe in the gospel.

Right?

Uh, but he is, they're enraged.

Right?

They cover their ears, rush Stephen and stone him to death.

And then in Acts it says, devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentations over him.

But Saul was ravaging the church, entering house after house.

He dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.

The martyrdom of Stephen caused the word to go forth.

It caused, uh, Philip, Philip the evangelist to preach to Ethiopian eunuch to be saved.

Paul's death honors Christ because it will, it will spread the gospel.

So, on to verse, uh, 21.

Don't forget.

I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll preach more on life.

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

So much to unpack in these 11 verses or words.

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

Uh, the first thing I want to note is that in the original language, uh, there's no verb

used in, um, this verse.

Uh, it's just, uh, they added a verb, which is the word is to better help, uh, the reader.

So it should be read for me to live Christ and to die gain.

Um, make this a note of is because one signifies purpose.

Like you could say for me to live is my family, uh, which signifies my purpose is my family.

I live to work for my family.

I live to provide for my kids.

If you said to live family.

It's, it's weird.

It doesn't make a lot of sense.

But when Paul says that he signifies existence, whole being to live Christ, right?

Paul exists because of Christ.

He acts beyond the behalf of Christ.

He does everything because of Christ.

It's not merely purpose.

I'm just, you know, doing all these things for Christ.

It's in all of life, Christ.

One commentator says to live Christ, the absence of the verb may be filled in many ways.

To live is Christ.

To live means Christ.

To depend on Christ.

To live honors Christ.

The foundation, center, purpose, direction, power, and meaning of Paul's life is Christ.

It's nothing else.

Certainly life so transformed and empowered by Christ's life is on a higher level and on a different quality than common, ordinary human life.

Right?

Right?

If your life is just for family or just for work, you're not, you're not different from anyone else.

Right?

But the spiritual man and woman whose life is Christ, whose life, Christ, exists, works, does all these things in light of Christ.

To live Christ means that you must be dynamic and not static.

What do I mean by that?

A good example is imagine you're talking to someone who went skiing.

Right?

I've never been skiing before.

So I'm talking to them.

I'm like, how?

How do you?

Like, do you enjoy it?

Like, yeah, I love it.

They're like, I do like the double black diamonds.

You know, I started at the intermediate and beginner.

It was kind of hard.

It was a little scary.

But I, I like, love the black diamonds.

It's like expert level.

So much fun.

Then you're like, well, how's it like, like going down on the skis and stuff like that?

And then they're like, what do you mean?

Like, well, aren't there skis involved that you have to like go down the mountain?

He's like, no, I ride the gondola up.

And then ride it back down.

And you say, what do you mean?

But I'm like, what do you mean by that?

You just ride it up and down.

It's like, yeah, so much fun.

It's thrilling.

You're like, what?

What do you mean by that?

And what I'm trying to say by that is that the life of a Christian is not just riding the

gondola up and then back down.

It's dynamic and not static.

We're not just sitting there going through the motions of life.

Right?

There's intense and scary things about life.

As a double black diamond is.

But we're meant to go down that hill, not back down with the gondola.

Right?

So what about us?

Right?

How are we living this Christian life?

Right?

Are we going through the motions?

Are we just reacting to stuff that happens?

Sometimes we have to react because we don't know the future.

But is our life just static?

Like gestational?

To live Christ, to die again.

Is your life saturated with Christ?

Is it?

Is your life saturated with preaching the gospel to those you know and those you don't know?

Like we're commanded to God to preach the gospel.

New church plan.

Right?

Your wife.

Right?

To live as Christ is all of life.

Your wife.

Do you love her as you should?

In an understanding way.

Seeking to live in a quiet and peaceful way with her.

Your husband.

What's your submission like to your husband?

Christ-like?

Is it in a way that you can say to live Christ?

Are you constantly nagging your husband?

He might want to live in the corner of a roof.

Your kids.

Do you give them time of day?

Do you love them?

Fathers, are you exasperating your kids?

Moms, most of your times are spent with kids.

Are you annoyed by them?

Or are they a blessing from the Lord?

Kids.

You kids.

Are you obedient to your parents?

Do you...

Do you...

Do you like say no when they ask you to do something?

Do you talk back to your parents?

Obey your parents.

Your work.

Are you lazy in your work?

Are you lazy in how you work?

Do you work too much to not take care of your family or not give them time as it ought to be?

There's a balance in all of these things, but your life, Christ, is all of life.

It's pervasive in everything.

It's not church worship.

And then work is kind of like my own thing.

That's not really spiritual.

No, God created work.

God created kids.

God created you.

So everything you do reflects Christ.

And if you call yourself a Christian, which is a disciple of Christ, which is a follower of Christ, then all of life is what you do.

Reflects who God is.

Is it a good reflection of being a disciple of Christ?

To die is gain, right?

As we live this life of suffering and hardship and toil and death, we receive what we've lived for.

Right?

If we're living for ourselves, what we receive is hell.

If we're living for the next paycheck, really what we will receive is hell.

If we're living for the next experience, the next bottle off the shelf, the next hit, what we gain is hell.

But if to live Christ, then to die is Christ.

What we gain in death is Christ.

In 1 Corinthians 13, it says,

Of these, faith, hope, and love were made.

But the greatest of these is love.

Now, why is that?

Why is the greatest of these love?

Primarily because God is love.

But when we die and go to heaven, our faith is realized.

Our hope is realized.

But the love of God still remains.

And in this, I want you to realize this, that when we die, we will receive something.

Either eternal paradise with God or hell.

Hell's a real place.

But as we talked about earlier, in Paul's martyrdom, and in all of his hardships, he says to live is Christ and to die is gain.

You would think someone who suffers hardship, like all the hardship Paul has suffered, would kind of want to die in that way.

Paul has gone through multiple floggings.

In Philippi, in fact, he had a severe flogging.

He has been in shipwrecked.

Right?

He has been in countless trials.

You would think that death, I mean, he believes in Christ, would be a freedom from all death.

But in verse 22, he says,

Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me.

And I don't know which one I should choose.

Guys, Paul has been flopped.

Flogged.

Many times.

Shipwrecked.

Faced hunger.

Toil.

Deceit amongst the brothers.

Right?

And he says,

I'm torn between the two.

I don't know which one I should choose.

A life full of hardship.

Or death and be with Christ.

I'm torn between the two.

But he says,

I live on in the flesh.

This means fruitful work for me.

And I don't know which one I should choose.

Isn't that astounding?

Right?

In this,

it's just a hard decision for him.

And I want to just note on Paul's love for the Philippians and his partnership with them.

Right?

He's so torn in this because he loves them.

But to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.

Like...

More necessary for the Philippians.

That's such love and partnership.

They are providing for him a means of which he can further the advancement of the gospel.

But his love and partnership stretches so far that he would say,

I want to be with Christ, but it's more necessary for me to be with you.

Because I love you.

Because I'm a partner with you.

Because it's necessary for your sake.

And he's confident in this, that he knows that it would be fruitful work.

And then partnership and the bonds of love.

I almost cried just studying those verses because of how much he loves them.

There's so much evidence, I think, in partnership in this letter,

but I don't think anything like this.

Of his love for them.

Is there love like that for one another?

Are we seeking to love one another like that?

This is a relatively new church plant.

Are we...

I don't think we're there yet,

but are we striving for that?

Are we striving to love one another like that?

Is most of our time spent with people outside of this body?

It's not a bad thing.

We're not a cult.

But we're striving for strong partnerships and bonds of love.

Right?

We're striving for this type of partnership,

which we could also say,

but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.

Right?

What is our partnership like with one another?

What does that mean to you guys?

Does it mean that we just come on a Sunday?

Like we make coffee?

Like, is it just responsibility

in those things on a Sunday morning?

Or is it all of life?

Right?

Right?

Continue on to verse 27.

Just one thing,

as citizens of heaven,

live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ.

In this verse,

we should hear echoes of verse 20 and 21.

It's keeping in Paul's theme of life and death.

Right?

21,

for me to live as Christ since die is gain.

20,

Christ will be highly honored in my body,

whether by life or by death.

And then he says to the Philippians,

just one thing,

as citizens of heaven,

live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ.

And those other two,

it's kind of his ethos,

right?

His goal,

his way of life.

And now this is a command

that he's giving the church.

And if we believe

that all of God's word

is God breathed,

then it's a command from God.

For us to live

as citizens of heaven,

live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Right?

An imperative,

a command from Paul

and from God.

Just a note really quickly

on the original language.

There is,

the word heaven

is not included

in that verse.

Some translator

choose to add it

due to

Philippians 3.20,

which says,

but our citizenship

is in heaven

and we eagerly await

for a savior

from there,

the Lord Jesus Christ.

But I think here,

Paul

chooses to admit

the word heaven

because of

Roman pride

in their citizenship.

And really,

their dual citizenship

is what Paul

is focusing on.

to live their lives

as Roman citizens

worthy of the gospel of Christ,

but also

to live their lives

as heavenly citizens

worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Right?

As we live here

on this earth,

we're to live our lives

worthy of the gospel of Christ.

in this United States of America

where we have

all the freedom

that we can't,

we're not to take pride in it,

we're not to rejoice in this,

but we're to live our lives

worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Like,

if persecution comes

to the American church,

like,

would we be able to stand?

As it is

in the rest of the world

right now.

Of course we will.

Because Christ is our head.

In verse 27,

the end of it,

then whether I come

and see you

or am absent,

I will hear about you

that you are standing firm

in one spirit

and one accord

contending together

for the faith

of the gospel.

Paul is not

threatening them

in what he says.

It's in regards

to how they're living.

He's more holding them

accountable

as adult children.

He's talking

to adult children

in this letter.

In Corinthians,

he's talking to them

like children.

Here he's talking to them

like adults.

Right?

And so he's holding

them accountable.

He's not threatening them.

And I hope that

distinction is clear.

But he presents

three things

a life worthy

of the gospel

of Christ produces.

The first

is that you're

standing firm

in one spirit.

The Holy Spirit

that we received

means that we've

believed in the gospel

and that we've been

sealed by the spirit.

Right?

To stand firm

in one spirit

means to stand firm

in the Holy Spirit.

But this confidence

can only be done

if we're trusting

in God

and trusting

in his spirit.

In Ephesians,

it says,

to put on

the whole armor

of God

that you may be able

to stand

against the schemes

of the devil.

Take up the whole armor

of God

so you can withstand

in the evil day.

Stand,

therefore,

having fastened

on the belt

of truth

and having put on

the breastplate

of righteousness.

Right?

standing in what

God has provided.

Standing in the confidence

of God.

Are we standing

in the confidence

of God?

Right?

Standing in the Holy Spirit.

Trusting

in the Holy Spirit.

Right?

We cannot stand

against cosmic powers

if we are not standing

in God's protection.

In the armor,

in and with the armor

of God.

And then the second one,

with one mind,

strive side by side

for the faith

of the gospel.

One mind

can also be translated

one soul

or one psyche.

We need unity

and we cannot

get unity

if we are not

unified

in the Spirit.

Right?

The Spirit

is granted to us

when we are

believers,

but this striving

is an effort

that we have to make.

It's a toiling.

To strive

means to struggle

or fight vigorously.

Right?

This is what Paul

is telling us to do.

But are we doing that?

Are we striving

side by side

vigorously?

Right?

Fighting,

linking arms together.

together.

The third one

is,

and not be frightened

in verse 28

in anything

by your opponents.

Imagine like

an ancient

battle line.

Right?

Kind of like

Lord of the Rings

or something.

There's one force

that's like

running with

swords

and spears

towards

another army

that's just

lined up

and there's

people just

standing there.

They've got

pipes or

shields up

or something.

The battle line

can usually fail

because of one guy.

Because everyone

standing there

is nervous

at that force

coming at them.

But one guy

who starts running

ensues mass chaos

and everyone

starts running.

That's why you can

see in the Old Testament

and they fled

before them.

They're running away.

Christ Church,

there's some scary

stuff out there.

One of them

is named Satan.

He is,

his goal

is to steal,

kill,

and destroy.

And he does

all of that.

He steals,

he kills,

and he destroys.

He destroys marriages,

he destroys lives.

He whispers lies

into the ears

of believers.

He kills,

seeks to kill

many babies

in the womb.

He prowls

around

seeking

whomever

he may devour.

And on our own,

a Christian

isolated

will be frightened.

We need

the Holy Spirit

to stand

and we need

unity

in the body

to strive

together

to not be frightened.

We cannot be,

we will be frightened

if we don't

have the Holy Spirit

and if we don't

link arms

with one another.

A man isolated

is not a good thing.

A woman isolated

is not a good thing.

And continue

in verse 28

it says,

not being frightened

away by your opponents.

We don't,

we're not sure

who the Philippians

opponents are.

And Paul,

Paul calls them

the dogs

in Philippians 3-2.

Not sure

who they are.

could be

the same people

who flogged

and persecuted

Paul,

but we're not sure.

But

the rest of that,

this is a sign

of destruction

of them

but of your salvation

and this is from God.

Essentially saying,

they will be destroyed

and you are to be saved.

This is from God.

If you

stand firm

in the Holy Spirit,

if you

rely and depend

on one another,

you will not be frightened

but not only this,

they will be destroyed

and you will be saved.

This is from God.

That's a promise.

And so,

just application

really quickly on that.

We must be

on the battle lines

together.

We can't be isolated

doing this by ourself.

holding firm

to the promises

of God,

trusting

in the Spirit

and relying

on one another.

All necessary.

Can I rely

on you

to strive together?

are we reliable?

Like,

if I call you

and I really need you,

will you be there?

Like,

can I call you

at any time?

Like,

I'm really struggling.

Or do you pick up

the phone and call

and want to just

fight by yourself?

If we're not trusting

in the Holy Spirit,

if we're not relying

on one another together

and we're isolated,

we will be terrified

because Satan

is a cosmic force.

Ephesians says

we're not against

flesh and blood,

but against

the cosmic powers.

Do you know

how vast

the cosmos are?

Can you grasp

how vast

the universe is?

Satan is a cosmic force.

He's not like us,

flesh and blood.

We need God

and we need each other

to withstand.

And then just

verse 29-30,

for it is granted

to you

on Christ's behalf

not only to believe

in him,

but also to suffer

for him,

since you are engaged

in the same struggle

that you saw

I had

and now here I have.

one of the great lies

of the prosperity gospel,

which is a false gospel,

is

you can get the crown

of life without the cross.

Right?

You can get the crown

of life without the cross.

It's a great lie.

Do better.

Right?

Do better.

Give more money

and your life

will be

free of heartaches

and trials

and troubles,

but that's not true

because it's a false gospel.

We are to believe

in him

and the cross

and suffer

for him

to live

Christ

to die

gain.

We're to take up

our cross daily.

Right?

Paul's just reiterating this.

Not only to believe in him,

but also to suffer for him.

We're told to suffer.

The Christian life

is a life of suffering.

And to promise

that we will suffer.

Paul,

and at the end,

since you are engaged

in the same struggle

that you saw

I had

and now here

that I have,

the Philippians

knows

Paul's suffering

firsthand

and they have

a similar struggle.

Right?

When Paul was in Philippi

in Acts,

this is what it says.

Oh,

there was a slave girl.

Paul cast a demon

out of her

and

pick up here.

But when the owners

saw that their hope

was

of gain

was gone,

they seized

Paul and Silas

and dragged them

into the marketplace

before the rulers.

When they had brought them

to the magistrate,

they say,

these men are Jews.

They are disturbing

our city.

They advocate customs

that are not lawful

for us Romans

to accept or practice.

The crowd joined

in attacking them

and the magistrate

tore the garments

off them

and gave orders

to beat them

with rods.

And when they had

inflicted many blows

on them,

they threw them

into prison,

ordering the jailers

to keep them safe.

having received

this order,

he put them

in the inner prisons

and fastened

their feet

in stocks.

Paul says,

you are engaged

in the same struggle

you saw I had

and now hear

that I have.

Don't know everything

that's happening

in Philippi,

but we can tell

from that

there's persecution

happening there

from people

in Philippi.

that's the struggle

that Paul had there.

That means that

they're experiencing

something similar,

which is why

the encouragement

it's giving

to live as Christ

to die as gain.

A few last points

and then I'll conclude.

As we are living

right now,

I don't think

that any one of us

are threatened

by death.

Right?

A few last points

for basics

in holy living.

Communion with God,

right?

The first is prayer.

We need to be praying

for one another.

If you aren't doing that,

please start doing it.

We need it.

Price Church needs it.

I need it.

God's mercy

is new every day.

Yesterday's gone.

Tomorrow's here.

I need to love my wife

today,

not yesterday.

fasting.

Fasting.

I'll say it.

I don't know how it works,

but it works.

Whenever we deprive

ourselves of food

or of something

and are depending

on God,

God's ears

are open to us.

It works.

Meditating

and studying

God's word,

not merely reading.

I've read

my Bible

many times

and just forgot

what I've read.

How are we

studying God's word,

not just merely

reading it,

right?

Like,

are we trying

to understand

what the text

is saying

instead of

checking off a box?

If you're just

trying to check off

a box

and just read it,

I don't think

that you're going

to get much.

I don't get much

doing that.

You need to meditate

and study God's word.

What does it mean

to study God's word?

If it means

to just read

and you're not

getting anything,

maybe you need

to redefine

what studying means.

Listening

and waiting

on his word.

Sometimes

we just do

so much

and podcasts

are going,

doing all

of these

different stuff

that we're not

just listening

and sitting

and waiting

on the word

to hear from him.

We need to do that.

The last thing

in communion

with God

is obedience.

We need to

obey God.

Obey his words.

And then

the next,

does communion

with God,

union with

God's people.

Love God

and love people.

We need to

fellowship

with God's people.

We need to

live in harmony

with God's people.

The psalm says,

how blessed

it is

when brothers

and sisters

live together

in harmony.

We need to

love

and sacrifice.

We need to

love one another,

sacrifice our time,

our finances,

our possessions

for one another.

We need to

spend ourselves

and be spent

for unity

within the body.

Are we doing

all that?

Paul says

three times,

Christ will be

highly honored

in my body

whether by life

or death

and then

for me to

live as Christ

and die as gain

and then

says to us,

live your life

worthy of the

gospel of Christ.

Brothers and

sisters,

we must

live our life

for Christ.

If we're not

living it for

Christ,

what we're

doing is

we're working

for hell.

And so

I leave you

with some

verses from

the song.

What is our

hope in life

and death?

Christ alone,

Christ alone.

what is our

only confidence

that our

souls belong

to him?

What truth

can calm

this troubled

soul?

God is good.

God is good.

Where is his

grace and goodness

known?

In our great

Redeemer's blood.

Unto the grave

what shall we sing?

Christ he lives.

Christ he lives.

And what reward

will heaven bring?

Everlasting

life with him.

There we will

rise to meet

the Lord

and sin and

death will be

destroyed.

And we will

feast in endless

joy when Christ

is ours

forevermore.

Thank you.

And we will