March 17, 2024 // The Great Life

Welcome to Walk in the Truth podcast. How do we know where to find answers to the toughest

questions in life? While the simplest answer is the Bible, where do we start this search

and how do we discover this truth? Today, in this teaching podcast, John Meador, lead

pastor of Cross City Church, takes a specific text of the Bible and helps us find truth

for the life we're searching for. So glad you're here this morning. If you have your

Bibles, please take them to turn to Philippians chapter one today. Philippians one. The great

life is what I'm going to talk to you about today. The great life in Philippians chapter

one, maybe one of the greatest verses that Paul ever wrote is the verse that we'll be

getting started with in verse 21 of Philippians chapter one. If you don't have a Bible, you

can certainly find them in the doorways and you can find them under some of the seat backs

and we have page numbers for those Bibles on the screen as well so you can find it very

quickly. You don't have to go to the table of contents or anything like that. Philippians

chapter one. By the way, we'll complete the first chapter next Sunday morning and then

we will have Good Friday, Cross Service, and then Easter Sunday morning of course and then

we'll jump back into Philippians chapter two the week after that. Great, great material,

great truths for us, great perspectives about how we are to view life in chapter two and

chapter three of the book of Philippians. But I hope that you'll be reaching out to

people on Good Friday and on Easter Sunday morning. I think what we do on Good Friday

is unique in terms of the Metroplex. Nobody else really does what we do. We build a cross

on the stage and we really make it real and it's a powerful picture of what Christ actually

did on the cross and people have an opportunity to come to faith in Christ so I hope that

you'll reach out as we prepare for that Good Friday service. Well, Philippians chapter

one, beginning of verse 21, stand with me and we'll read the text together and then

we'll spend some time on verse 21. Here's what it says here in verse 21, Paul is riding

about, he's riding to the church of Philippi, the very first church in Europe. As you remember,

he's been called by the Macedonian vision to come across the sea to this place in Macedonia

called Philippi and there the church is planted and now he's riding back from a Roman prison

and as he rides back he's thinking about life and death and he doesn't know when he'll

die but he knows at some point in the future he will. He's getting older, the ministry

that he's had for years has been extremely effective and he wants the church of Philippi

to stay strong so here's what he writes to them. He says, for to me to live is Christ

and to die is gain. That's that famous verse I told you about. I'm going to read it again.

It's such an incredible verse. Think about it with me. For to me to live is Christ and

to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh this will mean fruitful labor for

me and I do not know which to choose but I am hard pressed from both directions having

the desire to depart and be with Christ for that is very much better. Yet to remain on

in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. Convinced of this I know that I will remain

and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith so that your proud confidence

in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again. Let's bow together in

prayer. Father we ask you today to speak to us from this text about our lives, about how

we spend our lives, how we give our lives. Father I pray that you would challenge us

in every aspect of life with this great, great verse. We ask this in Jesus' name and everybody

said amen. Amen. Please be seated. So keep your Bible open for a few moments to Philippians

Philippians 1:21

chapter 1 verse 21. We are going to go through it quite thoroughly today because it is such

an incredible and simple verse. Now it is going to be a simple approach to scripture

but it is also going to be one where I hope you can see how we paint on this text. What

does it mean to say for me to live as Christ and to die is gain? You know I am somewhat

of a basketball fan. I wonder how many Mavericks fans, Dallas Mavericks fans are in the room.

Would you raise your hand if you are kind of a Mavericks fan? You have got a lot of

Dallas Mavericks fans and so you would know the name Luka, right? The name Luka Dončić

is how you say his last name. I had to look it up. I always knew him as Luka but I had

to look up the last name Dončić. He was born in Slovenia and you may know some of

this that I am sharing with you. He started to focus on basketball at the age of seven.

He was six, seven eventually but as a young boy, pretty tall and he always played with

teams that were older than him. He was in the twelve year old league when he was seven

years old and it just kind of went on like that as he grew up. At the age of seventeen

he played professional basketball in Europe with a team called Real Madrid and actually

played exhibition games against NBA teams at the age of seventeen. It takes a moment

to appreciate that kind of talent. He was drafted in 2018 into the NBA, traded from

the Atlantic Hawk to the Dallas Mavericks and he has been there ever since. The Atlanta

Hawks didn't know what they had and Dallas figured out what they had and has been a phenomenal

player. Listen to this data on him. He was the first teenager to score four triple doubles

in history. What that means is he scored double figures. He had double figures in assist and

also in rebounds. He was the first NBA player to score sixty points and double figures in

rebounds and assist in a game. He was also the youngest man to score forty two points

in his first playoff game and in January of this year he actually scored seventy three

points in a basketball game. What a three men that have ever scored more than seventy

three points. Rote Chamberlain is one of those guys that scored more than that but it was

quite phenomenal. So when you look at Luca Doncius Clive you can say this very plainly

without debate for him to live his basketball. To live his basketball. Right? I mean from

the moment this guy gets up he's bouncing the basketball. From the moment he gets up

to the time he goes to bed he's all about the training, he's all about the practice,

he's all about scouting out the opponents. From the time he's been a small boy to him

to live his basketball. And at the end of his career he'll be quite wealthy. He'll

have a lot of accolades, a lot of awards that relate to his life about basketball. But for

a guy like that to live his basketball. Now this message is not about basketball. Some

of you will be happy to hear but this message is about what it means to be preoccupied and

fully focused on something important in life. Now Paul was saying that, not about basketball

but about life and Christ. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Paul was saying

I want to be as preoccupied with Christ as anything else on the planet. I don't want

anything else to take preeminence over or priority over Jesus Christ. He's considering

the value of his life, he's considering the purpose of his life. At the end of his ministry

he's getting older, he's been in prison a number of times, he's gone through all kinds

of trials and tribulations and now he is in house guard, under house guard, in a Roman

prison and he's contemplating his life and his ministry, wondering how long he's going

to live and wondering how to continue to spend his life. And he ends up saying this to the

church at Phillipi, for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Now how many of you would

say I'm very familiar with this verse? Raise your hand, of course you are, you're very

familiar with this verse and you ought to be. For to me to live is Christ and to die

is gain. I think it's the greatest statement Paul makes in the book of Philippians. Now

that's saying something. I don't know if you've read the whole book of Philippians

lately but if you were to read the whole book of Philippians you would find favorite statement

after favorite statement all the way through the book of Philippians. In the book of Philippians

are some of the greatest things the apostle Paul ever said. You'll find these on the

walls of people and their homes. You'll find these written down in the forward of their

Bible on the blank pages. You'll see people tattoo these verses on their arm or somewhere

on their body because they want to remember these verses that I'm going to share with

you. And I think for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain is the top, the uppermost

verse out of many, many great verses in the book of Philippians. I'm going to run through

some of my top ten verses in the book of Philippians. I'm going to end up with number one which

is for to me to live is Christ. At number ten, he who began a good work in you were

completed even to the day of Christ Jesus. Say amen if that verse means something to

you. Here's another one. It is God who is at work in you both to will and to do his

good pleasure. That's an easy one to remember, very unusual in its wording. Here's one that

everyone knows. At the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, at every tongue shall confess,

Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Amen. How many times have you said

that verse and how many times have you sung that verse? Well what about this one in Philippians

chapter two and then more of this in chapter three where Paul says, oh that I may know

him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering being conformed

to the image of his death. You know this one as well. I press on towards the goal for the

prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. And this one you pray a lot and you

admonish yourself a lot. It's in chapter four. Rejoice in the Lord always and again

I say rejoice. I mean these are the mountaintop kind of verses that we find in the Bible and

we're not even to number eight, nine, and ten yet. What about this one? Be anxious for

nothing but in everything let prayer and supplication make your requests known to God and the peace

of God that passes all understanding shall guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Here is number eight. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Amen. And

then here's another one financially focused. My God will supply all your needs according

to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. But here's the top one. Here's the best one. For

to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Someone just take some time to thank the Lord

for all these great verses in the Bible. Wow. Wow. One book. Did you know that so many incredible

statements that you quote all the time are in the four chapter letter to the Philippines?

Powerful. But the greatest is this verse that we just looked at. For to me to live is Christ

and to die is gain. Did you know that all the other promises that we've just looked at are

dependent upon this one? This one. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. So

I'm going to break this down into two points today that are very simple. The first one

is for to me to live is Christ and the second one is to die is gain. All right. Are you

ready? Got your pens ready? All right. Point number one. To live is Christ. To live is

Christ. The word live here is a word that has to do not just your heart beating, but

how you spend your life. It has to do with how you're going to put time and energy and

effort into one's life. It literally means to spend one's existence. And when Paul says

this, he prefaces the statement by saying for to me to live is Christ. Now I want you

to be careful that you don't misunderstand what he's saying. Paul is not making a subjective

statement in the sense of for to me to live is Christ, but for to you it might be something

else that's life. He is making an apostolic statement. An objective statement that has

become personal in his life. And that is for to me, for to every real believer to live

is Christ and to die is gain. This is an apostolic statement of what real faith is all about.

This is the life of a follower. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. So as

we consider that first part of that phrase for to me to live is Christ, let me just give

you some angles of understanding to grab hold of it with. First of all, I want you to notice

that it's about love. It's about the love relationship we have with Christ. For to me

to live is Christ has everything to do with this personal and intimate love relationship

that the Apostle Paul had with Jesus Christ. Notice what he doesn't say. He doesn't say

for to me to live is Christianity. He doesn't say for me to live is being a Baptist. He

doesn't say for to me to live is evangelicalism. He says for to me to live is Christ. So in

every sense it's personal naming the name of the man that he loves and follows and lives

for. So it's about love. It's really about having a heart relationship with a God who's

not distant, who's not impersonal, who's not found in religion, but a real relationship

with a real God, Jesus Christ. Now you remember how Paul came to faith on the road to Damascus

perhaps. In the book of Acts you see it three different times. He's persecuting the church

and on the road to Damascus he hears a voice that says, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting

me? And he responds, who are you Lord? And he has this incredible encounter, a personal

encounter with Jesus Christ. And so after that personal encounter he places his faith

and trust in Christ. And you would too if you had a personal encounter on the Damascus

road with Jesus Christ. So Jesus, the one he says for to me to live is Christ, or Jesus,

is the one he's talking about, one he fell in love with because of this personal encounter

in which he was rescued from his direction of sin and self and given eternal life. He

had come to realize that Jesus was the only real way to live life. Later on in Philippians

chapter three verse eight he said, I count all things to be lost in view of the surpassing

value of knowing Christ. The surpassing value, it surpasses everything. There's nothing more

valuable, there's nothing greater than knowing Christ. Paul said, I've lived life long enough

where I know Jesus Christ really is the way, the truth, and the life. It was Jesus that

said that about himself in John chapter 14 verse six. He said, I am the way, say it with

John 14 · chapter mention

me, you know it so well, say it with me. I am the way and the truth and the life. No

one comes to the Father but through me. That's why we have placed this on a stone in front

of our commons entrance so that when people come in they'll know exactly who we follow.

Jesus Christ, he's the way, he's the truth, he's the life and that's what Paul's saying.

He is my life. For to me to live is Christ. Everything about my life has to do with Jesus

Christ. Paul is saying I love the fact that he's the way, the truth, and the life because

now I know him and now I embrace him in every way, the way, the truth, and the life. Paul,

you can say, was in love with Jesus. Have you ever been in love with somebody? Some

of your husbands sitting next to wives need to be saying amen right now. You know when

you fall in love with somebody everything changes in the sense of your outlook, your

perspective, it really does. I remember falling in love with my wife when I was in college.

She was a college girl. I was a guy on campus and I met her and we began to date and she

was all I could think about. I remember being in Western Civ class, one of the hardest classes

you could take in the college I went. Western Civ, I think it was eight hours of class over

a couple of semesters. I mean it was monotonous and boring and droning and lecture over and

over. I wrote love poems to Kim during Western Civilization. Yeah. I didn't care what kind

of grade I got, I was in love, right? I could say at that point in my life, for me to live

as Kim. It took over. Then as we married I realized, well a better statement is for me

to live as Christ, but it's great to live for Christ alongside a woman that lived for

Christ. Paul is simply saying, I've got that kind of a love. It's taken over my life. It

turned me completely around from where I was going. Now I can say to you in the church

at Philippi about my life as I look back on all the days of my life, as I look back forward

with uncertainty about the future, I can say this. My life has a whole lot to do with Jesus

Christ. In fact, for to me to live is Christ. It's about love. It's about having an affection

with Jesus Christ. Let me ask you, do you have a love relationship with Him? When you

see Jesus, do you see the one who loved you so much that He died on the cross for you?

Do you reciprocate that love? Do you respond to Him, not as a mighty King on a throne,

even though He is that, but as one who has made Himself very personal, very real, revealing

Himself, His character and His love for you? Are you responding to that love with your

life? Paul was responding to that love with his life. That's why he says for to me to

live is Christ. It's about love. It's also about purpose. Paul said, I'm going to spend

it this way. I'm going to spend my life this way to fulfill the purpose that He has called

me for. To live is Christ. That phrase means that my conscious waking hours will be spent

contributing to what the one I love has called me to do. Now that's true of all of us. It

should be true of every one of us. God calls us to various things, but He calls all of

us to the things He's called us to. Loving Him first. Once we learn to love Him and grow

in a relationship with Him, we learn what our purpose is. Paul says something about

this in Philippians 312. He says, not that I have already obtained it or already become

perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which I was also laid hold

of by Christ Jesus. I love this line. I love this phrase because basically what it says

is God grabbed hold of my life at some point on the road to Damascus for Paul. He grabbed

hold of my life and the rest of my life is going to be spent laying hold of the purpose

for which He laid hold of me. Does you know today that if you've already given your life

to Christ and if you know that you're a born again believer, you were not born again believer.

You were not born again. You were not made a believer just for you, even though you gained

the benefit of it, but also for God's purpose in your life. Paul said in Ephesians 2 verse

Ephesians 2:10

10, for we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good work, which He prepared

beforehand that we should walk. He's got a plan for your life. God loves you. God has

a plan for your life and for me to live as Christ means I respond to that love and I

respond to that purpose. You can know how He gifted you. You can know how He's wired

you. You can know how you find fulfillment in serving Him. Some of you find that fulfillment

in serving, some in showing mercy, some in organizing, some in leading, some in teaching,

some in planning, some in mentoring, some in worshiping, some in counseling, some in

cooking, some in building, some in demolition, some in greeting, some in giving, some in

planning, on and on and on and on. I could go on all day long. At some point it's going

to touch one of you and all of you in some several places where God has a purpose for

your life. Paul says for me to live as Christ, so that means I'm about the purpose for which

I was placed here. It's also about mission. That's the third thing, about mission. Paul

had a purpose but he had a specific mission that he was on and that moment that he writes.

I heard someone say this recently and I liked it. Life on earth is a temporary mission trip

with Jesus. Death is eternal bliss with Him. Life on earth is a temporary mission trip for

Jesus. Death is bliss with Him forever. That's a good way to describe the Christian life.

To live as Christ is about knowing what your purpose is, knowing how to love Him and also

serving Him on mission until your life is over. It means that your life is spent to

some significant degree furthering the kingdom of God, furthering the gospel as He's called

you to live it out. That's what normal Christianity is. Paul is making a statement. He's not saying

I'm rare, I'm different, I'm up there in the air, I'm different from everybody else.

He says this is what the normal Christian life is for me to live as Christ. Normal Christianity

is not casual agreement with the claims of Jesus and occasional participation in His

activity. It's complete agreement and daily participation in His life and ministry. It's

finding ways and listening to Him find ways for you to serve Him. In the early disciples

and the early church, this is the only definition that Christianity would have allowed. In fact,

when Jesus called the disciples in Luke chapter 9 verse 23, He says it so well, if anyone

Luke 9:23

wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, take him across daily and follow me. So often

we look at that verse and we say oh, there's some hard stuff in there, I've got to deny

myself. But what you don't see in that verse is all the incredible things that happen when

you do deny yourself and you live for Christ. For to me, Paul says to live as Christ and

to die is gain. If you look at the rest of this text, verses 22 through 25 and down to

verse 26, he's describing how he views life at that particular moment. It's his mission

mentality at the end of his life and in prison. He's saying this. He says I know that my life

is at a crossroads. I know my time is limited and I want to see Christ. Who's going to be

the most amazing experience I can ever have? I want more than to stay. I want to be with

Him. However, if God allows me to remain, it's for your progress and for your joy so

I can fulfill the mission He's placed me on earth for. Paul said I'm convinced God's not

done with me yet and I'm going to be about that until He calls me home. You know, if

you're here today, God's not done with you yet. Amen? Amen? If you can't say amen to

that, man, you need to think again. If you're here today, maybe you don't know if you're

here today, but if you're here today, God's not done with you. He's got all kinds of things

that He has prepared for you. I think it's also important to understand that this verse

right here is a verse that helps us understand where He got His joy. Paul got His joy from

living in a significant way day by day by day. For me to live is Christ. It's these

things that we've just talked about that let Him have that continual joy. He enjoyed

knowing and serving Christ. That's why when you get to chapter four and verse four it

says, rejoice, tell me here, rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice. You notice

that little line, that three word line, rejoice in the Lord. He's in jail. He's gone through

some financial and physical hardship, but He says rejoice in the Lord. Again, I say

rejoice. He gets His joy from loving Christ. He gets His joy from knowing His purpose in

life and knowing that He's on a mission for Christ. Did you know that's where you'll

get your joy too? That's where you'll get it. You'll get it from knowing Christ. You'll

get it from being on a mission with Him. Here's the deal. This is not just the life of the

apostle being described. This is the life of the everyday ordinary believer. It's your

life that's being described. W.A. Chris Will took this verse years and years ago and preached

a message, a classic message. In that message he quoted this phrase several times. I'm going

to read it to you today. I've read it often, not in this room, but often in funeral services

when someone's lived for Christ. He says, if for me to live as Christ then to die is

gain, but if for me to live as money then to die is loss. If for me to live as pleasure

then to die is a loss. If for me to live as money then to die is a loss. If for me to

live as pleasure then to die is a loss. If for me to live as self then to die is a loss.

If for me to live is ambition, then to die is a loss.

If for me to live is sin then to die is a loss.

If for me to live is this world, then to die is a lost,

but if for me to live is Christ, then to die is gang.

Amen, amen.

Point number one, for to me to live is Christ.

Point number two, for to me, to die is gain.

If for me to live as Christ, then to die is gain.

And I've said that a lot of times today in this message,

but this is something I want to resonate in your mind.

The believer doesn't lose anything at death.

He only gains.

It's important to know that that word gain means

that you gain an advantage.

In other words, there are death benefits in your death

as a believer in Jesus Christ that you will receive

that you won't get in life.

That you know that there are so many things

that God promises you that you'll not get in this life,

but you'll get in the next.

In other words, he gives you lots of promises

for here and now, and he'll fulfill all those promises

in your life, but he's reserving something

for the next life, something really incredible,

something really amazing.

And Paul knew what those promises were,

so that's why he said, for to me to live as Christ

and to die is gain.

Let me give you two things today.

I can't possibly give you an exhaustive list,

but let me give you two things today that you gain.

First of all, we at our death gain the presence

of Jesus Christ.

We gain the uninterrupted presence,

physical presence of Jesus Christ.

More than spiritual presence, we gain the physical presence

of being face to face, eye to eye with the King of Kings

and the Lord of Lords.

The apostles talked about this throughout the epistles.

Perhaps the most famous is 2 Corinthians 5, verse 8,

2 Corinthians 5:8

where Paul himself says, we're of good courage,

I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body

and to be at home with the Lord.

Most familiar translations say it a little differently.

You know what it says.

Absent from body and present with Christ.

Say it with me, absent from body, present with Christ.

There is no pause in between there.

If you're a believer in Jesus, to be absent from body

is not to go to some waiting room or some holding place.

You don't take a number and take a chair

and wait for your name to be called.

To be absent from body is to be in the presence

of Jesus Christ from that moment forward.

Closing your eyes on this earth in death

means that you will open them in eternity,

immediately to be absent from body

is to be present with Christ.

So when we talk about to live as Christ and to die as gain,

we're talking about gaining something

that you can't have while you're on the earth.

You have to go there and he's gonna bring you there.

Aren't you glad?

Aren't you glad that when you die,

you'll go to heaven as a believer in Jesus Christ?

I'm pretty hyped about that.

No better life than that.

No better life.

So last year we went to Israel

and had a great trip to Israel just before

the war really began.

And while we were there, we were there where Jesus was.

Now for me, traveling on an airplane is pretty simple.

I have a consistent habit of going to sleep

soon after I get on the airplane.

Sometimes I don't know when we've taken off

and I usually wake up when we land.

So on this trip to Israel,

I closed my eyes while I'm in the United States

and I woke up in the land where Jesus was.

It's a really great way to fly.

But in death, I will close my eyes in this location

and open to the land where Jesus is, in his presence.

Without waiting period, without even knowing

what transpired in between the closing of our eyes

and the opening of them there.

To live is Christ, but to die is game.

It's game beyond anything you can possibly imagine.

The apostle John said this, he said,

we know that when he appears, we will be like him

because we will see him just as he really is.

We're gonna see things we've never seen before.

We're gonna gain the knowledge of him in a unique way.

Have you ever seen a famous person?

Have you ever, in your travels or wherever you've been,

have you ever seen something that was really

a famous individual and when you saw them,

you did a double take, kinda did a double take like,

is that them, is that this famous person

and maybe even had your heart stop beating

for just a second and then you recovered, right?

I remember traveling and I was traveling through Chicago

and at the airport there and I was waiting for a flight

and none other than Muhammad Ali walked by

while I was waiting.

And I've always been a boxing fan.

My dad was a boxer in the Navy and he taught me how to box

and I mean, we always watched Muhammad Ali float

like a butterfly, sting like a bee, man,

we know all that stuff and we had such a great time

with that but I saw Muhammad Ali in the airport

and I promise you, I was a grown man

but my heart stopped and my eyes got that big around.

And I recovered after a moment or two,

realized, okay, he's just a man.

I mean, he's a great boxer, just a man.

I'm gonna go back and sit down now.

Don't wanna make a fool of myself but when I see Jesus,

I won't be able to recover.

When I see Jesus, I will have to have a glorified body

in order to even stay there.

Your heart cannot contain or your body can't contain

your heart to see Jesus unless it's glorified.

Now think about this, Paul's thinking about that time,

that moment, that day, whenever it's gonna be,

when he meets Christ face to face.

So he says to the Philippian believers, he says,

listen, for me to live as Christ but to die is gain.

There's so much I gained by meeting Christ face to face.

Take a moment and go to the book of Revelation.

Just open your Bibles to Revelation chapter four.

It's the very last book of the Bible

and we have a little time so I'll just preach

through the book of Revelation now.

You know that can't be right.

We don't have that much time, do we?

Revelation is literally as it says,

the revelation of eternity to John.

Verse one, chapter four.

After these things I looked and behold,

a door standing open in heaven and the first voice,

which I'd heard like the sound of a trumpet

speaking with me said, come up here

and I will show you what must take place

after these things.

Immediately I was in the spirit and behold,

a throne was standing in heaven

and one sitting on the throne.

And he who was sitting was like Jasper Stone

and Sardius in appearance and there was a rainbow

around the throne like an emerald in appearance.

Around the throne were 24 thrones

and upon the thrones I saw 24 elders sitting

clothed in white garments and golden crowns on their head.

He goes on to describe these living creatures

around these 24 elders.

In verse eight he says, and the four living creatures,

each of them having six wings,

are full of eyes around them within

and day and night they do not cease to say,

holy, holy, holy is the Lord God,

the Almighty who was and who is and who is to come.

And when the living creatures gave glory and honor

and thanks to him who sits on the throne,

to him who lives forever and ever,

like the 24 elders will fall down before him

who sits on the throne and will worship him

who lives forever and ever and will cast their crowns

before the throne saying worthy are you our Lord

and our God to receive glory and honor and power

for you created all things and because of your will

they exist and were created.

Get that throne room scene in your mind

because that's what Paul is thinking through

when he says for it to me to live is Christ

and to die is gain.

You see, while we're on the planet,

we see Jesus crucified but one day we will see him

glorified and throned upon the throne.

To live is Christ, to die is gain.

We gain the presence of Jesus

and then there's one more thing that we gain.

We gain the promises of Jesus, the promises of Jesus.

So many of the promises happen upon death.

They are the gains that Paul is referring to.

Many promises that I've said happen on earth

but many of them also happen as we get to heaven.

In Revelation chapter 21 verse four,

Revelation 21 · chapter mention

John writes again about the throne room.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

There will be no longer any death,

no longer any mourning or crying or pain.

The first things have passed away, gain.

Heaven's the place that every promise of Jesus

is untouched by human unbelief and sin.

It's untouched by temptation, untouched by lies,

untouched by the work of Satan.

It is unmitigated blessing.

You get the full force of his love,

of his presence and his promises.

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

Here's what you gain in death.

You gain in existence where there is no more Satan,

no more demons, no more sin.

Somebody say amen.

I'll be happy to be there.

Every sin and temptation will be abolished.

Every doubt will be vanquished.

Every dilemma explained, every question answered,

every fear and worry removed,

every past experience resolved,

every theological dilemma understood for the first time,

every tear dried, every hurt healed,

every ache and pain eradicated,

every holy desire satisfied, every promise fulfilled.

Why is understood, who is finally seen,

how is fully shown, when is forever more.

That's what you get when you get to heaven.

You get all those things, amen.

To live is Christ and to die is gain.

We gain all these and more.

There's no way I can create an inexhaustible list

because I don't know everything that you'll gain,

but I know a lot of it.

Years ago, I read a poem by John Piper.

It was a long, long poem about judgment and fire

and then heaven.

And I've actually read it several times

to this congregation, but it's a long poem.

It's kind of complicated.

And so I cut just a portion of it out for us today.

This portion is about heaven.

I want you to listen to the words he wrote years ago.

He said, and as I knelt beside the brook,

this is in heaven,

as I knelt beside the brook to drink eternal life,

I took a glance across the golden grass

and saw my dog, old Blackie, fast as she could come.

She leaped the stream almost

and what a happy gleam was in her eyes.

I knelt to drink and I knew I was on the brink

of endless joy and everywhere I turned,

I saw a wonder there.

A big man running on the lawn,

that's old John Young with both legs on.

The blind can see a bird on wing.

The dumb can lift their voice and sing.

The diabetic, he said,

Will the coronary runs uphill.

The lame can walk, the deaf can hear.

The cancer-ridden bone is clear.

Arthritic joints are lithan free

and every pain has ceased to be.

And every sorrow deep within

and every trace of lingering sad is gone.

And all that's left is joy

and endless ages to employ the mind and heart

and understand and love the sovereign Lord who planned that.

It should take eternity to lavish all his grace on me.

Do you like that?

To live is Christ.

To die is gain.

We don't spend time thinking about the gain, do we?

Think of both.

You know, the way that life begins

is with a relationship with Jesus by faith.

Jesus came to die on the cross to pay for my sins

and then that death, he secured acceptance

to God on my behalf.

He died for me.

He died so I could have a life.

He died so that I could have a gain at death.

He died so that you could have a life.

You could have a life.

And that you would find gain in death.

It all begins right there.

And the way you find that life

is to first begin a walk with Jesus by faith

to forgive your sins

and then trust him every day after that.

Day in and day out,

so you can say for me to live is Christ

and to die is gain.

I don't know how many of you today

have been on the brink of trusting Christ

and just haven't done it yet.

Haven't taken that step yet.

It seems like such a simple step.

Maybe too simple for you.

Maybe it's hard to fathom how a simple act of faith

expressing trust in a prayer to Jesus Christ

can open the door to this kind of blessing.

But that's what grace is.

Giving you what you don't deserve,

removing from you what you do.

We deserve judgment.

We deserve death.

But he gives us grace instead through his son Jesus.

Paul knew that and that's why he said for me

to live is Christ and to die is gain.

I want you to have that same kind of love relationship

with Jesus today.

Just a few moments, I'm gonna close in prayer.

And we're gonna ask you to do three things.

One of three things.

First of all,

I would invite you to the decision stations

that are at the back of our worship center.

Stop by, talk to someone,

and tell them I need to put my faith in Christ.

Because I wanna be able to say like Paul

for me to live is Christ and die is gain.

We would love to talk to you about that.

That's invitation number one.

Second invitation.

Join me if you would in our guest reception room

outside the center exit door,

just across the hallway, a glassed in room.

And I'd be there to love,

I would love to tell you about our church

and about the things that will connect you

with our church body.

I'd love to visit with you if you're a guest today.

And thirdly, I invite you back

and I invite you to bring somebody with you.

Because as we lead up to the cross,

we're gonna have some great times this next week

or 10 days.

It'll be very special.

Let's stand together as we have a word of prayer.

Amen.

Father, I am so grateful today

that to live is Christ and to die is gain

for Paul's life and for every true believer.

Today, my prayer is that your Holy Spirit

would draw and convict those that have never

started that relationship with you.

And if they don't take that step of faith,

they'll miss out on what all this means.

And Lord, I pray today that you just not let them leave,

just give them a conviction that they need today

to respond in faith to you.

And Lord, today I pray that those of us

who have made that decision will learn

to say like Paul, to live is Christ,

to die is gain.

It'll help us to serve you well,

help us to fulfill our mission and our purpose.

God, thank you so much for calling us to this life.

We ask this in Jesus' name, amen.