What does it truly mean to both live and suffer and die for Jesus? Every believer is called to carry their cross and die to self. Often we can look at this demand as an unpleasant and miserable yet, when we have the right perspective, such living destroys fear and promotes faith, love, peace, and joy. Drawing from the example of Paul’s joyful, eternal perspective we can learn much that should promote Christian joy during times of difficulty, loss, or persecution. 

Glory to God we serve an awesome God My goodness is anyone else moved by that song We serve an awesome God. Thank you so much father. We'll find our text for the next few moments in Philippians chapter one. Philippians chapter one, I have been given the unique privilege to present a bit of a different verse, a bit of a different theme than what we have covered so far, and I will certainly endeavor to do my best for our Lord. Philippians chapter one, and verses 18 through 24.

And once you find that, would you stand with me for the reading of God's holy word? Amen. Any Christ lovers in the building today? Hallelujah. You know, if I was home right now, I'd probably be up here crying, but I'm trying to bring it all together.

Oh to see my name written in your wounds because of your suffering I'm free hallelujah to God. Oh bless the Lord. We're going to Philippians chapter 1 verse 18 what then Notwithstanding every way whether in pretense or in truth Christ is preached, and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice, for I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. According to my earnest expectation and my hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed but that with all boldness as always so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death. For to me, To live is Christ, and to die is gain.

But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor, yet what I shall choose I wought not, for I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. Our text subject for a few moments is simply this, to live is Christ, to die is gain. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for the move of your Spirit in this place.

Thank you for your loving kindness towards us. Thank you for your tender care towards us. Thank you, Lord, that over the last day or so, your name, your person, your attributes, they have been exalted from this pulpit, lifted high for all to see. And we pray, Lord, that our worship and our attempt to rightly divide thy truth to this point has been a sweet-smelling aroma in thy nostrils. We praise you, Lord Christ, for you are worthy of that praise.

Now, Father, you know that sinful man stands behind this pulpit with no real chance at doing this properly unless you intervene. And so we pray, Father, in Jesus' name that you would anoint both the speaker, Father, and that you would also anoint the hearer so that what transpires over these next few moments would be pleasing in thy sight. We love you so much and we give you praise. And before you sit, can we take 30 seconds while we stand and just worship. Yes, no, maybe?

Come on, can we just, you don't have to say anything if that's too much, but can we just close your eyes for a moment and just behold your God. Think of all that you've learned, think of all that we've experienced over these last few days. Oh Lord, we give you praise and honor and glory. We often pray, rend the heavens and come down. Sometimes I wonder what we do if you actually did that.

And so Father, we love you so much and we ask that you would be glorified in this hour. We bless you, we worship you, we lift you up, we magnify you, our focus is on you, we exalt you to you and you alone. Receive all of the glory. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Please be seated, God bless you.

God bless you. I love this text. It is one of my life verses. The subject of this text, what it communicates is something to which I am striving to attain. I'm not got there yet, I probably never will, but I certainly want to live a life that's so surrendered to Christ that I'm willing to go die for him if he calls for it.

And to have the perspective that dying for him is actually I dropped out there, There we go. I'm grateful To have the honor to share a few thoughts with you today on these verses written by the apostle paul as most of you know likely between 60 to 62 ad these verses and indeed all of the epistle of the Philippians sets forth extremely joyful perspective for God's people that has encouraged believers since they were written. Particularly poignant is the fact that Philippians is one of the prison epistles written by the apostle Paul while he was incarcerated. I don't know about you, but if I was in jail, I don't know if I would be as happy as Paul seems to be in this letter. A bit of background here.

The letter was written again by Paul while in prison, likely in Rome. There's some debate about that dude, but likely in Rome due to references of the palace and so forth, or in the ESV, the imperial guard, in Philippians chapter one, verse 13, and also the saints that are in Caesar's household in Philippians chapter four verse 22. And so for those reasons and a few others, most people believe that's probably where he was, located in now what is roughly northern Greece, the church to which he wrote, the church at Philippi or Philippi, I've heard it both ways, was founded by the Apostle himself. In fact, if you are familiar with the book of Acts, you might recall or remember the apostle heeding what is normally called the Macedonian call after having a vision of a man asking him to come to this part of God's creation, come to Macedonia and help them. The Bible says in Acts 16 verses nine through 10, and a vision appeared to Paul in the night there stood a man of Macedonia and prayed him saying come over into Macedonia and help us and after he had seen the vision immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia assuredly gathering that the Lord had called for us to preach the gospel to them.

And that's exactly what they did. They went to Macedonia reasonably quickly. And you might recall the trouble the apostolic band got into almost immediately while they were there. Acts 16, verses 16 through 40 details Paul's encounter with a slave woman, which the Bible says had a spirit of divination and who taunted Paul and his companion Silas and the resulting spiritual conflict the demon of course getting cast out the people's reaction to that for doing such a marvelous deed. The apostolic band was arrested, beaten, thrown into prison, and their feet put in stock.

So that was how they said thank you for getting the devil out of our town. And we also read of Paul and Silas' subsequent miraculous deliverance and the jailer who had them in prison coming to faith. And all that to simply say that this church that the apostle was writing to was surely one of the beloved churches to the apostle. He had endured much on their behalf, all for the glory of Christ. And now some 10 years later, he writes to them in sharing what I believe are some of the most encouraging words and encouraging thoughts as it relates to suffering and serving our Lord that are in the entire New Testament.

And I'll pause here quickly to just kind of interject a thought here that I had even as we were progressing through the time of worship. We've been looking at many aspects of our Lord during this conference. It is, after all, called the glory of Jesus Christ, and So we have looked at His holiness and looked at His blood, how precious it is and how it is costly and capable and central. What a marvelous word that was. We have looked at the truth that he is so much greater than Solomon.

Well, in this particular text that I have been assigned, we shift gears just momentarily to ascribe to the Lord glory based on an attitude. We'll probably go back to his attributes tonight and into tomorrow, but for just a moment, as we were reviewing last night, and as we reviewed and learned last night, that there is the intrinsic glory of God, and then there is the ascribed glory of God, and this to me is more in the ascribed camp, and I'll try to explain what I mean. The apostle displays for us in this text an attitude that is sorely missing in the modern church. If you buy the materials that Pastor Swanson had up here as one example, and you read through the history of what Jesus has done in this creation and certainly in our country, then you will find an attitude present over and over again amongst the people of God where God moved powerfully. The attitude can be summed up in this, for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Dr. Beekie said last night that the Bible's a bloody book, there's blood all through it, and that is so absolutely true. You know what else is true? That everybody the Lord called and used powerfully or just about everybody that the Lord called and used powerfully had to make a decision at some point whether or not they're gonna ascribe to him the glory of their living in other words that they were going to submit themselves to the lord Even if it cost them their lives they were so serious about the The call of god and they understood who this God is that sent his son to die on the cross for their sin. They were so overwhelmed by the matchless mercy of God that they decided, Father, into thy hands, I commit everything, my spirit, my life, and everything else, and the power of God, the activity of God, the unction of God, tended to move.

And if you trace history where there was great revival or great reformation, men and women were risking their lives. Almost every time. Now, by show of hands, and this isn't a trick question, please don't get scared, but how many of you would love to see the power of God move in our churches and in our homes and in our nation? Okay, that's most of you. I don't mean anything spooky by that.

I just mean people get saved and they get delivered from sin and worship is powerful and the Lord saves our children and holiness becomes a standard and the law of God is brought to bear in government and all those things. How many of you love to see some of those things happen? Okay, now that's great, that's most of us. Now, how many of us are actually willing to give our lives? How many of us can say in our hearts, for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.

And I was thinking about, just as I was coming up, I was thinking about this, and I'll get back to the text, but I was thinking about this apostle who knew a little bit of something about suffering in 2 Corinthians, just real briefly, 2 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 24. Paul says this, he says, "'Of the Jews five times received our 40 stripes save one. "'Thrice I was beaten with rods. "'Once I was stoned, "'thrice I suffered shipwreck. "'A night and a day I have been in the deep.

In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by my own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness and painfulness and watchings often in hunger and thirst in fastings, often in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. This dear apostle knew something about ascribing to the Lord the glory of suffering, something that isn't taught much in the contemporary church and frankly because it's not a topic that we're all that excited about. And yet, on the other side of this sort of devotion tends to be the very things that you and I pray for. To live is Christ and to die is gain.

There's so many examples. You might remember the story in Acts chapter five of the apostles who were just having a marvelous time at that point. I mean, there were some ups and downs, but there was really some incredible things going on. The Bible in Acts five talks about extraordinary miracles happening at the hands of the apostles. I mean, people were being healed, the sick were coming to them, and people were being healed, and the religious leaders were so upset at all the notoriety and the success that the apostles were having, that they arrested them.

You might recall that they arrested them, and an angel literally had to come and set them free, and then they got rearrested because they went right back to speaking, right back to teaching, right back to healing, and they were rearrested, and they came before this religious council who was very upset that they weren't doing things exactly the way that they were doing them, and you remember the rest of the story. They were beaten, And the Bible says in Acts, at the end of Acts 5, that they accounted it in honor to suffer for the name. They considered it glory to suffer for the name of Jesus. Oh friends, I submit to you as we look at this text in its entirety, but I submit to you that this is part of what's missing in our Christian culture. As I'll talk about a little bit later, Paul says for me to live is Christ, to die is gain.

And we say to live is gain and to die is Christ. Let's go a little further. As we turn to the passage, I submit to you that Paul's attitude during these Times of trial bring honor and glory to Christ and is worthy of our imitation and our emulation. His humility, his understanding of the Father's sovereignty and recognition of his place in God's plan is honorable to our Lord. As we'll discover later during our breakout tomorrow, those of you who will be with me during the breakout as we look at the humility of Christ, this is the same glorious perspective that our Lord possessed.

Ultimately, what you see in these passages is a different in our day, but a much needed, a spirit-given perspective, a Spirit-driven ability to look at life and death and all everything else through Kingdom lenses During the times that I've walked through this epistle I've noted that Paul seems to possess much more joy in prison than the average wealthy entitled Western Christian, myself included. In other words, I believe Christians ought to be the most joyful people on the planet, but you'd never know it. I've said this pulpit many times, said, hey guys, it's not a sin to smile, Nor is it irreverent to smile, right? We ought to be a joyful people. We ought to be, we've been born again.

Our sins have been washed away by the blood the precious blood of the Lamb and Paul seems to have this Understanding of life and death and circumstances that you know over and over in this epistle. What do you hear from him rejoice? Rejoice friends rejoice rejoice rejoice Writing from prison now truth be told if I'm in prison. I'm not probably writing a letter that says rejoice, I'm probably emailing a lawyer. You know, I'm doing something like that.

I'm trying to use my one phone call or whatever I have to alleviate my circumstances, to get myself out of the predicament in which I've found myself. But the apostle says, hey, this is all gonna turn out really good, and oh, by the way, even if it doesn't, for me to live is Christ, so this is all about him, but even if I die, which he went on to do, might talk about that at the end, but if I die, then that's the best thing that could ever happen. Oh my goodness, what does hell do against a people who think like that? I mean, what do demons and demonic powers do against people who think like that? Once a man becomes immune to the fear of death, once a woman becomes immune to the fear of death and actually says, hey, I can't wait to go be with my Lord.

That's a life of faith, that's a life of abandon. That's a life that says I'll go to the uttermost parts of the earth and I'll obey the text in front of me for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. But we don't really have that, do we? We don't really see that. We don't really experience, some it's rare, some have it, some of us have it, some of us have it and lose it and get it back, right?

But the truth is, my friends, we need attitudes that reflect the glory of Christ. We should be, again, the most joy-filled people on the planet, not fake joy, not joy that we put on airs because we're going to the glory of Jesus Christ conference, not joy based on earthly prosperity, but joy that comes from knowing that Jesus Christ saved us from sin, death, and hell, so what can hurt us now? Our Lord has given us eternal life. We are his and he is ours. We literally live and breathe in undeserved grace and mercy.

Why is it so hard for us to maintain this perspective, to attain to the perspective that we see in this text? And so as we look at these verses, let your eyes fall to verse 18, and we'll just kinda walk through them. Again, this text is a little bit different. This is a little bit more practical. It's a little bit more about what we can learn from these texts and then ascribe to the Lord glory as it relates to our living, our attitudes, our worship.

And so I believe there are seven things here that we could consider and talk through. The first, we find in verse 18. For the glory of Christ, for the glory of Christ, let us rejoice when the gospel is preached as the Apostle Paul did. If you look at verse number 18, what then notwithstanding every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached and I therein Do rejoice, yea, I will rejoice. Now, this requires just a touch of explanation.

The verses prior to this one are very interesting verses in our time. Paul, if we apply them to our time, I should say, Paul describes two wonderful benefits of his imprisonment. First, that the gospel became more known throughout the imperial palace and the increased resolve of others who were emboldened by his chains. The first makes total sense. Who wouldn't be happy to see that the gospel has become more known, particularly amongst one's jailers?

That is an indication that God really is moving. The second point is equally clear. We ought to all praise the Lord when our experiences, whether good or bad, causes a brother and sister in the Lord to walk with more boldness, amen. But then he says this interesting, there's this interesting statement here in verse 18. Whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached, and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.

Now that sounds a little odd to some of us, and so I looked at a couple different versions just to kind of get a feel for it. Here's one that's a little more in line with how we talk now, bear with me, I'll read it very quickly, verses 13 through 18. And this is the NLT and it says, "'For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, "'knows that I am in chains because of Christ and because of my imprisonment. Most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God's message without fear. It's true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry.

Oh, okay, that's making a little more sense there. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. They preach because they love me, for they know that I've been appointed to defend the good news, and those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. But that doesn't matter.

Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice and I will continue to rejoice. Talk about perspective. Who thinks like that anymore? One of the things that hinders my joy at times is because I am kind of a self-admitted type A, like things my way, and struggle with seeing anything different than my own way, and I know there's no one in this room that has that problem. Sure, all of you are very tolerant, But I know I can get there, I can get to that place where it's my way or the highway.

And I don't believe Paul here is making light of the situation, nor do I believe that he's affirming that Christ should be preached under false pretenses, but I do see something ever so slightly embedded in this text that might help the body of Christ in a day where we seem to be at each other's throats that Christ is preached. And I wonder, I just wonder, please Don't get too upset with me, but I wonder if we weren't so quick to throw other Christians under the bus and damn them to hell, how the body of Christ just might flourish a little bit better and prosper. That isn't to say that we don't fight for things that are true and pure and have good debates, one brother to another, but boy, there's so many Christians that are saying, hey, do you believe in Jesus? Sure do. Have you committed your heart to the Lord?

Sure do. Okay, do you believe this secondary, third-dairy, fourth-dairy doctrine? Sure don't. Oh, you're going to hell. Oh no, friends.

Can we rejoice at some points here when Christ is preached, even if our brothers and sisters don't do everything exactly the way we did? Perfect example is me. I'm my own example. I was having a conversation with Dr. Beekie earlier today, and I was telling him how I came into this movement and how I started and where I started from and how pure my motives were to try to save families and do things the right way, and God taught me.

Is God still teaching you? Somebody had grace and said, hey, he's being taught and he loves the Lord. I wonder how our parenting might improve. I wonder how our relationships with other church, I wonder how the attraction of this movement would improve if it wasn't so much, if you don't look at it exactly the way I do. All of you guys are hellbound.

Just throw that out for consideration. I wonder how our Lord might be glorified if there wasn't such a tendency among Christians to label other Christians non-Christians. Number two, for the glory of Christ, let us walk by faith, knowing that whatever love for Jesus, wherever love for Jesus and the preaching of his gospel takes us, it will turn out for our deliverance. In other words, I believe that we can look at verse 19. For though I know that this shall turn out to my salvation through prayer and the supply of the spirit of Lord Jesus Christ, or of Jesus Christ.

I believe that this particular, these verses, have some application to the broader church down through the ages. Despite being jailed, Paul knew everything would work out for the God's glory and for his deliverance. He knew the effectual fervent prayers of the saints would avail much. There's no escaping, friends, the truth that our Lord desires for us to trust him and to walk by faith and not sight. And sometimes the method he uses to cultivate that faith in us is to allow us to see no other way out other than him.

For the glory of Christ then let us walk by faith knowing that if our preaching of the gospel or if our adherence to the Word of God or if our desire to disciple our children or if our desire to hold to the truth of God's Word if that takes us into good places where we are where we are in our name is in lights and things are good, then praise his great name. But if it takes us into places that maybe aren't so good and that we lose some influence or maybe we lose some Instagram or Twitter, Facebook people, then it's gonna be okay, it's gonna turn out for our good. And the truth is we need this kind of exhortation because friends, if you go out into this world the way it is right now and declare the things that you've been learning today, you're gonna have a small percentage of people saying, bless God, I need to hear that, and you're going to have a larger percentage of people, sadly, you're going to have a larger percentage of people who don't like what you said and don't like what you stand for. And so you will need to still give the glory of our living, to still give the Lord everything that we have and do it with the right attitude.

And this is gut check time for us when those times come. Lord, you know, you've given and you've taken away. Blessed be the name of the lord jesus said have faith in god for verily I say unto you that whosoever shall say unto this mountain be thou removed and be cast into the sea and shall not doubt in his heart but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he saith. I can hear so many people in the room in their minds going, but that's balanced out with, yes, it is balanced out with the will of God, the sovereignty of God, but this verse is still inspired as well. Therefore I say unto you what things whatsoever ye desire when you pray believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them.

I don't you know heresy aside and prosperity gospel aside I don't know many Reformed Baptists who think like that. I don't know many, I don't often think like that, where I can make sure that we're lined up with the will of God and then believe for my children or believe for my church or believe for my community or believe for the healing of racial tensions or believe for America and the lessening of strife and pornography and all in human trafficking and all the craziness. I mean, who thinks like that anymore? Who says, I believe that what God is saying and I'm going to stand on the word of God. For the glory, I believe such faith gives our Lord glory, where we can't see it and don't know, but we know it's right and honorable in his sight.

I believe it gives him glory. Nevertheless, the Bible says, "'Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, "'and lean not to thine own understanding. "'In all thy ways acknowledge him, "'and he shall direct thy path. "'Be not wise in thine own eyes. "'Fear the Lord and depart from evil, "'and it shall be health to thy navel and marrow to thy bones, Proverbs 3, verses five through eight.

And so the first thought was for the glory of Christ, rejoice when the gospel is preached. The second thought, for the glory of Christ, let us walk by faith knowing that wherever the preaching of the gospel takes us, it will turn out for our deliverance one way or the other, either in this life or in the next. Here's the third thought. For the glory of Christ, let us desire to magnify Jesus in all situations if we look at verse 20 of our text according to my earnest expectation and my hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed but that with all boldness as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death. For the glory of our Lord, Let us resolve to magnify Jesus Christ in every situation, whether good or bad or indifferent, whether by life or whether by death.

Let us live in thought and deed in ways that do not produce shame before our Lord. This word in Greek for shame means to be disfigured or it means to be disgraced, and that's the last thing we ought to want to do even in our prison times, as it were, as we ascribe glory to our Lord. Paul said that his earnest expectation, which meant he believed this with all of his heart, and desired with all of his heart to honor Christ, regardless of his circumstances. It was his earnest, it was his strong, it was his powerful, it was his desirous, it was his earnest expectation to live in such a way that the Lord was magnified in his living, whether by his life that extends on or by his death. I believe such a mindset gives glory and honor to our Lord.

I believe it ascribes, I believe it takes into account all the things that we have learned I mean think about the Apostle Paul again Who was an enemy of the church until he runs into Jesus and is literally knocked off his high horse Right literally has an encounter with the Lord where he's blind for a season, hears this voice and goes to this place and a man is sent and he recovers his sight and all of a sudden from literally from enemy now to an apostle, seeing the work of God going through all of the churches, preaching and teaching, seeing all of these wonderful things happen, his experience told him, his knowledge told him, his encounter with the Lord told him that Jesus is worthy to be worshiped in every situation. So instead of shrinking back when the pressure was on, he was believing God for more boldness. Whether he lived or whether he died, he wanted to worship and glorify Jesus. To Magnify in this verse does not mean to make greater. We can't make him any greater than it already is, but it means to cause Christ to be esteemed and praised by others.

Oh, that should be our testimony. That should be our desire, our lives, our worship, our preaching, our living. We want people to see Jesus in us. We want people to see Jesus in our family. We want our family to be one of those weird glory to Jesus families.

Amen, somebody. That's what we oughta want. We want our churches to be filled with Jesus, to be filled with his exhortations. That's what we oughta want. So whether that takes us to a place where our life expands and things get better, or whether that takes us to a place where it looks like it all could come crashing down, blessed be the name of the Lord.

That's the attitude that's missing so often in modern evangelicalism. That's the attitude that we must recapture, I believe, at least in part, if we want to see what I call the power of God, but it has many, many different ways. You can call it revival, you can call it reformation, but same, and we're talking about the same thing, to see God move miraculously and powerfully in our churches and in our homes. Precious friends, listen, how might things change if we had attitudes like this as Christians? Such love for God, such an abandonment of the world and carnality, such a desire for holiness and steadfastness that we would pursue those things even if it takes us to a place of risk and harm.

Perhaps part of the problem is that we don't see our complicity and compromise with the world as shameful. May the Lord help us cultivate this kind of perspective, again, for his own glory. Number four, just the fourth kind of thought here. For the glory of Christ, let us adopt Paul's bold perspective in verse 21, for to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. And this is, you know, I call it sometimes the final frontier in my church, but this is also where we like to start with new believers so that they know what they're getting into.

We like to tell new believers when we have the opportunity that what you've just done in saying yes to Jesus and no to sin, what you've just done, what you've just allowed the Lord to do through you probably more accurately, But what just occurred is you've now signed up to be on the King's team, and one of his standing directives is that we must be willing to go die for him if he calls for our lives. I know you've probably, we tell them, I know you've probably watched some Christian television and heard that coming to Jesus means life will just work out perfectly. Man, you're gonna come to Jesus and all your children will just line up one after the other saying, yes ma'am and no ma'am. Or you're gonna come to Jesus and that new job and that magic check is gonna come to the mailbox. But it doesn't always work that way.

Sometimes coming to Jesus means hurt and turmoil and separation from friends and family. And so we tell them, we make sure that they know that Christianity 101 really is, be willing to give him everything, because for your sake, he gave you everything. For the glory of Christ, let us adopt this perspective. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Friends, in my opinion, after the declaration of the church that Jesus is Lord and Jesus is Lord of all, I think somewhere in the top five ought to be this statement, to live is Christ and to die is gain, because this tends to calibrate us away from pride, away from selfishness, away from the love of sin, and into a life of service and self-sacrifice.

I mean, you show me two married people, a married wife and a husband, and you show me this couple, and they're both thinking to live is Christ and to die is gain, to live is Christ and to die is gain, I'll show you a pretty happy home. You show me someone that says to live is gain and to die is Christ, then I'll show you someone most likely who's gonna have some issues down the line. We have it backwards. To live is gain, and to die is Christ. In other words, let's go to Jesus, and let's get all these beautiful benefits, and then when we die, we go to heaven to get even more benefits.

The truth of the matter is, it doesn't always work out like that. Again, the apostle writes these words from prison. From prison. It's as if, in our estimation, in the way, the backwards way we have it, it's as if Christ is the consolation prize if life doesn't go the way we want it to. So then I went to this church and they had all these wonderful life principles And someone told me I'll get my best life now and it's not quite working out But oh well, even if I die we go to heaven And so that's kind of the way we it's kind of the way we do it That wasn't the way Paul did it.

This wasn't the way the Spirit gave it to him That wasn't the life that he lived. For him to live is Christ, which means that every part of life is submitted to Jesus to the very best of our ability, the Spirit helping us, but to die is even better than living. Whoa, who thinks like that except at a funeral? Right, who thinks like that? Who's sitting here now going, man, I can't wait to get to heaven.

Maybe some of you, but that's not our typical experience. This is not the way Paul fought. For him, death was better than life because to die bodily is to be translated and to be in the presence of the Lord. It is to be with Jesus and based upon what he knew about Jesus, his love, his holiness, His redemption, His propitiation, all the things that we've been going over these last couple of days, to be with Jesus was even better. Jesus said, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me, for Whosoever will save his life shall lose it, but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

For what man, for what is a man rather, advantaged if he gain the whole world and lose himself or be cast away? This is Christianity one on one. You wanna follow Jesus, be willing to give him your life. You wanna follow Jesus, be willing to lose everything for his sake if he called for it. Maybe this is the reason why we seem to, in the wider church, there's much more fear of man than fear of God.

Maybe this is the reason why we won't touch gender or we won't touch this or touch that or touch this or touch that, because we know going in that it'll bring worldly pain. Nevermind pleasing our master, it'll bring worldly pain. But if we would adopt the perspective, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain, if we would pray that the Lord would root that word in our hearts and cause it to be not just something we recite but something that we live, something that's a part of us, then so much would change. I mean, think about it. I'm running out of time, but think about it.

How much easier would it be for you to forgive if living is Christ and dying is gain? How much better and more authentic would our worship be if living is Christ and dying is gain? How much more boldness would we have when we're sharing our faith as opposed to fear, which is what we normally have, if living is Christ and dying is gain. So that even if I die in this encounter, it's good, because I go to be with Jesus. But if he allows me to stay because this is better for the people that I'm around, then blessed be his name, it must be for Christ.

Written from a prison cell. Oh, Lord, what would happen if this was our perspective? Number five, for the glory of Christ, let us strive to bear good fruit in our labor. If you look at verse 22, for, but if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor, yet what I shall choose I want not. Verse 22 is essentially saying, but if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ, that's all it's saying.

But I really don't know which is better, or in Paul's case, he wanted to go and be with the Lord. Paul understood that his life had a decreed end and was meant in the time that he had to give God glory, to give glory, to ascribe glory to our Lord. Indeed, fearing God and keeping his commandments is the whole duty of man. Paul understood that Paul very gladly spit himself for the churches. He said to the church at Colossae, I now rejoice in my sufferings for you and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church whereof I am made a minister.

He rejoiced in his sufferings. Dear ones, what if we put our hands to the plow in the name of Christ, not looking back, and did as Paul did? What if with whatever we found to do with our hands, we did them all heartily as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that Christ is our very life, and if he took our life in his service, or allowed our life to be extinguished in his service, then blessed be his name, because now we gain in death. Number six, from verse 23, for the glory of Christ, Let us examine our own hearts for the desire to go and be with Jesus. Verse 23, for I am in a strait betwixt the two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far, far better.

Again, unless they were on their deathbeds, I have not met many believers who desired to go be with Christ, or unless they were infirm in some way, I have not met many people who had this kind of desire to go be with Jesus. It's in the back of our minds, it's there, and we praise God for it. Just not too soon now, Lord, please. My point is We hold this life so tightly. So many Christians struggle with obedience, not because they don't understand the scripture, but because of what the world will think.

Struggle with their fear of man, struggle with the preaching of the gospel because of what we might lose in this life, resources and influence being at the top of the list. But Paul's ultimate desire was for heaven, to be with Jesus and to see Him face to face. And Finally, for the glory of Christ, let us live to impact others. Let us live to impact others. Look at verse 24.

Nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. It is to the glory of Christ that we are born. It is to the glory of Christ that he calls us to himself. It is to the glory of Christ that he teaches us and trains us and equips our hands for war. Jesus told his disciples, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. He said, go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. He said, and being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which sayeth he, ye have heard of me. In other words, He empowers us for this very same service. Friends, for His honor and for His glory, let us live like the apostle.

Let's understand that while we yet have breath and strength in us, we have the ability, with the Spirit's help, to give the Lord glory. And if that means it costs us our life, then so be it. We'd be in that case in pretty good company. As Brother Ray Comfort says in his materials, Philip was crucified, Matthew was beheaded, Barnabas was burned to death, Mark was dragged to death, James the less was clubbed to death Paul was beheaded Peter as the saying goes and as the legend goes was crucified some even say upside down Andrew was crucified, Thomas was speared to death, and Luke was hanged. That's pretty good company.

To live is Christ and to die is gain. May the Lord give us such a perspective and may such a perspective cause us to do great works, not for our own glory, but for the glory of Christ, amen. Father, thank you so much for the time that we had together for these few moments. Thank you for these, your people. I pray, Master, that you would cause not just this message, but all the messages that we've received to this point to resonate, to go down deep into our hearts, to burn within us, that we would grab words, phrases, that we would meditate upon them.

They would come alive to us. Thank you for revealing yourself through your word. Thank you for showing us the right attitudes we must have towards you. Thank you for even saving some in this conference to this point. Continue to do these great things in us, oh Lord, for we need thee.

In Jesus' name we pray, amen.