Text: Philippians 1:18-26
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 because I know that this will turn out for my deliverance, through your prayer and the support of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. 20 This matches my earnest expectation and hope that I will in no way be put to shame, but with all boldness, as always, so even now, Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 Yes, for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I am to go on living in the flesh, that will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet which should I prefer? I do not know. 23 I am pulled in two directions, because I have the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far. 24 But, it is more necessary for your sake that I remain in the flesh. 25 And since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and will continue with all of you, for your progress and joy in the faith. 26 And so by my coming to you again, my goal is to give you even more reason to boast in Christ Jesus.
Sermon
How many of you have heard of a no-win situation? Maybe you have found yourself trapped in one. If not, many of us - through experience or through history books - remember United Airlines flight 93 on 9/11. The highjacked plane was on a suicide mission. The passengers came to the conclusion that they were going to die. Some of them decided that they weren’t going to go down without a fight. Todd Beamer’s “let’s roll” were the last recorded words of those who gave their lives trying to save others.
There’s another interesting back story to that day. Lieutenant Heather “Lucky” Penny and her commander, Lt. Col. Marc Sasseville, scrambled their F-16 from Andrew’s Air Force base to intercept flight 93. The only problem was that there were no weapons at Andrews. Their fighter jet was going to be the weapon. Theirs was a no-win situation that never happened because of the heroic efforts of the passengers of flight 93.
Imagine life as a “win-win” situation. St. Paul doesn’t want you to imagine it; rather, he wants you to revel in the fact that this is your life with your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Whether we live or we die, we belong to the Lord, he tells the congregations in Rome. Or as he says to the Christian people in Philippi, Yes, for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Paul learned that truth in the most spectacular way. It happened as he was on his way to Damascus to try to crush the growing movement of the followers of Jesus, whom they claimed had risen from the dead. He was going there to arrest them, try them in the Jewish court, and execute them. On the way, he met Jesus - risen and glorified. And a few days later, he became a member of Jesus’ family through baptism. Paul had a good life before Christ, but now he had a full life.
He had Christ, a Savior who had the power to say, Let there be light, and it was so. He had the power to say to a dead man, Young man, I say to you, get up!” and the man got up and went back home with his widowed mom. He had a Savior-God who was willing to leave behind the adoration of the angels and saints in heaven so he could assume our nature and grow for nine months in his mother’s womb. He had a Savior who was willing to accept responsibility for his sins and the sins of the whole world, and face the wrath of God for those sins. He had a Savior who single-handedly took on all the powers of evil, and even death itself, and rendered them impotent by beating them in an epic showdown.
What a life Paul now had. Nothing could separate him from the love of Christ. His sins were forgiven. Any trouble that he faced was completely under Christ’s rule and control. At the time of this letter, this great missionary, who had traveled thousands of miles and preaching the gospel over thousands of miles, had spent the last few years in prison. Then was put on a ship that sunk on the way to Rome. Now, for the last many months, he was under house arrest in Rome, chained between two guards who worked shifts of four hours each so that he could not escape. He was waiting for an opportunity to have an audience with the crazy emperor, Nero. And all he could do was look at all that was happening to him with unabashed joy, because his life was connected to Christ.
The world can’t understand him. The purpose of life is to get money, to get a good name for yourself, serve your own passions and desires, and define “happiness” on your own terms, not according to God’s will. For me to live is me.
And I’ll be honest, I don’t see my life all the time like Paul saw his. I’ve always struggled with seeing the glass half empty. Forgive me if I’m the only one who sees life like that. Anyone here struggled at one time or another with an identity crisis? Ever felt like your life was completely useless? Anyone struggled with these questions at some time in their life: Why am I here? What good am I doing?
As soon as we start to navel gaze and think we are the masters of our own happiness, we see the sins of pride, arrogance, and even self-pity, take over our heart. We are such creatures of clay.
What a contrast is a Christian life which is wrapped in the full and free and daily and momentary forgiveness. To live for Christ is to rejoice and bask in the free gift of salvation. Jesus has done it all; the doors of heaven are wide open. Rejoicing in the gift of salvation empowers us to strive to stay out of the gutter of sin.
Do you want to live in Christ? Then trust Jesus and clean up the profanity on your lips, whether it’s when you are on the athletic field, or watching the evening news, or opening your property tax bill, or reacting to something painful in your life. Cleaning up your speech has far better results than trying to clean the air of car emissions. Jesus, let your words come out of my mouth. Grant me that purity.
Do you want to live in Christ? Then fight the urge to feed your sinful flesh. Watch the clicks on the internet. Stop sinful lusts before they become fantasy, or are carried out in a moment of passion. Honor marriage, before and after your marriage. Honor your spouse and serve them with thoughtfulness and unconditional love. You can imagine the happiness that will result from that because Jesus promises blessings for faithfulness. He is your bridegroom, and there is no greater joy than serving him. Jesus, may your purity be my purity.
Do you want to live in Christ? Honor those whom God has placed in authority. Serve them, not for reward, but for the joy of living a life of service like Jesus lived to serve you. Jesus, may your servant heart be my servant heart.
Do you want to live in Christ? Stop blaming others for your lack of happiness. Your spouse, your friends, your employer, your teachers are human like you and just as sinful as you are. Repent of your demands you place on others to make you happy. When others fail you, do what Jesus does at all times to you: he forgives. Go and do likewise. Then focus your heart on your true happiness - a Savior who loves you. Jesus, be my happiness. I know you will never fail me.
Do you want to live in Christ? Don’t be paralyzed by the things that seemingly bad things that happen to you. Paul teaches us the perfect model when facing challenges: I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, while being full or hungry, while having plenty or not enough. I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me - Philippians 4:13.
Jesus convinced Paul that not even death could get between them. The apostle had no clue what was going to happen to him when he had his audience with the mighty Nero. But that didn’t bother him. Yes, for to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. A win-win situation.
What is the gain? What about all those good intentions that go unfulfilled because of laziness or forgetfulness? What about all those misspoken words that really hurt someone you love, or the words you simply failed to speak? What about all the missed opportunities to tell others about Jesus because you were afraid or ashamed about how someone would react to your love and correction? What about all the opportunities to be part of sharing the gospel with your income because it was just too important to have the next or newest toy that was purchased out of selfishness? What about the things that bother you, and cause you sleepless nights and worry? Jesus was right when he said that we should not worry about tomorrow because each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:34). No matter how much we desire to serve our Savior and live with him and for him, our sinful nature is the ball and chain that drags us down so that we can never serve Jesus perfectly.
Death changes that. The ball and chain is removed from our leg. The sinful flesh is a thing of the past. The saints in heaven have no worries or cares. They serve him day and night in his temple, the book of Revelation says. They see Jesus. Their faith in not in vain. A man - let’s call him Raymond - knows this all so well.
For the last two decades of his life, he was crumpled up in his nursing home bed with severe arthritis. He needed the nursing staff to care for his every need. His sons were so angry at God that they turned from him. But every time they visited their father, he expressed the joy that his gain would be a healthy body in heaven. So he continually urged them to go back to church and renew their relationship with God. He witnessed Jesus’ love to him and all who took care of him. When I first heard about him, I thought, If that were me, could I have the same joyful spirit? I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. Sometimes we need to hear about people like Raymond to be jolted back to the reality of the great graces of God in our lives. Our life in Christ is truly a win-win situation. While we live on this earth, we have Jesus. We have forgiveness and peace and joy that cannot be taken away from us. When we die, we have Christ and the best life that we can ever imagine. Live and die with Christ. That joy can never be taken away from us