Living Like You Have Nothing To Lose

Sometimes, sadness is just a result of living in a fallen world where hard things happen. But often sadness comes from being disappointed, when circumstances let us down, when what we thought we could get from life turns out to be unrealistic.

The key to experiencing joy in the place of sadness is learning how to live like you have nothing to lose. The key to experiencing joy in the place of sadness is learning how to live like you have nothing to lose. Let me share with you three tactics from the life of the apostle Paul on learning how to live like you have nothing to lose. And may the Lord bless the preaching of His word.

[SLIDE: KNOW THAT YOUR SADNESS WILL…]

1. Know that your sadness will one day end

Now you may have heard someone like Joel Osteen say similar things. I have seen him stand on his stage in front of his thousands of admirers: “You’re about to be healed of your cancer. That promotion you’ve been wanting? It’s about to be yours. The new home you thought you could never afford? Get ready, because blessing is coming your way.”

He’s a false teacher and we shouldn’t be afraid to say it. God makes us no promises about earthly wealth or happiness or health for this life. So how can I promise you that your sadness will one day come to an end? What kind of an end to your sadness is being promised here?

The apostle Paul in verse 19 says, “For I know that through your prayer and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, this will turn out for my deliverance.” That word for “deliverance” - that’s a good work to underline if you have your Bibles out and pen in your hand.

That word translated “deliverance” is the Greek word soteria, and it really means “salvation.” [See Vincent, ICC, p23; Thielman p76] If you’re using the old KJV, it actually says “salvation.”

The salvation Christ provides us, the salvation that is ours in Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone. Salvation from the power and the penalty of sin here and now. Salvation from the presence of sin in the next. Salvation that means new life in Christ here in this world and eternal life in the next.

[SLIDE: “SALVATION” FOR PAUL]

“Salvation” for Paul:

Salvation from sin and the gift of eternal life

Deliverance from danger

But that word can also mean deliverance, to be rescued from danger. And probably Paul means both. The reality is that Paul could use a rescue right about now. He’s in prison when he writes this letter to Philippians.

But Paul isn’t certain whether he will experience salvation in the sense of being rescued from danger; but he is certain that he will experience salvation in the sense of eternal life. One way or another, Paul knew he would be delivered. His sadness and sorrow would come to an end — whether here when he was released from prison, or later when he sees Jesus face to face.

We can rejoice that our sadness and sorrow will not last forever — not because we know that the circumstances that are making me sad will go away, but because one way or another, we will be delivered.

There was an army general who found himself in a deep pit, trapped with his soldiers. They had ropes, but on their own they couldn’t get themselves out. If they only had a horse they could use to pull them out.

Well, this general was known for his courage; nothing could stop him or get him down. He always had a good attitude, never stopped fighting. For him, there was always a way out, always a silver lining, things were never hopeless.

Now, in this pit, there was no horse, but there was a huge, tall pile of horse manure. So this general — did I mention he was determined? — says, “Follow me, boys! Where there’s horse manure, there’s gotta be a horse!”

The lesson, I guess, is when we’re in a pit, and all we can see is horse manure, there’s gotta be a horse somewhere — so hold on. Help is on the way. [Craig Brian Larson, 750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers & Writers (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2002), 253]

Well, as Christians, we have a similar attitude, but not because there’s a horse in our pile of horse manure. Rather, we can be confident our sorrow won’t last forever because of two reasons:

[SLIDE: THERE’S A HORSE WITH YOU…]

There’s a horse with you in the pit:

People are praying for you

The Holy Spirit is helping you

How can Paul be so confident that no matter what happens, he’ll be ok? The answer is in the means by which Paul says he will be ok. Look back again with me in verse 19: Just before Paul says “this will turn out for my deliverance”, he first tells us how: “through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.”

How many of you know someone who is going through a really hard time and they need prayer?

How many of you are this morning going through a tough time and you need prayer?

Keep your hands up, and church — look around you. This is your summons to battle for them on your knees.

The apostle Paul teaches us by his example here. How often he asked, practically begged, for the prayers of the churches! [Thielman, p81]

Paul asked the Romans to “strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea” (Rom. 15:30 EV).

Paul wrote to the Corinthian church that “you also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many” (2Cor 1:11 ESV).

To the church at Thessalonica he wrote this: “Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith.”

Never underestimate the power of your prayers to change the circumstances of your fellow believers!

Do you believe prayer changes things? Give me an amen if you do. The Bible says, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16b KJV). Prayer does change things — not because it has a power of its own, but because God effectively says, “I will lift up and encourage and strengthen and bless my people in response to their prayers.”

People are praying for you. Number two, the Holy Spirit is helping you. P We often say that Jesus lives inside us. This is how. He lives within us by His Spirit. aul says he is helped by “the Spirit of Jesus Christ.”

Appropriately, Jesus called Him the “Helper”. He said to His disciples, "If you love me you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever” (John 14:15-16 ESV). Jesus said He would never leave us, that the Spirit will be not just with us, not just by our side, but inside us, within us, in our hearts “You know him”, Jesus says, “for he dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:17 ESV). [See Vincent ICC p24]

We can face the difficult emotion of sadness because we know that our sadness and sorrow will not last forever.

[SLIDE: START LIVING FOR THE THINGS YOU CANNOT LOSE]

2. Start living for the things you cannot lose

We’re all living for something. Everyone has some overriding purpose that they are living for. What was Paul’s? Paul was living for the things he could not lose.

The apostle Paul has a higher aim, a higher purpose for living. Verse 20: “As it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that will full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body” —

You see, the secret of Paul’s unshakable joy because the thing he wants the most for his life is something death could not take from him. Paul is living for what he cannot lose.

Here, church, is the key to finding joy in the midst of difficult times. Live for what death cannot take from you. Live for what you cannot lose. The letters of Colossians, Ephesians, Philemon and Philippians are all called the prison letters because Paul wrote them from a dark, cold prison cell.

So here’s Paul in prison, awaiting court date. He’s waiting for the date of his trial in prison. What’s he on trial for? For preaching about Jesus. He doesn’t know what will come of that trial. So he can’t put his hope and trust in the prospect of getting released. Paul’s hope is in something else. “I want to honor Christ — that’s all.”

Well, here’s the great thing about that — it’s possible to honor Christ whether you live or die. When Paul stands in court, he’ll be asked to defend himself. It’s a chance to share the gospel. “Hey Paul, things don’t look good for you. You’re in prison again. We might put you to death this time. Why don’t you admit you were wrong and we can move forward?”

And that moment, the moment that we would think he would be most fearful of, that is the opportunity he has been waiting for. “Let me tell you about Jesus! Let me tell you why I am suffering for Him. It’s because I have found in Him what I have searched for my whole life, and there is nothing I want more than Him. And what Jesus has done for me, he’ll also do for you if you’ll turn from your sins and trust Him.”

Can you just hear Paul making that declaration, that good confession?

The outcome will be only one of three things: he’s executed, he’s sent back to prison, or he’s released. Not for one second does his happiness depend on those things, because Paul is living for what he cannot lose. Paul is living for what death cannot take from him. Whether lives or dies, he can "magnify” Christ — meaning Paul will have the opportunity to witness in such a way that Jesus Christ is presented compellingly and beautifully and persuasively to anyone who will hear — that is what it means to “magnify Christ”.

“Maybe — maybe — some of them will hear, be convicted, and be saved. Maybe I’ll get released. Who knows? But whether I live or whether I die, Christ will be magnified in my body.”

Are you living for what you cannot lose? Here’s how you can tell. Look back at verse 20: Paul talks about his “eager expectation”? That’s a word that means to turn the head and look for something that you’re expecting any minute.

When I was a kid, and I had a friend coming over to play or have a sleepover, I would sit on the carport when it was time for them to get there and I would try to guess how many cars would pass by before I saw my friend’s car coming down the road to turn into our driveway. It was my “eager expectation” to see my friends.

What is your eager expectation? What are you spending your time and energy working for? What can you just not wait for?

If it’s something death can take away from you, you’re not living for what you can’t lose. That’s not always bad. Maybe you’re saving to buy a home or trying to pay off a loan, or trying to get a new job or maybe caring for family members. All of those are good things. But there is only one thing that is an ultimate thing — and that is living to magnify Christ. If we’re living for ultimate things, then we are living for the things that can be lost — we are living for something death cannot take away from us.

Start living now for the things you cannot lose.

Lastly, reorient this life toward the spiritual good of others.

[SLIDE: REORIENT THIS LIFE TOWARD…]

3. Reorient this life toward the spiritual well-being of others

Raise your hand if you’ve ever had a brush with death.

General Ulysses S. Grant cheated death several times. One time he was on a ship that was being shelled by rebels; he was sitting in a chair on board the ship and got up out of the chair. Five minutes later the chair was hit and destroyed. Another time the horse he was riding on got hit by rebel gunfire. Another time rebel cavalry saw him but didn’t shoot him.

There have been others. Charles Fox was fighting in a duel when the guy he was dueling with shot him in the waist. The bullet hit his belt buckle and fell to the ground. Art Sala was in his yard in Seattle when for no reason he stepped a couple feet to the side, and almost immediately after the door from a crashing airplane fell and hit that very spot he had been in.

John Wesley was trapped in a room of a burning house, alone. A few minutes later, he somehow appeared at a second story window and some neighbors were able to climb up and help him down. [Virgil Hurley, Speaker’s Sourcebook of New Illustrations, pp. 47-48]

The movie Final Destination is all about a group of young friends who at the last minute decided to get off a plane about to take off. The plane crashed soon after it took off, and the rest of the movie was about how these friends kept barely escaping their own demise. They had missed their appointment with death, but death hadn’t forgotten about them.

And in a secular society like ours, where earthly happiness is everything, the only thing death can ever be is an accident — something we tried to avoid all this time but finally it catches up to us. In a society like ours, the only thing death could ever bring is sorrow, sadness. And all our lives we are haunted by this background sadness because we know it’s coming.

[SLIDE: PHILIPPIANS 1:21-23]

Philippians 1:21–23 ESV

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

It’s almost shocking how Paul describes his own thinking about whether he’ll live or die. Notice, on the one hand, that Paul says death would be an upgrade. Look with me at verse 21: “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Life is already all about Jesus for the apostle Paul, so death will only be the doorway to more of Christ.

But look at what he goes on to say in vv. 22-24: “If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me.” In other words: “If I go on living like this, that just means good, fruitful, satisfying work in the ministry. I can live with that.”

That’s the mentality of verses 22-23: “Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better” (Phil 1:22b-23 ESV). This life is great. Death is an upgrade. And notice what it is about death that makes it an upgrade — it’s not primarily the streets of gold or seeing our friends and family — it is to “be with Christ” — that is far better!

“Far better”! What does the country song say? “Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to go right now.” Well, yeah. If you’re living like this life is all there is, you’re not going to look forward to heaven very much, and death will be the ultimate loss for you, not a gain. What does it say about us that we don’t want to go to heaven? Surely that’s problematic for Christians.

God says it’s possible to live like you have nothing to lose, and in the end you get the best of both worlds: satisfying life and work here, untold joy and fellowship there.

Because there is no in-between state. Paul says that to depart this world is to be with Christ in the next. For the Christian death results in an immediate relocation of the believer from this world to the presence of Jesus in heaven. For the unbeliever, death results in an immediate relocation from this world to eternal, conscious suffering in hell.

[SLIDE: PHILIPPIANS 1:24-25]

Philippians 1:24–25 ESV

But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith,

What might be surprising here to some of us is that Paul does not unequivocally say that given the choice, he would choose heaven. “My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better” — yes and amen. But while that would be wonderful for me, Paul says, — “to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account” — it would be a loss for you. Verse 25 he gives his opinion of what God will do: “Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith” (Phil 1:25 ESV).

Could it be that some of us are sad because we’ve given up on ministry and we’re just waiting for heaven?

Heaven will be wonderful, no doubt. “Far better!”, says Paul. But while you’re here, you have good and holy work to do. You’re immortal until the work God has for you to do is done. If you’re still here, you still have purpose. If you’re still in the flesh, as Paul puts it, God isn’t finished with you.

So, what if instead of giving in to sorrow, instead of yielding to sadness, we get up and get to work serving God’s church?

Living like you’ve got nothing to lose.

Call for response

Much that I have said this morning is true for everyone. Christian or non-Christian, believer or non-believer, everyone wants to be happy. No one wants to feel sad.

But while everyone wants to be happy, if we are to be faithful to what the Bible clearly says, not everyone will be happy eternally. Just as surely as there is a real place called heaven, there is a real place called hell. We can’t believe in one because it makes us feel good, and then deny the other because it’s outdated or makes us feel bad.

In an age of a mentality that says I shouldn’t have to hear anything that makes me experience negative feelings, we have to stand by the truth heaven is real, and therefore eternal happiness is real. And, that hell is also real, and that means eternal sorrow is real.

We saw that our sadness will one day come to an end end — whether in this life or the next. For the non-Christian, their sadness will be extended into eternity and multiplied exponentially. We talked about living now for the things you cannot lose. But for the non-Christian, everything is loss — especially death. We said that we should focus in this this life on the spiritual good of others. But for the non-Christian, the only place of happiness is this present life.

If we have not made a real commitment to trust and follow Jesus Christ, if we have not rested our hope of forgiveness and heaven on Him and His death for on the cross in our place, we have rejected the only hope we have of any real happiness in this life and lasting joy in the next.

But the Bible says until that day of judgment comes, the door of grace is open wide now. Today is the day of salvation. Everything that we have seen in our text this morning can be true for you individually. You must repent and trust in Christ. Do that today. And you too can live like you have nothing to lose.

For the rest of you, start living like you have nothing to lose. Because for the child of God, we have everything to gain.

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