The Purpose of Life

ETT: Paul said to honor Christ with your lives.

ETT: Paul said to honor Christ with your lives.

ESS: The purpose of life is to Honor Christ.

How do your measure your life? How does a person measure their life? Some do it with the number of years they live, while others do it through the personal achievements they made during their lifetimes. Still others measure their lives through their financial success, the gathering of wealth, or material possessions. Some measure their lives by the family they have. While some of these are quite important, for the Christian there should be a different criteria in how we measure our lives. How do you measure your life? This is a incredibly crucial question for the Christian to consider in contemplating the conclusion and contentment of their continuation!

We start the passage with Paul in bondage in Rome. He is rejoicing for the advancing of the Gospel

Before we get into the text, we need to understand the man writing the text, which is the apostle Paul. The gospel framework controlled his entire vision of work, life, and his eventual death. He declared that he no longer lives, but it is Christ (). To the romans, Paul declares that believers are buried with Christ in their baptism, and are raised to walk in a newness of life (). To the Corinthians he declares that anyone in christ is a new creation ().

We pick up in with Paul rejoicing over the advancing of the gospel.

Don’t forget that Paul is imprisoned in Rome due to proclaiming the gospel. He is assuring the Philippians of his belief that God will find deliverance of him and the furthering of the gospel.

Paul uses the word (deliverance) in verse 19 and it seems that Paul is saying that God will vindicate his obedience and further his plan even in the midst of what seems to be a hopeless situation. To Paul, good is the only outcome, since God is at work.

In verse 20, Paul makes the statement that he hopes that he will not be ashamed, no matter the circumstances. He is not oblivious to the possible torture that awaits him. This statement is similar to him asking the Ephesians to pray for boldness and confidence in faith- until the end (). How can there be any hope?

What does he expect and hope? That in his final hour, he will not fail his testimony. In Paul’s day, ashamed was to be publicly humiliated. Paul hoped to be able to bear the shame for the gospel and not deny his faith. He seeks to honor Christ until his final breath.

In elementary school, i was a fat bald kid. i did not have the best of luck with girls, so standards were not the highest. when i would finally get a girlfriend, and people would ask, i would deny our “relationship”. Why did i do this? because the girls i got, were not the best looking or the most popular. This is the situation Paul ask to not happen, and that is that he would not doubt or be ashamed of his relationship with Christ. Why would he have to be ashamed of Christ? Because people hated Jesus! If you truly think about it, nothing has changed. Jesus isn’t the popular choice.

The purpose of life is to honor Christ.

-To live is Christ

If we are to live in the flesh, it is to be fruitful labor.

The first is

a life lived for Christ is a life of total abandonment

the concept of fruitful labor is not limited to church leaders, pastors, or missionaries. this is a call to all that are in Christ.

What does that look like?

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,[e] 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.

First, it takes an understanding of God’s will. This comes from the spirit and God’s word. With the new found knowledge, you then go and live a life according to that will, honoring God in all.

Fruitful labor Is the beneficial results from your investment. The other end is like riding a stationary bike. spinning and spinning but getting no where. pertaining to the kingdom, this is work that is edifying to the kingdom of God.

in verse 23-24

-To live is to sacrifice (verse 23-24)

Have you thought about being one in Christ? That would be amazing! Here Paul is wrestling with the two ideas of remaining to live and serve or departing to be with Christ. Paul is charging to live daily with intentions of eternal life.

Some days i think to myself that i just want Jesus to come back and everything be fine and dandy but i realize that if that was to happen, so many people with enter eternity fooled. So, while that would be nice for me, there is still fruitful labor to be done on part for the kingdom.

when i was in my sophomore year of high school, i started to get noticed by colleges. My coach helped me get my foot in the door and i began to focus on that coming in my life. I went to camps, had private sessions with coaches, and even went to school at 4am to do field drills before school. This consumed my life. When the time came to make a life altering decision, i felt God leading toward ministry. This meant all of the hard work that i put in for three years would soon be for nothing if i was to deny college football and serve the church. But i had to sacrifice what the flesh wants for whats good for the kingdom. He Paul is making the same decision. He desires to be one fully with Christ but he knows that he being on the battle field is more necessary.

() 24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life[a]will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

everyday we must wake up and decide to deny ourselves and follow Jesus.

To live is to reflect Christ VV 25-26

Paul was very loved by the church of Philippi. we see this when they sent Epaphroditus to Paul with monetary resources. We also see this when Paul talks about their prayers in verse 19. Paul says in verse 25 that he he will remain with the Philippians for there joy and faith so that in him they may have cause to glorify God. He is stating the results of his choosing to live for Christ.

what is our results of living for Christ?

it is broadcasting Christ to the world

have you ever thought about who is watching you?

and if they are watching, the things they are retaining from watching?

we are called to be lights in a dark world. to be the salt and the light.

what is your life producing for the world to see?

is it things that they are normal to them?

have you ever ate fake fruit? when the spirit is in you, you produce fruit. some people go throughout their lives, putting on a facade and while the fruit may look good, it is fake. when people are watching, they are looking at fruit. that fruit is in two different conditions. Good, abundant, and results of the spirit or it is fake, rotten, and not of the spirit.

when we are prodcu

i remember when i pretended to care about the church and pretended to be good. while everyone looked at me and thought i was the real deal, i was rotten and was not solid.

what is your purpose in life? What do you live your life for? Everyone lives for something.