The Meaningful Life

“To be or not to be - that is the question.”

Those are some of the most famous words every spoken from the stage.

They are so famous that when people think about drama and acting, they think of, “To be or not to be ...”

Do you know what those words are about?

Shakespeare wrote those words in , Scene 1 of the play Hamlet.

In that scene, Hamlet is contemplating suicide.

He’s actually contemplating suicide.

“To be” … is life.

“or not to be” … is death.

“To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles, And by opposing end them: to die, to sleep No more; and by a sleep, to say we end the heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks that Flesh is heir to? 'Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep ...”

To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles, And by opposing end them: to die, to sleep No more; and by a sleep, to say we end the heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks that Flesh is heir to? 'Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep,

Life is full of trouble, life is full of pain.

Do you live life with pain?

Or do you end life early, and cease to exist?

Paul asked himself that same question in .

Let’s open our Bibles to .

Read

We have two men contemplating life.

What’s the difference?

When Hamlet spoke of death, there was a fatalistic finality to it.

It’s to die, to sleep.

To end all existence.

You close your eyes … and all your troubles are done.

Paul didn’t speak that way at all.

The Christian views death differently from the world around him.

The Christian knows that we have life on earth.

But the Christian also knows that if we die, Paul says it’s a gain.

In verse 23, Paul says that is hard pressed.

Hamlet’s question was to be or not to be.

Paul’s question is to remain and live, or to go and be with Christ.

And it’s a hard question.

He says he’s hard pressed.

Literally, it means to be between a rock and a hard place.

Imagine a young mother, who has been separated from her husband.

She has children who are young, in diapers and need to be cared for every day.

She loves them dearly.

At the same time, her husband, who she loves, has been away for many months.

He has some time off and asks for her to come and visit him alone.

She’s wants to be with her husband, yet she loves her children.

She’s hard pressed.

Paul loves the Philippians.

He loves serving them.

Though at the same time, he loves Christ.

He truly is heavenly minded.

Heaven is not wishful thinking, nor is heaven positive thinking.

Heaven is truly a reality in his mind.

Paul understands the reality of eternity with Christ.

These bodies that we have are finite.

They are temporary.

They have periods of great strength.

Then they grow older.

The strength leaves the muscles.

The bones grow brittle.

The hair turns grey.

The

The teeth fall out.

In Paul’s mind these bodies are just tents.

We used to take annual trips down to Mexico to build homes down there.

While down in Mexico we camped.

You pitch a tent at one campground.

We’d bring tents, and spend the nights sleeping in sleeping bags within vinyl homes, that stood up with fiberglass poles.

We’d set up tents

We

At the end of the weekend you put it away.

This one time, while down there, there was a day that was especially windy.

At the end of the day I came back and found my tent … pretty much destroyed.

The poles were broken.

The fabric was ripped.

It was no good.

If you go back packing and bring a tent:

It was dead.

You hike one day, pitch the tent.

At the end of the week, I tore the tent down, and put it in the trash.

The next day, you tear the tent down, hike some more.

I didn’t have to roll it up and hope it fit in the tiny bag that it game in.

At the end of the day, you set up camp, and set that tent up again.

I just threw it in the trash, poles and all.

Then I went home, and slept in my house.

These bodies are just tents

In my real bed.

With real sheets.

With a real roof.

Not afraid of the elements.

That’s how Paul sees life.

Paul sees his life as just a tent.

And at the end of its lifetime, his tent, his body, will be thrown away.

And then he’ll go to heaven, where Christ has prepared an eternal home, that will shelter him from all harm.

says, “For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”

Paul understands the glory of heaven and truly looks forward to it.

Later on in that same chapter, he famously says, “we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.”

If this body dies, he will be at home with the Lord.

He knows that this life is temporary, but he also knows that because of Christ’s resurrection, he will get to be with Christ.

He is resurrection minded.

says, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.”

He knows that when he dies he will be with Christ.

And this is a great thing.

This kind of thinking will accomplish great things.

Adoniram Judson was a missionary to Burma.

Before marrying his wife, he asked for her father’s permission to marry.

Being the wife of a missionary was no safe task.

There were certainly many dangers and illnesses that could come their way.

So he wrote this a letter to his hopeful fiance’s dad.

Imagine receiving this letter from a man who wants to marry the daughter whom you so dearly love, and take her across the globe into who knows what danger.

I have now to ask, whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world; whether you can consent to her departure, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of a missionary life; whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean; to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death. Can you consent to all this, for the sake of him who left his heavenly home, and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing, immortal souls; for the sake of Zion, and the glory of God? Can you consent to all this, in hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory, with the crown of righteousness, brightened with the acclamations of praise which shall redound to her Saviour from heathens saved, through her means, from eternal woe and despair.

Something that makes me sad is when so-called Christians are afraid of death.

They fear death.

“ I have now to ask, whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world; whether you can consent to her departure, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of a missionary life; whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean; to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death. Can you consent to all this, for the sake of him who left his heavenly home, and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing, immortal souls; for the sake of Zion, and the glory of God? Can you consent to all this, in hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory, with the crown of righteousness, brightened with the acclamations of praise which shall redound to her Saviour from heathens saved, through her means, from eternal woe and despair.”

That is a life knows of a resurrection.

It bravely marches forward, for the cause of Christ;

Knowing that though this body may perish, there is an eternal home in Christ’s presence.

This is why in he says that he’s hard pressed.

Literally, it means to be between a rock and a hard place.

He’s so aware of the resurrection, that there is nothing better than to be in the presence of Christ.

he says, “Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

Where is he at home?

With the Lord.

Think of home.

What is home?

Some would say:

It’s the home you grew up in.

Those mountains you used to played in as a child.

Maybe it’s the old neighborhood you knew so well as a kid.

To Paul where was home?

With the Lord.

It wasn’t Tarsus, which is where he was from.

It wasn’t Jerusalem, where the Temple was.

In fact, it wasn’t anywhere on earth.

It was with the Lord.

He likes life, but he loves heaven more.

Heaven is home.

Imagine a young mother, who has been separated from her husband.

She has children who are young, in diapers and need to be cared for every day.

She loves them dearly.

At the same time, her husband, who she loves, has been away for many months.

He has some time off and asks for her to come and visit him alone.

She’s wants to be with her husband, yet she loves her children.

Does she leave her children to be with her groom?

She’s hard pressed.

Paul’s hard pressed.

Paul loves the Philippians.

He loves serving them.

Though at the same time, he loves Christ more.

He truly is heavenly minded.

Heaven is not wishful thinking, nor is heaven positive thinking.

Heaven is truly a reality in his life.

So Paul is writing this letter to the Philippians.

He’s unsure of the future.

He’s got a Roman guard chained to him on one side.

He is miserable.

He’s uncertain of the future.

He’s longing for heaven.

And he’s wondering what he’s living for.

To be or not to be that is the question.

To live, or to be with Christ that is the question.

And it’s also the question that every Christian needs to ask himself.

If you are going to live what will your life be?

And after much debate, though he desires to be with Christ, will remain in life.

The first conclusion that Paul has is that he will Live a fruitful life.

In verse 22 says that if he remains in the flesh, that means if he continues to live, it will mean fruitful labor.

Living a fruitful life was always a prayer of Paul’s.

He lived for the progress fo the Gospel.

He desired to take the word of God to all peoples.

He loved nothing more than to bring the Gospel, the Good News, to tired, and overworked people.

, says, “I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles.”

He loved to see the Gospel spread to people who had never heard the Gospel.

says, “and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation,”

We saw this last week in our text.

In , while in prison Paul praised God that even his imprisonment, served to spread the Gospel, “I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel,”

Paul’s mentality, is that his life exists for spreading the Gospel.

And this is a fruitful life.

We each live diverse lives.

We live different lives.

We have different jobs.

We have different families.

None of us are walking the same exact path.

But a fruitful life is using these to the glory of God and for the purpose of building His kingdom.

A fruitful life is one that sees everything through the lens of the progress of the Gospel.

So you work.

And you wonder how your work is related to the Gospel.

Suppose you work in the basement of a building and you never see a person all day.

And you wonder how this isolated work can be for the progress of the Gospel?

I’m picking working in a basement, because that’s the worst situation I can think of, and I don’t think any of you work in a basement.

You all have better situations than that.

But suppose you work in a basement all alone.

How can you use that for the purpose of the Gospel?

You get paid for your work, and use that money to the progress of the Gospel.

Sometimes we struggle with working and making money, while also being a Christian.

Those two aren’t opposed to each other.

Make money, make lots of money, but for the purpose of building the kingdom of God.

I’ve often been amazed at how God directs us in our lives.

Most of us don’t end up in our dream job.

What’s your dream job?

When I was a kid it was being an actor in New York.

It was riding bikes and being in the Olympics.

It was being a baseball player.

In middle school it was being a professional roller blader.

I look across this room.

I doubt Richard LaPorte ever dreamed of surveying water wells and learning about the electricity that flows in the ground.

But that’s where God’s placed him.

I doubt Jason Taylor ever dreamed of selling girls volleyball clothes.

But that’s where God’s placed him.

I doubt Chuck Davis expected to spend his life being a metal worker.

But that’s where God’s placed him.

But these are the jobs that God gave them.

We work hard.

We earn money.

And we use it to the glory of God.

But that’s where the Lord directs us.

And to our younger folks who are wondering what they’re gonna do?

My advice:

Get a job.

Work hard.

Work hard at whatever is in front of you.

Be the best worker there is.

Make money.

And use it to the glory of God.

Are you a people person?

People gravitate to you.

People call you a social butterfly.

Use your ability to win friends and influence people for the kingdom of God.

Don’t just make friends to make friends.

Make friends to share the Gospel with them, the good news of Jesus Christ.

Are you single?

If you are single, you have something that the rest of us don’t have … time.

You don’t have the same commitments.

You have a bit more freedom.

Use your singleness to the glory of God.

Don’t wallow in self-pity because you don’t have a soul mate.

Instead, glorify God in your singleness, and use that freedom to serve him in ways that the rest of us can’t.

I can’t say this enough, live a fruitful life.

I must be honest, I was convicted over this passage.

It made me question my own life and my time.

Maybe you’re with me on this.

How often do you find yourself at the end of the day and wondering what it was all about?

It was all for yourself.

It wasn’t a fruitful day, it was a fruitless day.

A meaningful life is one that is filled with fruitful labor.

So Paul says, as long as he’s here, it’s for Christ.

It will be fruitful.

The second reason why Paul chooses to live is that he is set to Live for others.

Like Hamlet, he’s asking, “to be or not to be?”

Then he thinks of the Philippians.

Look at verses 24-25, “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,

He really wants to be with Christ.

That’s his desire; that’s where his home is.

Yet he lays down his own desires, because it’s better for him to be with the Philippians.

I’m all about motivations.

You can do the right thing right, and you can do the right thing wrongly.

So in this situation, the right thing is for life to happen.

Each of us should pursue life.

Live life.

God has given you this life, and live it.

You sick?

Go to the doctor.

Pursue life.

Don’t commit suicide.

Life is the right thing.

But many people live life for the wrong reasons.

Their motivation is wrong.

They live life only for themselves.

Paul is debating whether he should just die and be with the Lord, or live life.

And he chooses life.

That’s the right choice.

But notice his motivation, notice why he choses life.

It’s for the church’s benefit.

It’s for their progress.

It’s not a selfish life.

It’s a selfless life.

There are two things he is looking for in a life for others.

He’s looking for their progress.

And he’s looking for them to have joy in the faith.

So first, a meaningful life is one that looks to the progress of others.

So the second part of a meaningful life is a life that looks to the progress of others.

This is to look for the sanctification of others.

Remember the movie, As Good As It Gets.

It’s a selfless life.

It starts Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt.

Jack Nicholson is a crazy, crotchety old man, who falls in love with Helen Hunt.

It’s

I’d say he was a little too old for her, but whatever.

There comes this scene in the movie where he finally confesses his love for her.

He says, “You make me a better man.”

Our influence on each other should make each other better people, more Christlike.

So instead of making others worse, we make each other more holy.

Pushing each other to love what is good.

We build each other up.

We serve one another.

We encourage one another.

And secondly, we are to help others have joy in the faith.

Notice, we don’t just exist to make each other happy.

We aren’t looking for us just to have joy.

This is very specific.

We are looking for each other to have joy in the faith.

How do we do this?

In 5 Paul said:

“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,”

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.

So by encouraging one another.

By being filled with the Spirit.

By speaking of the work of Christ.

By singing of the work of Christ.

By giving thanks for the work of Christ.

By being in constant fellowship with one another for the purpose of building one another up in Christ.

A meaningful life is one where no time is wasted when we are together.

I’ve often been amazed that we can have so much in common with one another.

We share Christ.

We share forgiveness of sins.

We share common beliefs.

We share a single faith.

And then when we come together, we avoid these good things like the plague.

Church may we be committed to speaking of meaningful and good things to one another.

Paul not only aims to see them grow and have greater joy in the faith, but he desire for them to have

The last thing to have this meaningful, is we must Live for Christ.

As I was preparing this sermon a thought kept going through my mind, and that was how?

How do we do this?

I understand that we need to see this life as temporary, and that eternity is better.

I understand that in order to live a fruitful life it means we work hard for the progress of the Gospel.

I understand that in order to live like Paul we need to pursue the progress of others.

But how do we do this?

I don’t have a magical formula for you.

Because at the end of the day, this really is about a decision you make.

You are either obedient to Christ, or you are not obedient.

You either do it or you don’t.

And so something needs to happen, we must begin by living for Christ.

One of the confessions we make is that we say that Jesus is Lord.

When we say He is Lord, we mean over everything.

Creation.

Nations.

Heaven.

What we see.

What we don’t see.

And over our lives.

He owns your life.

We are in fact slaves of Christ.

We are His possessions.

says, “who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”

And so a change needs to happen.

We need to see ourselves as slaves, as Christ’s possession.

This means we live for Him.

It’s not a matter of whether or not we feel like it.

It’s living by the fact that we belong to Christ.

This fact must transcend how we feel.

Just as we choose to love our spouse.

That’s a part of our vows.

In sickness and in health.

Your wife might be young and spunky.

She likes to go hiking, bike riding and she’s adventurous.

But that better not be why you marry her.

Because the day will come when she can’t do that.

Your husband might be fit, healthy and in shape.

The day will come when that won’t be the case.

That better not be why you married him.

Your vow says in sickness and in health.

For better or for worse.

When you first got married, you saw the best in your spouse.

He showered.

He wore clean clothes.

Then you married him, and you learned he wore the same pants for 2 weeks straight.

That humor which was so charming at first, is now the most annoying thing in the world.

Your vows are for better or for worse.

It’s now a decision that you make each day.

In the same way, we must choose to live for Christ.

Christians let’s take this to heart.

I began this year preaching on the gifts and your purpose in the church.

I didn’t preach them so that you could say, “Those were cute sermons.”

They are either true or they were not.

What’s the meaningful life?

It’s a life that is convinced of the greatness of eternity.

It’s a life that is fruitful and productive.

It’s a life that is set on serving others.

It’s a life that is focused on Christ.

Is that your life?

If Jesus is Lord, it better be.

I know this is big, but it’s essential.

We are His workmanship, so lets live like it.

May we live the kind of life where at its end Christ says, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

And may I end with this final sobering thought.

Perhaps you don’t share in Paul’s love for the church.

But you don’t have a love for the Church in this way

You don’t want to live a fruitful life, or a life for others.

Maybe the reason is because you don’t love Christ first.

The reason why you can’t pour out your life for Him in service to Him, is because you are at the top of your priority list, instead of Christ at the top.

Then that needs to change.

As long as you are the top of the list … then Christ isn’t Lord of your life.

As much as you say you love Christ, if you’re not obedient to Him you have to wonder if you really do love him.

May today not escape us.

You are in the best place possible to consider this.

Come to Christ.

Pray