To Live Is Christ
Notes
Transcript
A person who has devoted their life to Christ has reason to rejoice in every circumstance
Intro
Intro
John Paton
Scottish Presbyterian minister
Went on a missionary journey to the New Hebrides
the first Christians to try this were killed and eaten by the natives within minutes of landing
Within months of landing his wife and baby were killed by tropical fever, and he stayed 4 more years until being driven away.
He left, remarried, and came back to a smaller island called Aniwa where he labored for at least 15 years
Cosntantly threatened by death
Looking at the life of Paul through three lenses:
His circumstances (suffering)
His circumstances (suffering)
I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel,
Paul’s imprisonment
Paul is writing this letter to the Ephesians from prison
Previous suffering
suffering in Philippi
suffering throughout his life
Preaching Christ from rivalry and envy
Even the up and coming Christian preachers were badmouthing Paul while he sat in prison. They were likely trying to steal the spotlight for themselves as they preached, dropping in lines about how Paul is a radical and can’t be trusted.
Paul has endured suffering from just about every angle imaginable. When it comes to life circumstances, it couldn’t have gotten much worse for Paul.
ILLUSTRATE:John Paton faced a lot of suffering from a lot of different angles as well. Throughout his life he received criticism from his own elders for his decision to go, his life was threatened over and over again by the indigenous people that he was trying to minister to, his wife and newborn baby both died during their mission to the New Hebrides.
APPLICATION: Maybe some of us can relate in a way. Certainly nobody here has endured the same kind of suffering Paul or John Paton endured, but I’d be crazy to think any of you have gone through life suffering-free, especially as a Christian. You know what it is like to be left out because of your beliefs, to sit in a room alone while you hear through the grapevine all the gossip that goes on while you’re not around. You know what it is like to love someone and to get nothing but hate in return. You know what it is like to try to do the right thing and to get criticism for it. I don’t know all your baggage, but I am sure that you have it.
TRANSITION: And circumstances can rarely be controlled from our end, but we are able to control our response to those circumstances
His response to circumstances (devoting his life to Christ)
His response to circumstances (devoting his life to Christ)
1. How did Paul respond to the imprisonment? He was preaching to the entire imperial guard and beyond
I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.
2. How did Paul respond to those who claim to be Christians attacking his name and reputation?
Rejoicing that Christ’s name is preached
Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,
No matter the suffering, no matter the circumstances, Paul responded by devoting his life to Christ
3. In all circumstances, Paul is able to respond with joy because for him, To live is Christ
What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
What does it mean, “to live is Christ”?
I have given my life to the service of Christ.
His glory is my glory
His victory is my victory
His life is my life
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
“To live is Christ” is just saying that everything I am and everything I have is devoted entirely to the sake of Christ.
We believe that is true, do we live like its true?
ILLUSTRATE: John Paton was marked by the same self-sacrifice in his response to all the opposition he faced. One of my favorite examples is something that he spoke to the elder in his church, who criticized him for his decision to go to the New Hebrides by saying “you’ll be eaten by cannibals!” Paton responded:
“Mr. Dickson, you are advanced in years now, and your own prospect is soon to be laid in the grave, there to be eaten by worms; I confess to you, that if I can but live and die serving and honoring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether I am eaten by Cannibals or by worms.”
Paton had absolutely no regard for his own comfort so long as it meant honoring Jesus! If nobody else was willing to go to these barbaric people with the gospel, Paton was going to do it even if it meant being eaten by cannibals. Paton was truly living as a sacrifice to God.
APPLICATION: When you are faced with difficulty in life, what is your response? Do you act defeated, like nothing is ever going your way? Trust me, friend: the victory is already won, and it was won by Jesus. That was the thing that Paul and Paton both understood, and it drove them to devote their lives to Christ and abandon hope from this world. Does suffering drive you to despair, or does it drive you to devote your life to the gospel and its work?
TRANSITION: Paul and Paton did, and let’s look to the result of their lives devoted to Christ in the midst of much suffering.
The outcome of his situation (rejoicing)
The outcome of his situation (rejoicing)
Paul’s imprisonment —> The gospel going to the imperial guard and Caesar’s own household AND increased confidence in the brothers and sisters to go and do the same
Preaching from envy —> more people hearing about Christ
Dying —> gain
Ultimately, the outcome of Paul’s suffering was a spirit of rejoicing!
What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.
Illustrate: What was the result of Paton going to the New Hebrides?
The entire island of Aniwa turned to Christ. After so many years of seemingly fruitless ministry, Paton was able to write in his book “I claimed Aniwa for Jesus, and by the grace of God, Aniwa now worships at the Savior’s feet.”
And it wasn’t just that; news of Paton’s journey spread and led to awesome spiritual awakenings in New Zealand, Australia and Scotland. Interest in foreign missions spiked and more people were devoting their lives to the cause of Christ. More and more people were able to say “for me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
What enabled this behavior in these men? Given the circumstances of their lives, where did this joy and enthusiasm come from?
These two extraordinary men separated by 1800 years had one very important thing in common: a life devoted to and sustained by Christ. When looking for the motivation and the ability that allowed these two men to live the lives that they did, we have to look at the source: Jesus
Jesus lived a life marked by intense suffering of all different kinds. He suffered physically, mentally, and emotionally on various occasions and that suffering serves as both a motivation and an empowerment for his followers to do the same.
Lament over Jerusalem
At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”
Garden of Gethseneme
And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
Cross of Calvary
He refused to drink the gall wine because he knew that he must suffer to bear the penalty of sin
Jesus accepted suffering to the full for the sake of sinners
And Jesus didnt just suffer for suffering’s sake. He wasn’t masochistic. Jesus suffered and died to secure victory over death once and for all!
which is exactly what enabled men like Paul and John Paton to be able to live the lives that they did and rejoice through the affliction they suffered; life was more than comfort and preferences to these men. Victory to them wasn’t a trophy wife or a 401k or fame or comfort, victory was what Christ won when he resurrected from the grave.
They knew that no matter what happened to them, the victory had already been won; and it that they rejoiced.
What of us? Paul gives the command:
Application: Philippians 1:27-30
Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
Is your manner of life worthy of the gospel of Christ? If you believe in him, are you also willing to suffer for him? God has given us everything we need to rejoice in our sufferings for the sake of the gospel; what is preventing you from picking up your cross today?
May we this day offer ourselves up as living sacrifices to God, whatever the price may be.