Discover Joy in Christ Through Life Or Death

Philippians 1:19–26 ESV

19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 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. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

Prayer for those in leadership of the church

Philippians 1:19–20 ESV

19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 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.

Let’s hit one point in these verses really quickly before we get into the meat of the sermon.

Prayer for those in leadership of the church

Paul was so thankful for the prayers which were being lifted up for him from the church in Philippi. He wanted to them to know he recognized the power and comfort he was receiving through.

So,

Pray for you pastors.

Let me be honest with you all, there is no way Mark and I could be doing right now without the fervent prayers of our church. We both have full time jobs which go beyond the 40 hour week we may put in at the office or school. We have ministries here at the church we are still responsible for.

Mark with the youth and all the Bible studies and activities that entails. Me still leading the worship service, even when you see someone else up here, Wednesday Night Bible studies and prayer time, and rehearsing and leading the adult choir.

Add on top of that now, both of us preaching a couple times a month and the other things which will come along for us when there isn’t a senior pastor.

Somewhere in there, we have to be husbands, fathers, groundskeepers, maintenance directors, etc.

And yet, I can tell you for myself, I don’t feel overwhelmed. This can only be through the prayers which are being offered up for me. It is the intercessory prayer of the people of God’s church.

Imagine what is happening in the life of our future pastor right now. If we as a church are praying for him, and the church where he is at is praying for him, this man probably needs to be put on ADHD meds.

Pray for the other leaders in the church

The only way Mark and I would have been able to have done what we have done during this time of transition is with the leadership of our church stepping up. They have come to Mark and I and asked advice and kept us informed of their ministries and what they are doing. They have helped move our church forward when most people would look for a church to step back or just try to keep the boat floating.

Fairlawn hasn’t done this. We have reopened our ministries as we are hopefully beginning to come to the end of the pandemic.

Whether it be ministry leaders or Sunday School/Small Group leaders, they are important in the moving forward of the church. And when the new pastor comes, these leaders don’t need to step back and let him take the reins. If anything, they need to step up even more and walk beside the man.

Pray for each other

When we have so many different people using their talents for God, it is very easy for us to lose track of who we are doing all of this for. We need to make sure we are keeping the mission in front of us. If we do that, egos will be put aside, and the glory of God will be in front of us and all we are doing becomes about Him and reaching others.

Okay, let’s move on to the meat of this today.

Philippians 1:21–22 ESV

21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.

Paul’s decision on how to pray

This is such a statement of our faith and the way we should look at our lives as Christians as well as those in our families who live this life.

I’m sure in the prayers Paul was praying, he was debating with God which would be better for him, to live and continue the work of the ministry God had for Him, or to die and to be with his heavenly Father.

I find Paul’s honesty with the Philippians to be refreshing. He is being very open with them. Remember, he is writing to the Philippians to mostly praise them for what they have been doing. For this reason, he feels he can be upfront and honest with them about how he is feeling. If you look at the other letters which were written during this time, there isn’t any mention of this struggle he is going through.

Paul was probably around 55 years of age when this letter was written. My age. I can’t imagine the hardship of prison today, much less what Paul was going through.

I now wake up in the middle of the night if a sleep a certain way too long in a nice comfortable bed in a nice quiet bedroom. I can’t imagine what Paul was going through probably sleeping on straw in a dungeon with all sorts of noises and all around him. Yet even in the midst of all this, he was debating what God would feel was best for him and others.

Philippians 1:23 ESV

23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

Paul praying to be taken to heaven

Why would Paul say this? Even with being in prison and the physical hardships he was facing there, his ministry was still effective. He was still sharing his testimony with everyone he could and was seeing people responding to the Gospel message he was sharing.

Revelation 21:1–5 ESV

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Paul praying to be taken to heaven

John is describing what heaven will be like, and if you continue reading through chapter 21 and the first part of 22, you will get an even better picture of what we will be encountering when we leave this earth.

Paul realized for him to die was gain. He would leave whatever earthly frailties he had. He would leave the sin of the world. The temptations we face each day will be gone. We will be living in a place where everything is perfect. The struggle we face with our humaness versus our Christianity will no longer exist for us.

This is part of the reason why we can mourn differently than those who have no hope. We know where our loved ones are. And while we will miss them here on earth and try to carry on knowing a piece of our earthly puzzle is missing, we know their heavenly puzzle is complete never to be taken apart again. It is such a dichotomy of emotions. We weep, but yet we smile. We feel loss, while we know what they have gained.

There is terrible loss while there is joy in the home going of a believer. Through our expression of grief yet the testimony we can give of the one who has passed, and our own testimony is a strong statement of our faith. We have a promise to be reunited with our loved ones in heaven. We mourn differently.

We live differently. We should live a life knowing our material gains we may have here on earth are nothing compared to the heavenly gains we will receive one day. If we are putting our faith in what is here on earth, we are going to be greatly disappointed.

Matthew 6:19–21 ESV

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

These verses are very clear about where our hope and faith should lie.

However, while we are here, let’s be about our Father’s business and the ministry field He has in front of us to do.

This is the reason why Paul would want to stay here. He knew God had more for him to do.

Philippians 1:24–26 ESV

24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

Paul praying to remain

Paul in his prayers to God for what he was to do was told it wasn’t his time. He was to remain and continue to do the work God had in front of him to do.

Paul found joy even in the midst of what he was going to have to go through. In this letter, you can see the hope he had he would one day get to see his brothers and sisters in Christ in Philippi.

He was going to count it joy no matter what his circumstances. God had a purpose for him, and he was grateful for it.

1 Samuel 12:24 ESV

24 Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.

Colossians 3:23–24 ESV

23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

Colossians 3:17 ESV

17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

In the fulness of his faith, Paul knew when he had completed his task God had for him to do, He would call him home.

We need to think in the same way. God has a ministry field for each one of us. I don’t know how more clear I can be, nor the Bible can be about this.

How did Paul find joy being in prison and separated from the people he loved?

He knew God was still using him in the prison to witness to all who were there. He was also sending letters out to the churches he had help plant. He was busy doing what the Father had called him to do.

1 Peter 3:15 ESV

15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

If you are alive, God has a purpose for you.

Do you live with joy in your life? If you’re having problems with that, it might be you are struggling finding your purpose, your ministry God has for you.

Really think of Paul and the way he could’ve thought.

We need to realize the only difference there might be between you and Paul was he was willing to be used of God even in the worst of circumstances. Paul could’ve just as easily have said no. However, he chose to say yes.

Paul received his joy in life by serving God and others. He received his joy in watching others grow in their faith. Paul didn’t receive his joy in the material things of earth, but in things which would and will last for an eternity.

Church, there is work to be done.

While God has work for you to do here, heaven can wait.

Find joy in what God is calling you to do and your task He has in front of you.