Joy In Perspective

A Discontented Homeowner

I’d like to tell you a story about a home-owner who was tired of his house. He’d lived there for many years, and the more he looked around at the house, the years, the neighborhood, the more he wanted to be somewhere else. Can you relate?

His eyes eventually grew critical to the point that he ultimately decided it was time to sell his house and just move on.

So, he hired a realtor to come and look the place over, give him some pointers and begin advertising the home for sale, and at the same time asked her to find a suitable new home for him to purchase.

The realtor took some notes, suggested some of the usual things like basic clean-up of the home, repairing just a few things here and there, and then went back to the office to produce the ads that would run in the paper and online. But before they were sent out, the realtor wanted the owner to approve the ad copy, so she brought a copy of the ads to the home owner for his approval. On arriving to the house, she sat down with the man and read the ad to him, ‘Spacious home in well looked-after condition, no reno’s required here. Bright rooms, with lots of windows, a comfortable living area, solid foundation, good roof; simple yet pleasant garden and lots of open grassy back yard for the family to enjoy. A lovely deck for evenings of entertaining friends or sitting quietly to watch the sun set over the park. Located in a safe, quiet neighborhood with all amenities close by. Come and see for yourself all that this home has to offer. Won’t last long on the market, come quickly. Offered at $—–.’ And she gave the price.

The home owner sat for a second, and then asked, “Could you read it again, but slower?” She did, as the owner soaked up every word about the house. Again, he sat for a second in thought, and then told her not to place the ads. She asked if something was wrong with what she wrote, or if something needed changing. He replied to her, ‘That’s everything I’ve always wanted in a home, I’m going to stay right here.’

Have you ever wished you lived in someone else’s house, or maybe just a different place altogether? Have you ever thought what it would be like to be in the ‘perfect place’? We all have a dream home, a dream location. What is that place to you? To be honest, I don’t know if I have a “perfect place” but I know for a fact some places it isn’t.

But, on a serious note, and ultimately for us as believers, that place is in heaven, with Jesus. And I say that because the apostle Paul thought that too – and this morning we’ll be looking at some more from his letter to the Philippians and reading about what was going on in his life that made him wonder about such things. To lay the foundation for the rest of this message, let's read verses 12-21.

"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. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. 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, 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." - Philippians 1:12-21 (ESV)

An Expectation

In this second section of Chapter 1, Paul wishes to inform the Philippians about his own current situation, as well as the progress of the gospel witness in Rome. He has no idea what the future holds for him, yet he has an expectation and a desire. And we see this expectation and desire in verse 20. Let’s just hop down there for just a moment: