In Philippians 1:21, Paul says, "For me to die is gain." Death to the child of God is our friend. A friend is someone who helps you. for a child of God opens the entrance into eternal bliss with God. is for our benefit. Those who die in Christ gain freedom from pain and temptation.
TO DIE IS GAIN
I. Because of the PERSON to whom it takes us (23)
“with Christ” —
It is a blessed life when we live in His abiding presence, but is far better life when we live in His actual presence. Psalm 16:11 “...in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” There is coming a time when we shall “ever be with the Lord.”
“Willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord,” (II Corinthians 5:8).
To die is gain for the Christian because of the person to whom it takes you. There is nobody like Jesus.
There is not a friend like the lowly Jesus. No not one, no not one.
There is not an hour that He is not near us. No not one, no not one.
The light of heaven is face of Jesus.
The joy of heaven is the presence of Jesus.
The song of heaven is the name of Jesus.
The theme of heaven is the work of Jesus.
The employment of heaven is the praise of Jesus.
The fullness of heaven is the Person of Jesus.
II. To die is gain because of the PLACE to where it brings us
Heaven....to depart from this land means that the Christian arrives in a better land.
There is a land of pure delight,
Where saints immortal reign;
Infinite day excludes the night,
And pleasures banish pain.
There everlasting Spring abides,
And never-with’ring flowers;
Death, like a narrow sea, divides
This heavenly land from ours.
A. It is a place of reality
There’s a land that is fairer than day
And by faith we can see it afar
For the Father waits over the way
To prepare us a dwelling place there.
B. It is a place of rest
Revelation 14 John describes those who reject Christ as Saviour and says that in they have no rest day or night. However, two verses later he writes about those who die in the Lord and says that they “rest from their labours.”
O land of rest, for thee I sigh
When will the moment come
When I shall lay my armor by,
And dwell in peace at home.
C. It is a place of release
Heaven is not only wonderful because of the who and what will be there, but it is also wonderful because of who and what will not be there.
Released from all physical afflictions, handicaps, diseases, anxieties, aliments, trials, and temptations.
No more cough, no more cancer, and no more consumption. No sin, no sorrow, and no sickness shall darken the sky on the heavenly shore.
No taxes are paid and no rent collected. It is a land free from war and shed. It is land free from shadows, sighing, and struggles. 1. Land that is beyond
2. Land that is beyond defilement
3. Land that is beyond degeneration
4. Land that is beyond destruction
III. To die is gain because of the PEOPLE to whom it unites us (Revelation 7:9)
We shall meet again! Heaven is a place of reunion. This future meeting of God’s children is so unlike our family reunion on earth. To begin with, all who will go to the reunion in Heaven have become God’s people by being born into His family. No unsaved relatives will be there. Almost every year when the families of earth gather for their reunions there are empty chairs. One or more of the family has entered eternity. No family reunions on earth end without some sad farewells, but in heaven no one will ever say good-bye. However, when God’s people meet on earth, it is never for the last time, for they shall meet in Heaven if not again o earth.
Conclusion:
If you are not a Christian, then you cannot say as Paul, “To die is gain.” BUT IF YOU ARE then “to die is gain” simply because
of the person it brings us
of the place it takes us
of the people it unites us
