In The Spirit
Philippians 1: 21 - 30
Intro: I read a story of a young man we will call Bob. He decided to go on his first deep-sea fishing trip. After about an hour, he decided that it was the dumbest decision he ever made. With every pitch and roll of the boat, he doubted he could survive the remaining 4 hours of the trip. He never thought seasickness could be so awful. One of the deckhands tried to cheer him saying: “Don’t worry, you fella. Nobody ever died of seasickness.” Bob responded: “You’ve just taken away my last hope of relief.”
I I have 2 questions for you this morning. I want you to think seriously about how you would answer each by filling in the blank.
A QUESTION 1: FOR ME, DEATH IS ____________. Possible answers: my children, my spouse, my friends.
B QUESTION 2: FOR ME, TO LIVE IS ___________.
C We live in such uncertain times. Life is difficult. The older one gets, the more difficult living becomes.
II VS. 21 – “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
A Most people focus on the second part of that verse, “to die is gain.”
B When faced with difficult circumstances, we put ourselves into “prison moments”: Moments when we feel locked up / the walls are closing in / isolated, alone, forgotten.
C What is your greatest fear for the future? The person who has nothing to live for will lose hope and die quickly.
III Paul continues in VS. 27 “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel . .
A We can find hope and meaning when we look beyond ourselves and our circumstances. Paul encourages the Philippians and us to live in the Spirit.
B For Paul, “to live is Christ” means not only that to live is to experience Christ; but also, that to live is to magnify Christ.
C We experience life in abundance if we can learn to live a life that trusts God even in the face of our greatest challenges. “To live is Christ” means not only that to live is to experience Christ through the presence of the Holy Spirit; but also, that to live is to glorify Christ by helping others to hear the good news of Christ Jesus.
Concl: This text is an invitation to focus on hope, to find joy in the midst of all life’s circumstances, so that God may be glorified. We find hope and meaning when we look beyond ourselves and our circumstances and focus on living faithfully in the spirit.
