Technicolor Joy: Philippians 1:21-26
Pastor Jefferson M. Williams
Chenoa Baptist Church
5-28-2023
Death is gain?
Andrew Chong was a beloved doctor and elder at his church. He was in surgery and the doctor came out and told the family that there was nothing that they could do. The family was encouraged to come in and say goodbye.
Dr. Chong couldn’t speak and was in pain but motioned for a pen and paper. With trembling hands, he wrote the word “for.” Everyone knew exactly what he was writing. It took a while but word by word he wrote “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” By the time he finished, the whole room was filled with joy!
Horatio Spafford’s three daughters drowned after the ship they were on heading to America sank in the Atlantic Ocean.
His wife telegraphed, “Saved alone.”
He boarded a ship to go meet his wife. When they came to the place where his daughters died, he asked the ship captain to stop and he wrote these words:
When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to know
It is well, it is well, with my soul. ?
Tim Keller was one of our generation's most winsome witnesses for Christ. Founding pastor of Redeemer Church in NYC. Author of multiple books, including several that we use as textbooks at Moody.
He died last week. His son told us his last words were “There is no downside for me leaving. Not in the slightest. See you all soon.
Were these people super Christians? Did they have their head in the sand? Were they robots?
Do you have that kind of perspective about your death? How can we look at death as simply a door of destiny?
Review
Last week, we looked at the reasons for Paul’s joy, confidence, hope, and ultimate aim.
If you weren’t here, you can always watch it on YouTube, our Facebook page, Twitter, or our website.
Paul writes:
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
We looked at the first part of the verse last week and will study the second part this morning.
What are you living for? No, really. What is the ultimate aim of your life?
How would you fill in that verse?
An inscription from a Roman soldier was unearthed that read,
“To laugh, to hunt, to go to the baths, to party, that is life.”
Danny Rojos, the eternally happy Mexican soccer player on Ted Lasso, repeats his mantra multiple times in the series, “Futbol is Life!”
For to me, to live is wealth. Then to die is to lose it all.
For to me, to live is fame. Then to die is to be forgotten.
For to me to live is partying. Then to die means the party is over.
For Paul, as he wrote in Colossians, Christ is his life.?
Paul wrote the Galatians of this truth:
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal 2:20)
Dr. Ligon Duncan writes, “Our first and central aim in Christ being our life is to know, glorify, and enjoy him forever.”
How can we do that? He gives three ways:
When Christ is our life, we will purpose to know as much about Christ as possible.
When Christ is our life, we will desire to be like Jesus.
* When Christ is our life, we will make Him known to others.
Turn in your Bibles to Philippians 1:21.
Prayer.
Dilemma
If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two.
As Paul looks forward to his impending trial, he finds himself between a rock and a hard place.
Paul is wrestling with a dilemma. He is now thinking out loud to help the Philippians understand his frame of mind.
When he wrote that, to a Christian, death is gain, he triggered this inner struggle in his soul over what would be the best outcome for him.
If he is set free and lives, that means his work isn’t done and he will continue planting churches and sharing Christ.
If is executed, then he will get to be where he most wanted to be - with Christ in glory.
It’s interesting that he is confused about his choice. Did Paul have a choice in the matter? He really didn’t.
God hadn’t let him in on what was going to happen to him.
What he is saying is that if he had the choice, what would his personal preference be?
He was torn between the two options. This word means to be “pressed between.” It’s a picture of being pressed in a huge crowd or walking through a very narrow canyon.
His brain hurts thinking about it. What does he desire?
Desire
I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.
His great longing is to depart and be with Christ. The word desire is a strong one - a strong, intense, yearning.
The word depart is absolutely beautiful. It was used by
soldiers
When the Roman army would settle down for the night, it was an elaborate affair. They would build walls, sometimes ten feet high, and even a moat.
In the morning, when it was time to break camp and depart, they would pack up the tents and move on, leaving the remnants of the camp behind.
Sailors
Sailors used the word depart when they would pull up anchor and head out to another port.
Farmers
Farmers use this word when describing the unyoking of oxen at the end of a day.
Paul knew that, eventually, he would leave his earthy tent behind and be with Christ.
Paul knows that one day he would pull up anchor and, as Tennyson wrote, cross the bar.
Paul knew that soon his work would be done and he would be unyoked from this life and his departure would be at hand as he wrote to Timothy.
Paul stacks words on top of words to describe that to be with Christ would be better by far (much more better). Bad English, Good Greek. Great Theology as one pastor put it.
To put it another way, Paul was homesick. He didn’t understand how people could be so preoccupied with this life.
This life is bologna on the floor as opposed to a steak dinner at the table!
C.S. Lewis wrote:
We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a vacation at the beach. We are far too easily pleased.”
In fact, Mark Twain once said, “Forget heaven. Give me Bermuda.”
John wrote:
This destroys the idea of soul sleep. We don’t die and sleep until the resurrection.
Paul wrote, “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” (2 Cor 5:8)
It also obliterates any idea of purgatory. Paul doesn’t say, “I long to depart so I can be in purgatory for a hundred million years to burn off my sin so I can then be with Jesus.”
Paul was not suicidal. He knew that if he was still on earth God had work for him to do.
Paul then comes back down to earth and realizes that is more necessary for the Philippians that he remains here on earth for a little while longer.
Decision
Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.
He is firmly convinced that he will remain. How? Does he have some inside information about his trial? Does he know for a fact that he will be freed?
We know he doesn’t because he wrote in chapter two that he could be executed.
This is what he would choose if he were in charge. Why?
If his one longing desire is to be with Christ, why would he want to stay here in this dying and hopeless place?
Because it's not about him!
He is willing to postpone heaven to help these believers grow more.
He will write in the next chapter:
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” (Phil 2:3-4)
As he imitates Christ, he calls them to imitate him in selfless service.
His main focus is not on himself or his desires but on their progress in the faith.
He has more to teach and they have more to learn and that process will lead to JOY!
Real discipleship leads to real joy!
His being set free, even for a short time, will lead the Philippians to boast in Jesus all the more!
With everything we’ve talked about this morning, I want to go back and look at the second part of verse 21.
“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Do you really believe that to die is gain?
Death
In the Victorian age, nearly every family lost children and spouses. They died at home. The wake was at home. The funeral was at home. They were used to death. They wouldn’t talk about sex but they would talk about death all day.
Today, most people die in hospitals and many people have never even been with someone when they died. This culture will talk about sex all day but we don’t want to talk about death.
“Death was not in God’s original design for humans…We were not meant to die. We were meant to last…We were meant to get stronger, not weaken and die. When we turned from God to be our own Lord and Saviors, everything broke. Our bodies, the natural order, our hearts, our relationships - nothing worked the way it was originally designed. It was all marred, distorted, broken and death is part of that.”
In poll after poll, Americans report that their two biggest fears are dying and public speaking.
Ernest Becker, author of “The Denial of Death” wrote:
“The idea of death, the fear of it, haunts the human animal like nothing else.”
Francis Bacon wrote,
“Men fear death as children fear the dark.”
Should we fear death? Is there a difference between fearing the process of dying and fearing death itself?
I believe it is normal and natural to fear dying. I don’t want to burn. I don’t want to drown. I don’t want to be trampled by a herd of moose.
I don’t want to suffer. I don’t want my brain to turn to Jello as my dad’s brain did.
Tim Keller, who died last week, was working on his book, On Death, when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. This is how he begins the book:
“Death is the great interruption, tearing loved ones away from us, or us from them…
Death is the great insult for it reminds us as Shakespeare said, that we are worm food.
Death is hideous, frightening, cruel, and unusual. It is not the way life is supposed to be and our grief in the face of death acknowledges that.
Death is our great enemy, more than anything. It makes a claim on each and every one of us, pursuing us relentlessly all our days.”
When people die, we grieve. We have trouble sleeping, eating, and thinking.
Like when I got the call that Kimmy had been killed in a car wreck and I screamed at God in the car on the way to the ER.
Or the call I got this week that one of our friends lost his two-year-old son this past week.
That’s why we are starting a GriefShare group in the fall.
We cry. That’s okay because Jesus cried at the grave of his friend too.
But did you know that King Solomon said it is better to go to a funeral than to a party?
“It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.” (Ecc 7:2)
The death rate is still 100% and the living should take this to heart.
Yet, Paul’s greatest longing was to depart, die, and be with Christ. Why?
Because to depart means:
We will be free of this evil world that is broken by sin.
“Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Rev 21:4)
No more cancer, or cold sores. No more depression, dementia, or death. No more saying goodbye. No more anxiety, brain tumors, or sprained ankles. Not more shame, embarrassment, or regret. No more addiction. No more tears, sadness, or rage. No more school shootings. No more abuse. No more divorce. No more abandonment. No more tornados, typhoons, or ingrown toenails.
And no more sin! Not even the temptation to sin. Can you imagine what that would be like?
Limited knowledge becomes sight
We might think that we will have a bunch of questions for God when we get there but we won’t. We will be in the presence of the answer.
Paul wrote to the Corinthians:
“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (I Cor 13:12)
We will be like Jesus
“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (I John 3:2)
We will be reunited with our loved ones.
I once had a younger person tell me that heaven sounded boring. I told them that they must not have that many people he loved already there.
In Brad Paisley’s “When I get where I’m going” he sings,
“I’m going to walk with my granddaddy
And he’ll match me step by step
And I’ll tell him how much I’ve missed
Every minute since he left
Then I’ll hug his neck.”
I’ll eat mashed potatoes with Kimmy. My dad will show me around. And I’m going to find Haggai and tell him that I really like his book!
We will be with Jesus
Notice Paul doesn’t talk about going to heaven. Heaven is only heaven because of Who is there.
A few years ago, I went hiking in Wyoming and spent a week being a mountain man. But I missed home. I missed my bed and my bathroom. But that’s not why I missed home. I missed home because that is where Maxine was.
His deepest desire was to be with Christ.
I’ve had people ask if their loved ones in heaven were watching them. No! They’ve seen Jesus! He is more glorious and interesting than us!
In Psalm 73, the writer echoes this desire:
“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.” (Psalm 73:25).
Jesus is our champion:
“In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered…since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. (Hebrews 2:10,14-15)
The word pioneer can also be translated as “champion.”
Many times, armies would pick a champion from each side to represent them in battle. This is what happened with David and Goliath.
They fought as substitutes. If your champion won, you won, even though you never lifted a finger.
Keller writes,
“That is what Jesus did. He took on our greatest enemies - sin and death. Like David, He didn’t just risk his life, He gave his life and in doing so, defeated them. He took the penalty we deserved - the punishment of death, in our place, as our substitute. Because He himself was a man of perfect sinless love of God and neighbor, death could not hold Him. He rose from the dead.”
The writer of Hebrews says that he destroyed the power of death because He died for us, taking away our penalty and guaranteeing the future resurrection of all who unite with Him by faith. Jesus Christ, our champion, has killed death once and for all!
If we were in a car together and there was a bee buzzing around our heads, I would freak out. I’m very allergic to bees. But what if you reached out your hand and caught the bee and it stung you and then you let it go? Should I be afraid anymore?
No! The bee can buzz all it wants to. His stinger is gone and he is dying.
Jesus took the sting of death for us. That’s why Paul could write in I Corinthians;
“Death has been swallowed up in victory. “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (I Cor 25:55-57)
Donald Barnhouse was driving back from his wife’s funeral. The children were quiet in the back seat and he knew he needed to help them see this truth.
A truck passed them and he asked his son, “Would you rather be hit by that truck or by the shadow of the truck?”
His son said, “The shadow.”
Dr. Barnhouse replied, “Jesus was hit by the truck of death so your momma only had to pass through the shadow to get to Him.”
George Herbert wrote that “death used to be an executioner but the Gospel makes him just a gardener.”
Do you really believe that to die is gain?
F. B. Meyer wrote to a friend and said he had received the news that he only had a few days to live. He told the friend don’t bother writing back because by the time the letter reached him, he would have already entered the palace. He ended the letter with, “I’ll see you in the morning.”
D.L. Moody once said that there will be a day when you read in the papers that Moody is dead. He said, “Don’t believe a word of it. For on that day, I shall be more alive than I’ve ever been!”
We often think that this is the land of the living and that when we die; we go to the land of the dead. This could not be any more wrong. This is the land of the dying. We are all dying.
“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment…” (Heb 9:27)
In one hundred years, every single person in this room will be gone. We are eternal beings. The tent of our body will wear out and die but our souls will live forever.
When our life is over here, we go to the land of the living –either to a place of eternal joy that the Bible calls heaven or to a place of eternal torment that the Bible calls hell.
Jesus said,
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” (John 11:25-26)
My mother-in-law knew that as well. She was diagnosed with cancer and it became obvious that the treatment wasn’t working.
She had a very serious talk with me near the end. She said,
“If God heals me, I will continue to shout his name from the rooftops. But if God gives me ultimate healing, I get to be with the one I love most. Never forget Jefferson, either way, I win!”
I told Joshua who was eight years old that his grandmother was about to go to heaven. I asked him how he felt about that.
Wide-eyed, he answered, “Jealous.”
I want to end this sermon the way Tim Keller ended his book, “On Grief”:
“Grieve with hope; wake up and be at peace; laugh in the face of death and sing for joy at what’s coming. If Jesus Christ has you by the hand, you can sing.”
