A WIN, WIN SITUATION...
Philippians 1:21-27
April 23, 2000 –
INTRODUCTION
A. MAKE MISTAKES, HERE’S COUPLE.
1. Francie Davidson worked as a naval nurse when a young recruit was brought in with a severe injury.
a. he routinely prepped him for surgery and gave him a release form to complete. The young man anxiously questioned her about signing it. But she was emphatic about him doing so.
b. Finally he relented and she looked at the form again and realized it was a request for an autopsy.
2. One particular four-year-old prayed, “And forgive us our trash baskets as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets.”
B. SCRIPTURE SAYS THAT WE WERE MADE ALIVE IN CHRIST, OBVIOUSLY INDICATING WE ARE DEAD UNTIL WE COME TO THAT POINT.
1. Wish there were ways to produce that aliveness...we have tried to manufacture mechanically that aliveness, but it has to come from within every believer.
2. Christ aliveness should vividly affect our aliveness. Aye?
C. FROM THE BOOK, A STILL MORE EXCELLENT WAY, A YOUNG COUPLE HAS STRUGGLED MEAGERLY FOR YEARS AND FINALLY THE TIMID HUSBAND GETS UP ENOUGH COURAGE TO ONE DAY ASK FOR A RAISE.
1. he told his wife that on a particular Friday he was going to end the day by going into the bosses’ office and requesting a raise he felt was deserved.
2. Naturally he was nervous and apprehensive. Toward the end of the day he went into the bosses’ office and requested the raise and to his pleasant surprise the employer readily agreed to the raise and gave him a bonus as well.
3. When he arrived home he noticed the dining room table was set with the best dishes. There were candles burning. His wife had prepared a festive meal. He thought to himself, someone at the office must have tipped her off. He went into the kitchen, told her the good news they kissed and then sat down to a delicious and wonderful meal. Beside his plate was a beautifully lettered note, which read, “Congratulations, darling! I knew you’d get the raise. These things will tell you how much I love you.”
4. they enjoyed the meal together. When his wife got up to get the dessert he noticed a second card fell from her pocket. He bent over, picked it up and read, “Don’t worry about not getting the raise! You deserved it anyway! These things will tell l you how much I love you!”
D. EASTER IS LIKE THIS, IT GIVES US A WIN, WIN SITUATION! PAUL’S INCREDIBLE WRITINGS TO THE CHURCH AT PHILIPPI ARE PENNED IN CHAINS: 1:7,13,14,17!
1. To live is Christ, to die is gain is actually a statement of his predicament: to live would be to their benefit, to be executed would mean he would be with Christ. Vs. 1:21
2. The benefits of life, the benefits of death – a win, win situation. Vs 1:22-26
TO LIVE IS CHRIST!
Vs 1:21
A. ACTS 3:7-10
1. And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his angles were strengthened. And with a leap (the first act of healing) he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
2. And all the people saw him walking and praising God; and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened.
B. THE EMOTION OF EASTER
1. The finding of an empty tomb the message of Christ being alive, set the heart in motion
2. Seeing the Risen Christ elevated to the heart to places it had never been before.
C. IN A DENICE THE MENACE CARTOON, GINI, THE LITTLE ITALIAN GIRLS SAYS TO DENNIS.
1. “Pretend someone put ice down your shirt.” Dennis complies in animated motion.
2. “Now pretend that your shoes are on fire.” More wild motions on the part of Dennis. Finally Dennis asks, “What do you call this?”
3. She replies, “It’s disco dancing.”
D. PAUL IN CHAPTER ONE
1. His thankfulness and joy over the past
2. His joy with the present, in chains and still presenting the gospel
3. His joy of the future!
E. THE STRIKING WORDS, “TO LIVE, CHRIST” (CHRISTOS) “TO DIE, GAIN (KERDOS) EPITOMIZE PAUL’S LIFE SINCE DAMASCUS.
1. Once Paul was apprehended by Christ Jesus, Christ became the singular pursuit of his life.
a. Christ – crucified, exalted Lord, present by the Spirit, coming King.
b. Christ – the name that sums up for Paul the whole range of his new relationship to God: personal devotion, commitment, service, the gospel, ministry, communion, inspiration, everything.
2. Such singular focus does not make Paul otherwordly; rather, it gives heart and meaning to everything he is and does as a citizen of two worlds, his heavenly citizenship determining his earthly.
3. Thus if Paul is released as he expects, he will continue (now as always) in full pursuit of knowing Christ and making Him known.
4. Likewise, if he is executed, the goal of living has thus been reached; he will finally gain Christ. Paul understands kerdos (profit) that death is the ultimate gaining of his lifelong passion.
5. Death can only be gain when life itself has been Christ.
F. ZACHARY IS A SINGER, JUST BURSTS INTO SONG. PART OF HIS NATURE, BUT IT OUGHT TO BE PART OF OUR NATURE.
1. We can only express that which we are.
2. We can only gain that which we have lived.
THE BENEFITS OF LIFE AND DEATH
A win, win situation, vs 1:22-26
A. WHATEVER HAPPENS, IT DOESN’T EFFECT MY OUTLOOK.
1. Paul isn’t unrealistic about what the future holds, because in fact he could be staring into the face of death. Even that does not effect his outlook, in fact it enhances it, because he will be with Christ! He sees it as gain!
2. Do we see in Christ death gain? Do we see in our lives death as gain?
B. THE TWO WORDS PROGRESS AND JOY TOGETHER SUMMARIZE PAUL’S CONCERN FOR THE PHILIPPIANS IN HIS LETTER.
1. The first refers tot he quality or character of their life in Christ especially to their advancing, moving forward.
a. Progress made as their love for one another increases (1:10; 2:2)
b. The needs of others ahead of their own (2:3,4)
c. They do everything without arguing or complaining (2:14)
d. Focused on the Prize (3:14-21)
e. And this is why Paul writes in 2:12 to continue to work out their salvation with fear and trembling.
2. The second denotes the quality of their experience of it.
a. When progress is occurring then we will experience an overflowing; with Christ, with each other.
b. There is an ultimate fulfillment of life because of what we experience now and anticipate to come!
C. A COLLEGE STUDENT TOOK THE TWISTS AND TURNS OF LIFE INTO HIS OWN HANDS WHEN HE WROTE AN ADMISSIONS OFFICER AT A COLLEGE HE WANTED TO GO TO
1. He wrote, I am in receipt of your rejection of my application. As much as I would like to accommodate you, I find I cannot accept it. I have already received numerous rejections from other colleges and the number is quite in fact, over my limit.
2. Therefore, I must reject your rejection, and as much as this might inconvenience you, I expect to appear for classes on September 18.
D. WE KNOW THAT THE WORLD REJECTS US. WE KNOW THAT IT CANNOT PROVIDE ANY LEVEL OF PROGRESS TOWARD ETERNITY NOR THE JOY THAT ONLY OUR LIFE IN CHRIST CAN PROVIDE.
1. A man in chains writes that for him to live is Christ, what is our proclamation!
2. Today is the day of salvation, come to Him all you who are weary and heavy laden and He and He alone will give you rest.
CONCLUSION
A. THERE ONCE WAS A MAN NAMED GEORGE THOMAS, A PASTOR IN A SMALL NEW ENGLAND TOWN.
1. One Easter Sunday morning he came to the church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Several eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak. "I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me, swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the lad and asked, "What you got there son?"
2. "Just some old birds," came the reply.
3. "What are you gonna do with them?" I asked.
4. "Take ’em home and have fun with ’em. I’m gonna tease ’em and pull out their feathers to make ’em fight. I’m gonna have a real good time."
5. "But you’ll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do then?"
6. "Oh, I got some cats. They like birds. I’ll take ’em to them."
7. The pastor was silent for a moment. "How much do you want for those birds, son?"
8. "Huh??!!! Why, you don’t want them birds, mister. They’re just plain old field birds. They don’t sing-they ain’t even pretty!"
9. “How much?"
10. The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, "$10?"
11. The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten-dollar bill. He placed it in the boy’s hand. In a flash, the boy was gone.
12. The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage own, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars, persuaded the birds out, setting them free.
13. Well, that explained the empty bird cage on the pulpit, and then the pastor began to tell this story: One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. "Yes sir, I just caught the world full of people down there, set me a trap, used bait I knew they couldn’t resist. Got ’em all!"
14. "What are you going to do with them?" Jesus asked.
15. "Oh, I’m gonna have fun! I’m gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other, how to hate and abuse each other, how to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I’m really gonna have fun!"
16. "And what will you do when you get done with them?" Jesus asked.
17. "Oh, I’ll kill ’em."
18. "How much do you want for them?"
19. "Oh, you don’t want those people. They ain’t no good. Why, you take them and they’ll just hate you. They’ll spit on you, curse you and kill you! You don’t want those people!!"
20. "HOW MUCH?"
21. Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, "All your tears, all your life, and all your blood."
22. Jesus paid the price. He picked up the cage.... He opened the door.
B. RALPH WALDO EMERSON SAID, “ALL I HAVE SEEN TEACHES ME TO TRUST GOD FOR ALL I HAVE NOT SEEN!”
1. I hope you’ve seen enough
2. Life in Christ is a win, win situation
