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Good Friday morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
Would you consider this statement… “When you are ready to die content, then you are ready to live with purpose and joy.” What do you think of that?
The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to his friends, the Christians, in Philippi in about the year 60ad, from Rome. He was under ‘house arrest’ (Acts 28:30,31) awaiting trial in Caesar’s court. He had liberty to receive visitors, and we can imagine there was a steady stream of people visiting him anxious to hear his explanation of what He was learning from Jesus. He wrote several letters during these two years and sent them to the churches he had started, back in what is today Turkey. Philippians is one of them.
What Paul didn’t know, was that his ‘house arrest’ would last about two years, and then he would actually be released for a time, until re-arrested and finally executed. So let’s put ourselves there in that little house with Paul. The Caesar is of course famous for rash, sudden, unexplained decisions. Paul knew any day a Roman soldier could open the door and drag Paul out to a trial and regardless of what was said or done, he could be found guilty of some crime against the Empire, and dragged to the execution dungeon.
Have you ever lived in that state of anxiety, unable to predict even the next 15 minutes? Fully at the mercy of someone you do not know? Christians, be they missionaries, business people, diplomats, or even tourists in some countries live in that state of uncertainty. It’s safe to say many thousands are incarcerated right now, all over the world, in that anxious uncertainty. But could it also be similar for many people with terminal medical diagnosis or those on the brink of financial collapse, or those whose marriages are nearly falling apart? Look closely at what Paul writes, it is powerful instruction for how to live this path of great uncertainty…
“I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help given me by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For me: to live is Christ and to die is gain.“
Now let’s pause there and really meditate on what Paul just said! Remember the statement I began today with, let me repeat it: “When you are ready to die content; then you are ready to live with purpose and joy.”
You can hear Paul’s contentment, even though in prison. His confidence that both his prayers and those of his friends were being received by God and the Holy Spirit was helping Paul not just survive in prison, but actually flourish there, as daily he continued doing that which was his passion, his priority ambition… teaching the truths of Jesus to anyone who would listen! His greatest desire was to maximize the potential of each day, and as he saw it, the best use of every day was pointing as many people as possible to Jesus.
You see he uses the word “deliverance”. That does not mean ‘escape’ or ‘release’ from prison. The prison was actually a miracle of God, for he was safe under Roman guard, he had enough food and drink each day to survive, he had many visitors every day, he had a scribe to write the letter he dictated, and of course he had time for conversation with Jesus and the Holy Spirit was continually teaching him! Now think about that friends.
Down through history God sometimes uses evil, violent leaders to advance His purposes on earth in remarkable ways. . .
Remember the Pharaoh who promoted Joseph to be Prime Minister of Egypt responsible for food management in the years of plenty and famine.
Or king Nebuchadnezzar who acknowledged that Daniel and his three friends worshiped the one true God and the king demanded that their God be respected throughout the empire (Daniel 2,3 4).
Or king Darius who declared Daniel’s God who protected him from the lions to be the one true God.
Or king Xerxes who heard queen Esther’s plea and permitted the Jews to defend themselves from wicked Haman’s plans for their annihilation and that day is still celebrated as Purim.
My friends, don’t ever assume God is out of the picture or unable to exercise His sovereignty even when a wicked leader or corrupt government is in control anywhere in the world, in any generation. Paul’s protected imprisonment is a wonderful example. Had he been running from place to place, or killed in the shipwreck, we wouldn’t have several of the books of the New Testament which Paul wrote, during his 2 years under the Caesar’s house arrest! Oh thank you God for your Sovereign, miraculous power which is always working Your great Purpose!
I just have to insert two powerful Old Testament truths here my friends…
Proverbs 19:21 “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose which prevails.”
Psalm 33:11 “The plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the Purposes of His heart through all generations.”
Now back to that powerful statement of Paul’s in Phil. 1:20,21. Please notice Paul’s determination to see Jesus Christ always honored and exalted in his life…even while in prison, or beaten, or shipwrecked, or awaiting execution! “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
We understand this perspective, right? Every additional day we are here on earth, is another day to live for God’s glory and be actively engaged in God accomplishing His purposes here. And the moment we die, we are immediately transported to heaven to be with Jesus. So that is the ultimate ‘win-win’, am I right?
So Paul continues… “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: 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. 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 joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.” (Phil. 1:22-26)
In my opinion, this is one of the greatest paragraphs in the Bible and one which calls me to serious contemplation of my life, my ambitions, my priorities, and what drives my contentment… how about you?
Please notice Paul’s clear statement “I desire to DEPART and be with Christ.” “departure” is a much better word than ‘die’ or ‘death’, isn’t it? We understand ‘departure‘… that’s what airports and train stations and even driveways are all about. We leave one place fully expecting we will soon arrive at our destination.
Death is exactly that for a Christian. Our soul & spirit leaves our body and will immediately arrive in God’s presence, heaven! Therefore, Paul anticipates it with joy! Do you and I?
May I give you that opening statement one more time… “When you are ready to die content; then you are ready to live with purpose and joy.” Now do we see that statement, powerfully lived out in Paul’s life here in Phil. 1:23? Because Paul was ready to die content, he was passionate about living with purpose and joy.
Do you see how Paul is able to focus on making every day count here, when he was confident of what was going to happen when the moment of his departure came! I love how he says “It is more necessary for you that I remain… I will continue with you for your progress and joy in the faith.” Now that, my friends, is life with purpose.
Is it possible, that God is saying to each of us today… “the only reason I’m leaving you alive on earth, is so the people whose lives you touch, will make spiritual progress, and find joy in their faith, and their relationship with Jesus will grow, and become more vibrant day after day.”
Now if you are over let’s say 80 years of age, and you might be wondering why God is allowing you keep living… here it is my friends, THIS is your purpose, your greatest value on earth!
May I add Psalm 71:17&18 to this, especially for you older friends who are on the ‘walking with Jesus’ journey with us… “Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare Your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me O God, till I declare Your power to the next generation, your majesty to all who are to come.”
Ok friends, so regardless of our age, if we are born again followers of Jesus, these words of Paul are for us today… they give us life purpose for everyday, and they help us know how to look forward to our ‘departure’ without anxiety, but actually with confident anticipation. Wow, I love these verses, and I hope you’ll really soak in them for a while today my friends. What if we all had Paul’s perspective on life and death?
Oh Lord Jesus… thank you for these great truths You gave us through Paul…
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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