SERMON  NOTES: 11/16/08

Note: To send a comment or question about this sermon, click on pastormichel@bellsouth.net

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

It Should Come As No Surprise

INTRODUCTION:  If you jump off a cliff on the coast of Mexico, it should come as no surprise  that you are going to fall into the water.  If you spend more than you earn, it should come as no surprise   that you will end up with a personal financial crisis.  If you eat too much, it should come as no surprise   that you are going to get – large.  We could go on and list more, but the point is actions have their consequences.

            Likewise, if you see heavy dark clouds, it should come as no surprise   that there is going to be a rainstorm.  When banks and mortgage institutions lend money to people who can’t afford to pay it back, it should come as no surprise   that the financial bubble is going to burst.  And when we see certain things happening in our world, it should come as no surprise that some believers, like your pastor, will be talking about the end times   and Jesus’ return.  There are signs that tell us what is coming,   what might happen next.

            Our Scripture today talks a bit about both signs and consequences:   

1 Thessalonians 5 ¹I don’t need to write you about the time or date when all this will happen. ² You surely know that the Lord’s return will be as a thief coming at night. ³ People will think they are safe and secure.  But destruction will suddenly strike them like the pains of a woman about to give birth. And they won’t escape.  ⁴ My dear friends, you don’t live in darkness, and so that day won’t surprise you like a thief. ⁵ You belong to the light and live in the day.  We don’t live in the night or belong to the dark.   ⁶ Others may sleep, but we should stay awake and be alert.  ⁷ People sleep during the night, and some even get drunk. ⁸ But we belong to the day.  So we must stay sober and let our faith and love be like a suit of armor.  Our firm hope that we will be saved is our helmet.  ⁹ God doesn’t intend to punish us, but to have our Lord Jesus Christ save us. ¹⁰ Christ died for us, so that we could live with him, whether we are alive or dead when he comes. ¹¹ That’s why you must encourage and help each other, just as you are already doing.^[1] 

I.          First, there are signs of the coming of the day of the Lord.  This passage sort of assumes that those hearing this message already know them; Paul writes, “I don’t need to write you about the time or date when all this will happen.”  And I don’t want to spend a lot of time talking about signs of the times, but let me just give a few.   The re-establishment of the nation of Israel is a biggie!  Many end time prophecies require there to be a nation of Israel – including those in Jeremiah, Zephaniah, and Daniel to name a few.   Then there are the signs mentioned by Jesus: false christs and false prophets (come to Pauline’s class tonight to learn more about this), wars and rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, tribulation,   and the proclamation of the Gospel to the whole world.   Paul talks about the godlessness of the last days and the great apostasy, or falling away.   From other Scriptures we know that there will be a rapid increase in knowledge and travel, the possibility for a nation to raise a 200 million man army, and somehow, when the Antichrist comes, there has to be a way for him to mark those who worship him so they can buy and sell.  

            But there is a sign that our Scripture today mentions which I think is particularly critical.    Paul says, “People will think they are safe and secure.”  The end of days will come when people are least expecting it.  Paul uses the picture of a thief in the night.  Those who are not watching for it, those who are not prepared for it, will be taken by surprise.  They will be shocked – “How could such a thing happen?  Everything was going so well!”  I was struck by one story I heard after the recent election.  A pregnant woman, to avoid having to stand in line for a long time, sent her husband to the polls to wait in line for her – he was to call when he got close and she could join him.  You can already see where this story is going – of course, she went into labor.  But rather than rushing to the hospital, she rushed to the polling place to get her vote cast first![2]  She didn’t expect labor right then – things were going so well.

            Or consider the example of the sinking of the Titanic.  The passengers, even the crew, were sailing along in comfort and security, after all, the ship was unsinkable!  Then disaster struck – how could it happen, everything was going so well.  So it will be in the last days.  People will feel prosperous, they will think the world is at peace, and their attitude will be that all is right with the world.  Then comes the shock of Christ’s return.

            But Christ’s return will be “like a thief” only because it is unexpected.   The world will be taken off guard only because they will never be on guard in the first place.  Because people are not watching for the return of Christ, because they don’t know the signs, because they are oblivious to the Word of God, they will be surprised!

II.        Our Scripture today talks not only about signs, but also about consequences.  Paul says, “Destruction will suddenly strike them,” and “they won’t escape,” and he certainly more than implies that they are destined for the wrath of God, for judgment, and punishment.   

            Shakespeare said, "The evil that men do lives after them" (Julius Caesar, III, ii, 80).[3]  Psalm 99:8 says, “Our Lord and our God, you answered their prayers and forgave their sins, but when they did wrong, You punished them.” (CEV)

            Pastor James McCormick says, “From the beginning to the end, the Bible insists that we are living in a morally dependable world.  Our choices are not a matter of indifference because something important is at stake when we are deciding how to live our lives.  That’s the way it is because that’s the way God has created the world to be. … If we do it right, there are usually positive consequences.  If we do it wrong, there are negative consequences.”[4]  In other words, if I may go back to my stewardship sermon last week, “What you sow you shall reap.”

            We are often frustrated that people get away with all sorts of things in this world, that they don’t have to face the consequences.  But I like something I read recently.  A number of years ago, a judge named Horace Gray was forced to free a guilty man because of a legal technicality.  As he prepared to release the man, Judge Gray said to him, "I know you are guilty and so do you.  I wish you to remember that you will someday pass before a better and wiser Judge, where you will be dealt with according to justice and not according to human law."[5]

            God is a merciful God, but He is also a just God, and the demands of justice will be met when Christ returns.   Our world has tried to turn God into some wimpy being of no character, but the truth is He is judge, and He will judge.   That may not be what people want to hear, but it is God’s own truth.

III.       Having said all that, however, there is something that has to be said about those of us who are in Christ.  Unlike the world which refuses to see, we can see the signs.   After all, we’ve been warned to watch for them.   The Bible spells out what is going to happen in the end times.  Jesus, Paul, John, the prophets, all give us glimpses of the world of the last days.  We are given a sneak peak at the time of Jesus’ return, so we should not be caught unawares.  Like the students who are told exactly what pages in the book they will be tested on, we have no excuse, no cause to say, “I didn’t know.”  We can be ready for the end of days, we have all the answers, and all we have to do is learn them.

            In addition to that, our relationship with Christ changes the consequences – we are not destined for wrath, for God’s punishment, like those who have rejected the merciful grace of God.  Rather we are destined for salvation in Jesus, our Savior.  This is because in Christ we are forgiven.   Judgment is coming, but to those who have confessed and repented of their sins and turned to Jesus, the judgment against us has already been met.  Jesus is the atonement for our sins.  He has made reparation for our sins. 

            Both our foreknowledge and our forgiveness are, of course, dependent on our relationship with Jesus.  But once we are in that relationship with Him there is a qualitative difference between us and those who have rejected Christ, and a difference between who we are in Christ and who we were before He came into our lives.  Paul describes it this way: “My dear friends, you don’t live in darkness….  You belong to the light and live in the day.  We don’t live in the night or belong to the dark….    But we belong to the day.”  The Gospel of John says that Jesus Christ is “the light of all people … [which] shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”  As believers in Jesus, we are to live in the light of Christ,   reflect the light of His love to others, and bear witness to the fact that He is the true light.

            Some of you may have heard about a group of churches that are in favor of the ordination of self-avowed, practicing homosexuals who call themselves “More Light” churches, as if they could have more light than that which God has already given in Jesus.  Perhaps those of us who believe we should hold to Biblical morality should refer to ourselves as “True Light” churches.  You see, it is like a wonderful song a Christian rock group called Whitecross   performed several years ago entitled “In the Kingdom.”  The chorus said:

We're alive, we are strong
We're a nation, we belong
Let us all stand together in the Kingdom
No more darkness, no more night
We are children of the light

Let us all work together in the kingdom[6]

This is a description of what the church of Jesus Christ is supposed to be – not a people living in the darkness of sin and trying to justify our sinful actions, but a people who are united by obedience to the true light in whom they live.

CONCLUSION:  Paul says, “Christ died for us, so that we could live with him, whether we are alive or dead when he comes.  That’s why you must encourage and help each other, just as you are already doing.”  It is possible that some of us sitting in this sanctuary will still be alive when Christ returns.  On the other hand, it is probably that some of us will die before that great and glorious day.  But whether we live or die we can be confident about two things:

            Christ will come again.   Many think that because He is delayed, that means He is not going to return.  Others think that because Jesus doesn’t come back and end all the evil, God doesn’t care.  But we need to understand that what we see as delay is in reality the mercy of God played out on the stage of the universe.  God is giving every person possible every chance possible to come to Him.  But whether it is sooner or later, Jesus is coming back.

            And whether we live or die, we can also be assured that we will live with Christ for all eternity.   This is why Christ died, so that we might have life.  This is why Christ died, so that we might be reconciled to God. 

            And while we await the day that “Christ shall come or take me home”[7] we are to encourage and comfort and help one another.   Here in this congregation we talk about being the family of Faith, and that is what we are supposed to be.  Family loves one another – even if at time we don’t like each other too much!  Family does not leave anyone behind.  Family lifts one another up.  Family encourages and augments one another’s gifts. 

            It should come as no surprise that there are consequences to our actions – we certainly see them often enough.  It should come as no surprise that Jesus is coming back – the Bible certainly tells us that often enough.  And it should come as no surprise that we should take care of one another, for we are brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior. 

We're alive, we are strong
We're a nation, we belong
Let us all stand together in the Kingdom
No more darkness, no more night
We are children of the light

Let us all work together in the kingdom

In the kingdom.  

SERMON  NOTES: 11/2/08

Note: To send a comment or question about this sermon, click on pastormichel@bellsouth.net

Joshua 24:14-18

What Do We Owe the Lord?

INTRODUCTION:  This is pre-stewardship Sunday.  Next week you are asked to bring your pledge cards and My Ministry forms to worship so that we may dedicate them to the Lord.  So this week you get the obligatory stewardship sermon.  And while I have never objected to preaching on stewardship, this year I am going to take a little different tack on the subject.

            I want us to start by considering just exactly what God has done for us.  Best to begin at the beginning, I suppose.  God created.  God created the heavens and the earth, the sun, the moon, and the stars, the plants and the animals.  And God created man and woman.  But don’t get the idea that this creation is just some generalized, pre-historical event – that God started the ball rolling and then turned His back on the process.  God is still creating.  He created you – and me – each of us, individually and lovingly, He knit us together in our mothers’ wombs. 

            God saves.  These beautiful creatures that God made in His own image, both men and women, continually rebel against God.  And though we are God-created, we are too weak to deal with the problem of our rebellion, our sin, on our own.  So where there was no way, God made a Way – and His name is Jesus.  God sent His only begotten Son, who is of the same nature and essence as God, to pay the price for sin that we cannot.  So Jesus died on a cross, satisfied the blood debt that we owed, made atonement for our transgressions, and opened the door that separated us from God and shut us out of eternal life.

            God recreates.  Yes, He made us, but the fact that He is our Maker does not prepare us to meet our Maker.  We must, in Jesus’ own words, be born anew.  When we accept the saving work of the Lord Jesus, then we open our hearts to the transforming presence of the Holy Spirit.  And God the Spirit goes to work on these spoiled vessels and remakes them more closely into His image.  God changes us to be not the people we were, not even the people we would like to be, but the people He intends us to be.

            God provides.  God knows we have needs.  He knows that without food, without water, without air, without protection from the elements, we will die.  God knows that without others to love us and to love we will wither up inside and become emotional zombies.  God knows that we need purposeful work to occupy us and pleasurable leisure to rest us.  And every good and pleasant gift, even the ones we don’t think we need, comes from His generous and loving hand.

            God fellowships with us.  He is present with us when we worship and when we pray.  He is with us every moment of every day.  He carries us when we are too weak to go on and walks beside us in those moments when we are living up to our potential.  He sits at table with us in this sacrament that we celebrate today and shares His very body and blood with us.

            God inspires.  He gives us the strength to carry on in the face of trouble and suffering and persecution.  He leads us to His Word to teach us His will.  He fills our hearts with praise and reminds us of those who need our prayers and help.  He calls us to love Him, to follow Him, and to serve Him.

            All of this and more comes from God.  And we ought to be thankful.  We ought to show our gratitude.  We ought to be falling all over ourselves to show Him our appreciation.  But this morning I want us to suggest that we also ought to be going beyond gratitude.  We ought to be asking ourselves, “What do we owe the Lord?”  God has done so incredibly much for me that I am eternally indebted to Him.  I want to make every effort to do what I can never actually do, which is to repay the Lord for all His kindness and goodness to me.  This is, I think, the meaning of stewardship: to take all that God has given us, and we have nothing except what God has given us, and use it in ways that express our indebtedness to Him.  Now this means some very concrete and down-to-earth things. 

I.          It means we will give God our money.  Now I am sure that you have heard people say, “God doesn’t need your money,” and in one sense that is true.  But the church does need your money, because God has chosen to work in this world through the church.  Without your financial support the church cannot pay salaries – that would mean no bulletin in front of you, no music to guide your singing, no leadership for the choir, no profound or inspiring and all-too-short sermons to brighten your Sunday.  Without your money given to the church there would be no Bibles to give to our children and youth, no Sunday school material to teach them about Jesus, no air conditioned classrooms for them to come to.  Without your monetary gifts there  would be no place for you to worship, no plates to eat your potlucks on, no paper towels to dry your hands, and no toilet paper – well, you get the idea. 

            We always say that stewardship is not just about money.  But it is PARTLY about money.  You need to give to the church, even give sacrificially.  You need to invest your treasure into the ministry of this congregation, for, as Jesus said, “Where a man’s treasure is, there will his heart be also.”  And oddly enough, even though the church often struggles to make ends meet – we are not getting any part of the government’s $700 billion bail-out – I think that the financial giving is really the easiest part of stewardship.  For many of us it is often easier to “just” give our money than it is to give some of the other things we owe the Lord.

II.        In light of our indebtedness to the Lord, we owe Him more than our money – we owe Him our time and talent.  We hear it said that time is our most precious commodity.  A commercial for some allergy medicine calls it time in a bottle because it works faster.  We are encouraged to give time to our families, especially to our children.  Well, since God created time and gives us whatever time we have, we should give some of that time back to Him.  Assuming that one gets 8 hours sleep a night – and I don’t know anyone who does that very regularly – we are left with 112 waking hours per week.  If all you do is attend worship, you are giving just about 1% of your waking time to the Lord (and that assumes you stay away during the sermon).  Now the Bible tells us to tithe, that is, give 10% of our money, but I will leave it to you to consider how much of your time you should be giving to your Lord and God.

            In addition, everybody has talents.  There may be things that you can do that no one else in the church is able to do – then you need to be doing that.  Or your talent may be something that must be done along side of other believers – then you need to join with them.  But the point is, once again your talents are a gift from God, and there is a portion of them that is His due!  Don’t plan to volunteer next year.  Don’t say you will do that task or offer that service next month.  Grab the plow by the handle and get to work now.  Let that light shine now.  Give expression to your music now.  Make the commitment now.  It is God’s time to return a portion of God’s gifting to you – do it now!

III.       What do we owe the Lord?  Certainly we owe Him a portion of all He has given us – time, talent, and money.  But what I really want to talk about this morning is something that goes beyond all that.  In the book of Joshua, that worthy man of God describes what God has done for His people – how God chose them, delivered them, prospered them, and gave them victory.  Then Joshua challenges them to “revere the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and faithfulness; put away [false] gods…, [and] choose [Him]….”  Then he says to the gathered people of Israel, “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”  Then the people affirm what they owe to the Lord who brought them out of Egypt, and they also proclaim (even under penalty of death if they forsake their promise), “We will serve the Lord.”

            Brothers and sisters, this goes way beyond giving some portion of our income or our time or even our talents to the Lord.  This is about giving our hearts, minds, and wills to God.  Some of you may remember an old song that Billie Holiday sang.  In 1984 it became the title and theme song of a Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin film: “All of me, why not take all of me, Can't you see I'm no good without you…; You took the part that once was my heart, So why not take all of me.”[1]  Guess what?  That is what we owe the Lord.  That is what God wants from us – all.  All that we are, all that we believe.  He wants our spiritual lives, our personal lives, business lives, our recreational lives, our economic lives, and even our political lives.

            Our faith, our relationship with God the Father and His Son, Jesus, is not something that we should stick into a compartment labeled “Sunday Morning.”  Jesus said that the first and greatest commandment is, “You shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.”[2]  In other words, what we owe to the Lord is simply put – everything.

            Stewardship, then, is not just about the tithe of our money that we give to the Lord’s work; it’s about how we use all of our money.  It is not just about how we commit a portion of our time to help out at the church; it’s about how we spend all our time.  It is not just about the talents that we use in the choir or the Sunday school or maintaining the property and buildings; it’s about what we do with our whole life.  Everywhere we go, everything we do, every action we take, every decision we make belongs to the Lord God whom we say that we serve. 

            This understanding of the true meaning of stewardship is particularly significant right now because we, as Christians, do not have the freedom to “spend” our vote however we see fit.  When we walk into that polling booth, we are to cast our vote according to God’s standards and God’s agenda.  We must vote the issues in accordance with God’s Word.  Perhaps this video will help to explain what I mean.

                                                Go to: www.ValueVotersUSA.com to see the video

            This election you can literally vote for traditional marriage.  This election and every election you can vote for life and speak for the 50 million children that have been aborted since 1973.  This election you can vote your feelings or you can vote for the standards of God.  If we truly understand stewardship, then we will understand that our vote is one more thing that we can and must dedicate to the Lord. 

CONCLUSION:  I would like to close with a paraphrase of that Billie Holiday song, which could well become our theme song for this and every stewardship campaign.  We can each ask ourselves the musical question: All of me, why not give all of me, Can't I see I'm no good without Him…; I gave Him the part that once was my heart, So why not give all of me.

SERMON  NOTES: 10/5/08

Note: To send a comment or question about this sermon, click on pastormichel@bellsouth.net

Junk Or Treasure

INTRODUCTION:  We have heard it said that one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.  Many of us have collections – and let’s be honest, we collect the strangest things!  When Marge and I were putting the sermon title on the sign this week, she commented that this would make a great name for our Church Yard Sale!  I imagine that we have many and varied opinions about what our junk is and what our treasure is.  But that is not the subject of my sermon today.  Listen to what the Word of God has to say about junk and treasure in our lives.

PHILIPPIANS 3:7-14 (NLT)

              3 ⁷ I once thought all these things were so very important, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. ⁸ Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ ⁹ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own goodness or my ability to obey God’s law, but I trust Christ to save me. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. ¹⁰ As a result, I can really know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I can learn what it means to suffer with him, sharing in his death, ¹¹ so that, somehow, I can experience the resurrection from the dead!   ¹² I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. ¹³ No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.^[1]

I.          You may not always realize it, but human beings, including you and me, tend to mistake junk for treasure, and treasure for junk.   An old story comes to us from Alexander the Great's conquest of the Persian Empire.  In that conquest Alexander's soldiers overran the palace of Darius the king.  Looking for things to steal, one soldier came upon a leather bag containing the crown jewels of Persia.  The stones were worth millions.  However, the ignorant soldier dumped them on a rubbish heap, saving only the leather bag.  He ran around the camp telling the other men about the marvelous bag he'd found to carry his food.[2] 

            We may marvel and shake our heads at such a story, but are we so different in our spiritual search?  We count so many things as being treasure   – position, prestige, wealth, reputation, appearances – that we fail to see that we have thrown what is precious about the faith   on the garbage heap.  Of course, it isn’t surprising that we should do so, for we are only reflecting the values of our society.

            Malcolm Muggeridge once commented that he was driving one night into the town of Athens, Ohio, population of about 3,500, when he saw four brightly colored signs standing out of the darkness on the highway.  They advertised "gas," "health," "beauty," and "food" in that order.[3]  Well, in some parts of the country right now, gas is certainly the top priority for many people.  And a high percentage of Americans list “energy independence” as the number one issue in the upcoming election, with “health care” and “high food costs” close behind.  But I can’t help but wonder – If we are primarily focused on "gas," "health," "beauty," and "food", are we going to miss the deeper things of faith, morality, and service?

II.        Paul shares with us an intimate look at his life – just prior to the passage we read this morning, he describes his birth, upbringing, background, and position in the community.  Then he says that all that, all these advantages of family and position, are just so much junk when he sets them next to his life in Christ Jesus his Lord.  All the stuff we envy, all the stuff we long for, all the stuff that we tend to think of as so important is not only worthless, but garbage, because it is an impediment to our faith.

            I am told that in the jungles of South East Asia the locals have a special way to capture monkeys for sale and export.  They will drill a small hole in a coconut and drop in a shiny marble.  Then they attach the coconut to a tree with a strong rope.  The curious monkey comes along, looks in the hole and sees the marble.    He reaches in, grabs the marble, but finds that with his fist closed around the marble, he can’t get his hand back out again.    But he will not let go of the marble!

            All the things we tend to think of as “advantages” in life are just so many shiny marbles that we grasp hold of.   But as long as we hold on to them, we will never be able to win free to the new life in Christ.  And it is not that those pretty marbles are without attraction and even value in the world’s sense.  It is just that when we look at what they are and can offer to us and who Christ is and what He can offer, they become insignificant.  Jesus taught that the kingdom of God is like a pearl of great price,   that when a jewelry dealer found it he went out and sold all his other less valuable jewels,   so that he could purchase that one item of surpassing value.  Jesus is the kingdom of God.  Jesus is the pearl of great price.    All that we value becomes insignificant, even irrelevant, when we compare it to what God has offered us in Jesus.

III.       When we get our priorities straight, when we put Christ first in our lives and hold on to Him as the treasure above all treasures, it has a positive impact on us that others can actually see.  It changes us.    And remember that I have already said that those other things we cling to are not without value, they just can’t compare to the value of Jesus in our lives.

            A miserable looking woman recognized English preacher and evangelist, F. B. Meyer, on a train and ventured to share her burden with him.  For years she had cared for a crippled daughter who brought great joy to her life.  She made tea for her each morning, then left for work, knowing that in the evening the daughter would be there when she arrived home.  But the daughter had died, and the grieving mother was alone and miserable.  Home was not “home” anymore.  Meyer gave her wise counsel. “When you get home and put the key in the door,” he said, “say aloud, ‘Jesus, I know You are here!’ and be ready to greet Him directly when you open the door.  And as you light the fire tell Him what has happened during the day; if anybody has been kind, tell Him; if anybody has been unkind, tell Him, just as you would have told your daughter.  At night stretch out your hand in the darkness and say, ‘Jesus, I know You are here!’”  

            Some months later, Meyer was back in that neighborhood and met the woman again, but he did not recognize her.  Her face radiated joy instead of announcing misery.  “I did as you told me,” she said, “and it has made all the difference in my life, and now I feel I know Him.”[4]

            This is the prize, the goal, which Paul says we are to press on toward.  The goal is the joy and peace and glory of being in a faithful relationship with Jesus our Savior.   The goal is to walk with Him day by day, to draw closer to Him, be more like Him, and serve Him with our whole hearts.

CONCLUSION:  The actor, James Cagney, grew up in a poverty-stricken neighborhood where desperate men would do just about anything to make a few bucks.  Some of the tougher men in Cagney's neighborhood turned to boxing as a way out.  Cagney, however, in addition to his acting was also something of an artist and once painted a picture of an old boxer, a man whose body is scarred and whose mind is destroyed by repeated beatings.  He titled the painting "The Victor: Chronic Progressive Fibrotic Encephalopathy," which is the term for brain damage caused by repeated blows to the head.  As Cagney says, it is a picture of "the winner who loses everything."[5]

            We need to understand that it is not wise to do just anything to find a way out of our perceived circumstances.  Rather we need to follow the Way out – we need to follow Jesus.  All those advantages that we see as being the source or proof of our self esteem, ultimately they will leave us beaten and broken.  They simply are not the way.    Only Jesus is the Way.    Only Jesus can satisfy our deepest desires.    Only Jesus can save us from our sins.    Only Jesus can grant us eternal life.    Only Jesus is worthy to be called our treasure.    Only Jesus. 

 In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

 No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.[6] 

SERMON  NOTES: 9/21/08

Note: To send a comment or question about this sermon, click on pastormichel@bellsouth.net

Philippians 1:21-30

Live or Die?

INTRODUCTION:  On the latest TV dramas, don’t be surprised to find someone calling the police or 911 and saying, “This is a matter of life or death.”  When we read the news magazines, we often find reporters referring to specific events or decisions as “life or death” issues.  When we look at the world around us we see hurricanes, earthquakes, financial collapse, invasion, terrorism, train wrecks, plane crashes, so many terrible things happening in our world, and every one of them is a matter of life and death.   

            So many things are matters of life or death.  Several years ago I watched a TV documentary on the sinking of the Titanic.  In it they showed a computer simulation that suggested that had that great ship turned 10 seconds earlier, it would have missed the iceberg entirely.  Had it turned 10 seconds later, it would have hit the iceberg head on – exactly the type of collision the ship was designed to survive.  But turning exactly when it did, it hit the iceberg at a shallow angle creating the one type of damage that was fatal for the luxury liner.[1]  Just ten seconds, but they were a matter of life or death.

            In all the life and death issues of our world, our first concern is always will we live or will we die?  Let’s face it – we want to live!   I am reminded of an old barbershop quartet piece entitled, “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven, But Nobody Wants to Die.”  People will hang on to life at all costs.  We not only seek to avoid death, but as a society we pretty much try to deny it, push it aside, pretend it doesn’t exist.  Society is not just life oriented, it is life obsessed.  Extreme sports, thrill seg for the gusto.” 

            But the thing about our Scripture this morning is that it actually flies in the face of the social norms, and even goes against what most of us think and feel about the issue of life and death.  You see, for the Bible, and for the Christian,   the question is not so much whether we live or die,   but rather how we live or die.

I.          Paul makes it clear that for the believer to live is Christ.  That means that our lives are not to be about thrills or extravagance or even gusto.  Our lives are not to be about ourselves.  Our lives are about being in relationship with Jesus and serving Him.  That and that alone is what gives purpose to our lives.

            Allan Bloom wrote a best-selling book, The Closing of the American Mind.  In it, he observed that many American college students are reluctant to hold any opinions.  After all, people who thought that they were right in the past did terrible things as a result.  Therefore, this line of thinking concludes it is best to have no opinions at all.[2]  The problem with that attitude is that it creates a moral vacuum, where nothing is right and nothing is really wrong.  People who believe this see no ultimate purpose in life.  It’s like this cryptic message that was placed on a bulletin board: "This life is a test.  It is only a test.  Had it been an actual life you would have received further instructions on where to go and what to do!"  Or as a graffitist put on a subway wall: "Life is one contradiction after another;" underneath which another had written: "No, it's not."[3] 

            For all too many,   life is without meaning.  But we ought to know better.  We ought to understand that “to live is Christ.”  First that means we serve Christ.   Paul says, “If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me … for your progress and joy in faith.”  For Paul, living meant serving Christ for the welfare of other believers.  That is what living is about – doing the tasks to which God has called us in Christ, whatever those tasks might be. 

            “To live is Christ”   also means that we honor Christ.  We do this by doing what is right.  “Live your life in a manner that is worthy of the gospel of Christ,” Paul tells the Philippians.  He explains that this consists of standing firm for God’s Word, being united in purpose, working together for the proclamation of the gospel, having courage in the face of opposition, and even suffering for the faith.  If we do the right thing, we honor our Lord who said, “If you love Me, obey my commandments.”

            “To live is Christ”   means that we will also worship Christ.  This is the “joy in faith” and even the “boasting in Christ Jesus” that Paul talks about.  God created us to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever.[4]  God created us to worship Him, and God in the flesh is Jesus, so to worship Him is really our primary purpose in life.  Worship is where we are most intimately in relationship with Jesus.

            To give meaning to our lives, to fully live life, to have the abundant life Jesus promised, means to live in Christ – serving, honoring, and worshiping Him.

II.        Of course, Paul doesn’t stop with “to live is Christ.”  He continues on to say that   “To die is gain.”  Many people cling very tightly to life.  They refuse to let go of it, and hold onto a shred of life beyond all reasonable expectations.   But that is not the way for believers.  There was an old man, lying in the bed in the back bedroom, surrounded by his wife, daughter, and his four granddaughters.  His breath was coming slowly, almost in sighs, and the time between the sighs was stretching to longer and longer periods.  Finally, when the silence had stretched to an unbearable length, the youngest granddaughter threw herself on the bed and cried, "Oh, Grandpa, Grandpa.  Don't leave us," and then she began to cry loudly.  Her grandfather slowly moved his hand to pat her arm, then took a deep breath and said, "Let me go.  It's peaceful there."[5]  
            But “to die is gain” means so much more than just a peaceful end after the struggles of life.  If what we sought and desired was only an end to suffering, then 1) the comfortable would have no need of Christ, and 2) we could all be Buddhist, desiring only the cessation of existence.  But we are Christians, and Paul sums up very succinctly what death means for us, “My desire is to depart (that is, to die) and be with Christ, for this is far better….” 

            “To die is gain” means that we realize that if we die, we get to be with Jesus!   Have you ever seen one of those contests where if you are the winner you get to spend the day with some sports star or Hollywood celebrity?  Well, when we die in Christ, we get to spend all eternity with Jesus.  How cool is that?!

            “To die is gain” means that those who die in Christ will be transformed   spiritually into people who are wholly righteous and physically into the likeness of Christ (1 John 3:2).  Our relationship with God will deepen and be perfected   (1 Corinthians 13:12).  And we get to continue to serve, honor, and worship Christ, and are even promised that we will reign with Him   (Revelation 20:6, 22:3,5).

            There is so much for us on the other side of the grave, which is nothing more than a doorway through which the Christian passes from this life.  But our gain in death is dependent on our faithfulness in life to Christ.  John Bacon, once a famous sculptor, left this inscription on his tomb in Westminster Abbey: “What I was as an artist seemed of some importance to me while I lived; but what I was as a believer in Jesus Christ is the only thing of importance to me now.”[6]

III.       What is the meaning of life?  For many that is an unanswered question.  It reminds me of something the late novelist Ayn Rand once said.  After captivating an audience at Yale University, she was asked by a reporter, "What's wrong with the modern world?"  Without a moment's hesitation she made her reply.  "Never before," she said, "has the world been so desperately asking for answers to crucial questions, and never before has the world been so frantically committed to the idea that no answers are possible.  To paraphrase the Bible, the modern attitude is, ‘Father, forgive us, for we know not what we're doing, AND PLEASE DON'T TELL US!'"[7]

            But for the believer, the question is not without an answer.  For the meaning of life, and of death for that matter, is Jesus.   Amy Carmichael, the missionary and great Christian woman, was once visited by a woman who told her, during the course of the conversation, that her doctor had warned her, "Don't ever bend over suddenly.  If you do," said the doctor, "you might die on the spot."  Amy gave a cute reply: "However do you resist the temptation?"  Now Amy was not being entirely facetious.  She said this during the later years in her life, when her body was growing frailer, though her spirit became more triumphant.  Whether she lived or died was not the point.  Either way she would be with Christ.  Either way she would be victorious.[8]

            If survival is all you are looking for, don't waste time with Jesus.   But if you want life that is pressed down, heaped up and running over,   then there is only one place such a life can be found.  That is in Christ.  No wonder Paul could anticipate a fullness of life whether here or with Christ.  He had discovered the source of real happiness, the source of real meaning, the source of real power.  The meaning of life and death is Jesus.

CONCLUSION:  Paul tells the Philippians, “For [God] has graciously granted you the privilege … of believing in Christ….”  The privilege of believing in Christ.   How many of us think of our faith in that way?  How many of us recognize that only in Christ can we live lives of service and meaning?  How many of us can say, with Paul, that to die is gain?  If we can just get over the attitude that life is about us and death will somehow deprive the world of – well – us, then we can indeed enjoy the privilege of believing in Christ.  And then we will no longer need to worry about choosing life or death, for in either we will experience the victory, the joy, and the peace that is found only in Jesus.