Title: Life or Death (Philippians 1:19-24)
Contents
(Wednesday, 20061227) Philippians 1:19-24
How are you spending your days these days? Last Sunday afternoon, we talked about joy that transcends circumstances. Joy that transcends circumstances is not an easy task. The environment creates fear. However, sincere Christians often have fears about what to do if they do not glorify God because of their circumstances, not worldly fears. But to be afraid of any fear does not seem to be an expression of faith.
Imprisoned in the infamous Roman prison, Paul must have always wanted to glorify God. He was imprisoned, but he wanted to glorify God. However, it seems that Paul also had fears at the same time. ‘Now, if I am judged here, what will be my end?’ ‘I don’t mind dying, but what if I hide the glory of the Lord?’
A story that was broadcast on the radio not long ago touched my heart. There was a certain old woman who was faithful. I have six children, but I am not living my life of faith properly. So, whenever he saw his children, he always said something like this. ‘You must believe in Jesus. You have to go to church and worship well. At least once a year, on Christmas Day, let the whole family gather to worship and have a meal together. But this grandmother passed away. He died right on Christmas Day. So, it is said that after that, all members of the family gather around Christmas time to worship and have a meal. Of course, I also had a good life of faith.
My grandmother always prayed while talking to her children, but when she passed away, that wish came true.
What does a truly sincere Christian worry about? I am worried about what to do if what I used to believe and say and boast about as God's will until now turns out to be disastrous. It would be really heartbreaking to think that God's name is being tarnished because of my circumstances or situation.
But there was one thing Paul was holding on to. God is the one who always saves. “..because I know how to bring it to my salvation” (19). This salvation can be “release from prison,” or it can be standing in glory before the Lord even if you die. But in retrospect, this salvation means that, whether released from prison or just dying, the Lord will keep you until the very end so that you are not ashamed or miserable, but glorified. We do not know the outcome, but there is one thing we are sure of: God will sustain us to the end.
What would we do in the same situation?
There are two disciples who have experienced almost similar despair. Judas Iscariot and Peter. Both were in a very serious spiritual crisis. But Judas Iscariot ended with suicide, and Peter survived and became a great spiritual leader. What separated their fate?
After Judas betrayed Jesus, he heard only the voice of his conscience. He felt guilty, but the guilt didn't save him. But Peter remembered the Lord's voice. It was a sign that the Lord knew Peter. “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has asked you to sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith will not fail. do” (Luke 22:31-32), he remembered that the Lord had prayed for him so much. I realized that the Lord did not leave Peter alone but supported him to the end. And through that faith, I was healed and restored to stand as a great spiritual leader.
Paul understands it too. Paul had experienced moment by moment that a force other than his own was holding him up. The confession in the Word confesses that I was able to live because of “the help of the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ” and “your supplication”. It is a confession that the Lord will sustain Paul to the end with the strength of the prayers of the Philippians.
Ladies and gentlemen, do you know that your prayers save the ministers? Please pray a lot of intercession for the ministers and for each other.
So Paul says it doesn't matter if we live or die. This expression “live or die” is not resignation or giving up. It means you are ready for any event. This is faith. It is leaving the decision-making power to God. Someone in the family is seriously ill. It is natural to pray for God to save you. And in prayer, you can be assured of healing. But what would the heart of the person who prayed be like if he could not overcome the disease? Wouldn't there be resentment towards God?
What is true faith in this case? Whatever it is, keep your heart open to God's decisions. Shouldn't we not force ourselves to God by offering only one way when we pray? You have to believe that God makes the best decisions.
When Paul said, ‘Live or die,’ he said, ‘Eh, I don’t know. It is not a giving up like ‘God will take care of it’. It means that your heart is ready to follow whatever decision God makes. I confess that I am ready to accept both possibilities. The two possibilities are to live and to die.
What really matters in life is not whether you live or die. Paul entrusted everything to the Lord, including life and death. The important thing is not whether I live or die, but how boldly and without shame I treat the Lord with dignity for the rest of my life.
“With all boldness, whether by life or by death, I want Christ to be glorified in my body.” Christians should cherish the body. You can glorify Christ with your body. Through everything that is revealed through my body, such as words, expressions, and actions, I can proudly reveal Christ.
What made Paul make such a confession? That must have been the glory of Christ he faced. It's in Acts 9. He went down to Damascus to uproot those who believed in Jesus by living and so on. I was going with the intention of eradicating Christians. He did not know Christ Jesus. Then suddenly a light brighter than the sun shone on him, Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me? He thought that eradicating Christians was a devotion to the God in which he believed and lived. But the master of heaven asked him why are you persecuting me? At that moment he saw the glory of Christ on the heavenly throne. And after that, his life changed. Those who persecuted the Lord became the preachers of the Lord. After that, the Lord took place in Paul's heart as an object of love and devotion, an object of worship.
Once I saw the Lord, everything else went into the background. After seeing the face of Christ, the glory of the Blessed One, everything in the world turned to the background. If we too can see the glory of the Lord with the eyes of faith even for a moment, the flame of love for the Lord will burn. Paul saw the Lord and has since been inevitably a prisoner of His love. I lived as a captive of the love of Christ He confesses, “The love of Christ compels me.”
We can see many people of this kind of faith.
The Apostle Paul is making the most beautiful confession. “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” To live is Christ, and to die is gain!
“If we live, we live for the Lord; if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s” (Romans 14:8).
The important thing for believers is not to do many things for the Lord, but to have our lives be led by the Lord. If you can receive the Lord's guidance even to the point of death, there is no such thing as such a blessing. But it is the Lord's promise to everyone.
Paul's life thus far has been extraordinary. It was possible because the Lord drove his life. Powers and miracles were revealed through him. “Even when people took a handkerchief or aprons from Paul’s body and placed them on the sick, the disease went away and the demons went out” (Acts 19:12).
But what about now? Paul is imprisoned and stuck. This is what Paul was thinking at that time. It is that the Lord is driving his life now, just as when his power was revealed with a handkerchief. He thinks that if the Lord permits death here, it will be a more glorious death than any life in the world.
Thinking like this makes me want to die. It would be much better to die. Paul had already experienced the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:16). It can't be so good to think about being there with the Lord after you die. Nothing compares to being in prison. That is why (21) confesses, “To die is gain.”
But Paul says he wants to live again. Verse 22 says we have a clear reason to live! You must reap “the fruit of your work.” Even if they are in prison, it is their duty to care for and nurture the Philippians who care about them. It is also worth living enough for the progress and joy of your faith.
Of course, living and dying is not something I want to do, nor should I do it my way. So, what Paul confesses is that if God allows us to live, we will nurture and care for the church and participate in saving lost souls by sharing the gospel.
Paul said, ‘It doesn’t matter if you live or die. Because whether I live or die, I am with the Lord.’ That is why we need to “be completely courageous so that Christ may be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.”
Paul says I am caught between them (23). This is to think between the two. Come to think of it, death in Christ is like leaving, starting. The cross is another beginning. he confesses “I die every day”
But something brought him back into this world. These are the Philippians. The reason he has to live is because of the Philippian church he loves. It is the Philippians who benefit from Paul's living.
Gentlemen, the reason we are alive is for our brothers. We live for the benefit of each other. I earnestly pray that you will be able to build up the body of Christ whether you live or die.