Joy in Death
Series: On The Way to Joy: A Study in Philippians
02/03/08 | Tim Schaaf
John Newton:
How Tedious and Tasteless the Hours
When Jesus no longer I see
Sweet prospects, sweet birds and sweet flow'rs
Have all lost their sweetness to me;
The midsummer sun shines but dim
The fields strive in vain to look gay;
But when I am happy in Him
December's as pleasant as May.
His name yields the richest perfume,
And sweeter than music his voice.
His presence disperses my gloom.
And makes all within me rejoice.
I should, were he always thus nigh
Have nothing to wish or to fear;
No mortal so happy as I,
My summer would last all the year.
Content with beholding his face.
My all to his pleasure resigned.
No changes of season or place,
Would make any change in my mind.
While blessed with a sense of his love,
A palace a toy would appear;
And prisons would palaces prove,
If Jesus would dwell with me there.
Dear Lord, if indeed I am thine.
If thou art my sun and my song
Say, why do I languish and pine
And why are my winters so long?
O drive these dark clouds from my sky,
Thy soul-cheering presence restore;
Or take me to thee upon high,
Where winter and clouds are no more.
Steve Brown was moving from New England to Miami.
- It was cold and there were snow storms
- The roads were dark and dangerous
- He was going to miss his friends
- His daughters had been shipped to grandma's while they were packing.
- He was feeling lonely, cold and uncertain if he had made the right decision.
"Do you know what sustained me during those days? The people in Florida had written dozens of letters welcoming us to our new church. In these letters they wrote, "We can hardly wait until you guys are here." One man said, "The temperature is 80 degrees and I'm going fishing. The next time you'll go with me."
They sent pictures of sandy beaches and palm trees.
"You see, I was miserable, lonely, cold and afraid. But I know that if I could just hold out a little longer, I would be in the sun and fun of Miami. ...Heaven is like that. We live in a fallen world and sometimes things are so bad that we can't stand it. This world is not a wonderful place. So we long for something better. Our permanent home - Heaven."
Today we are going to talk about something everyone has in common. Death. There is a 1:1 ratio, everyone who lives dies. (Elisha and Enoch are statistical anomalies)
6,000 people die an hour. We never know when.
I'm 37 - Average life span of a white male in the US is 75.7
37 X 2 = 74
38 x 2 = 76
Soon Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will take the stage for the half-time show.
-none of us know how long we will live
-for any of us, it could be 1 more minute or 50 more years.
One day every one of us will die and the normal question preachers ask is "Are you ready?"
Looking at this text, I'd like to ask a different question. "Are you joyful as you face death?"
1. Paul's situation and perspective
We've been in Philippians for 3 weeks now, so many of us know Paul's story.
- He's been in jail for two years without a trial
- Charges against him are blasphemy, stirring up riots and opposing the Roman Empire.
- Rome was expanding
- Not just conquering different lands, but assimilating them into Rome
- Common creed - Caesar is Lord
- Caesar is the Son of God
- Paul was going from place to place saying, "Caesar isn't Lord, Jesus is."
- Jesus is the Son of God
- Citizenship in Rome is nothing...you can have citizenship in Heaven
- In the wake of this message there were bands of people who refused to bend the knee to Rome the way everyone else did.
- There were riots and unrest everywhere Paul went.
- He comes off a little bit like Bin Laden
- Two years without trial
- But if you thing Guantanamo Bay is bad, Roman prison was worse
- They wouldn't feed you unless someone paid the food bill
- Chained hand and foot 24/7
- No privacy
- No rights
- The people of Philippi were on Paul's team
- Epaphroditus, one of the leaders - maybe a deacon - was sent there with money to make sure Paul could eat
Paul would probably die.
When Stephen died, it was the beginning of a great persecution in the Jerusalem area.
Most expected that when Paul died the flood gates would open and Rome would systematically go through the places Paul had preached and kill everyone who refused to say the creed "Caesar is Lord."
In this context Paul has three thoughts to share.
1) He doesn't think he will die ... not yet.
Php 1:22-26 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! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25 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, 26 so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.
2) Its okay if he does die
v.23 I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.
3) In the face of death, be careful how you live!
v.27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ
(That's next week's sermon)
2. Preparing ourselves to die
Let me share five thoughts that will help us prepare to die, then one BIG THOUGHT that will give us joy in death.
Taken from Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology
1. Death is not a Punishment for Christians
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," Romans 8:1
2. Death is the Final Outcome of our Life in a Fallen World
3. Death is an Enemy that Jesus will Destroy
"The last enemy to be destroyed is death." (1 Corinthians 15:26, NIV)
4. Our Experience of Death Completes our Union with Jesus
"But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed." (1 Peter 4:13, NIV)
"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death," (Philippians 3:10, NIV)
"To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps." (1 Peter 2:21, NIV)
5. Obeying God is More Important than Preserving Our Lives
"He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose" -Jim Elliot
"Then Paul answered, "Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."" (Acts 21:13, NIV)
"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." (Acts 20:24, NIV)
Story - Paul in Lystra
"Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe. They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," they said." (Acts 14:19-22, NIV)
"For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (2 Timothy 4:6-7, NIV)
"Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection." (Hebrews 11:35, NIV)
3. BIG THROUGH for Joy In Death (there is no Fear of Death!)
Sins vs. "in sin"
Only two states "in sin" or "in Christ"
2 Co 5:16-21
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Rom 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus
When We Die, We Are Immediately With Jesus
"Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."" (Luke 23:43, NIV)
"We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord." (2 Corinthians 5:8, NIV)
4. Is This Real?
Video
To Live Is Christ, To Die Is Gain.
Conclusion
To live is Christ, to die is gain.
Jesus wants to be Lord not only of your eternity, but of your living and dying.
Communion = united with Christ in our life
United with Christ in his death
United in Christ in his resurrection