Here's my text this morning from
Philippians chapter 1 verse 21. The Apostle Paul wrote, to me
to live is Christ and to die is gain. Now here's a question
for all of us. What is life to you? What is
life to you? Well to some, life is in this
flesh. They strive to work with this
body of flesh to exercise and gain good health and get good
looks and wear good clothes, but one cannot stop the aging
process. It goes on. For it's appointed
unto men what's to die, and after that, the judgment. To some people,
life is all in the flesh, and to others, life is the accumulation
of things, that is, wealth, houses, land. Someone asked a rich man
one day, what does it take to make a man really happy? And
his reply was this, more, more, and more. But my friends, We
brought nothing into this world, and we shall carry nothing out. Naked I came from my mother's
womb, and naked I shall return. And then for some, what is life?
Well, life is flesh. Pleasure, entertainment, fun,
fame, that's life to them. But you know what Solomon said?
It is good. It is good for a man to eat and
to drink and to enjoy the good of his labor and the good of
his work which God has given him. But all these things, remember,
are the gift of God. The gift of God. Well, the Apostle
Paul answers this question for all of us. What is your life?
What is your life? And this is what he said, To
live is Christ. To me, to live is Christ. You know why? Because Christ
is the giver of life. Christ is the giver of life.
John said in John 10, My sheep hear my voice. They follow me. And I give them, I give them
eternal life. and they shall never perish.
Yes, Christ is the giver of life, and Christ is the sum and substance
of this new life. In Christ our life has a purpose,
a purpose, for all things work together for good to them who
love God, to them who are called according to his purpose. In
Christ our life has a purpose, And in Christ our life has peace. Therefore, being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And in Christ our life not only
has a purpose and has peace, but in Christ our life has joy. We worship God in the Spirit
and we rejoice in God our Savior. And in Christ Our life has a
good hope, not only of purpose and peace and joy, but in Christ
we have a good hope, a good hope of eternal life, because Christ
in you is the hope of glory. Christ in you, that's the hope
of glory. Paul wrote to the Colossians,
since we heard of your faith in Christ, and the love which
you have to all the saints and for the hope which is laid up
for you in heaven because Christ is our resurrection and our life. Our Lord said to Martha, Martha,
I am the resurrection. I am the life. he that liveth
and believeth in me will never die believest thou this I am
the resurrection and the life in Christ our life has a good
hope a good hope now here's the second part of our text Paul
said for me to live is Christ and then he says listen to me
to die is gain to die is gain what is it to die? Well, Paul
said, to me, to me, it will be a release from this frail body
and it to receive a perfect body like unto our Lord Jesus Christ. To die will not only be a release
from this frail body, but to die will be a release from limited
knowledge and to receive a perfect mind, a good mind. to know even as I am also known. Oh, to die is release from this
frail body, a release from limited knowledge, and then to die is
a release from all trials, all trials in this flesh, and to
be perfectly conformed to the image of our Lord Jesus Christ. You know what believers say?
If it is the will of God for me to live, I will live. If it's in the will of God for
me to live, I will live, and I'll be content to live like
now. And it's not mine to choose,
this is the will of my Lord. And when it's the will of God
for me to die, I will rejoice, and I'll be glad, I'll be glad. To me, to live, is Christ. And for me to die is gain. That's right. That'll be gain. Blessed are the dead who die
in the Lord. The Apostle Paul said, really,
really, I am in a strait between the two. I have a desire to depart. I have a desire to depart and
be with Christ, which is far, far better. Now listen, listen
to me. To die is to lose this old flesh
and awake in the likeness of Jesus Christ. To die is gain. To die is to lay aside all pain,
all disease, and gain health, holiness, and happiness. To die,
my friends, is to lose all doubts, all fears, all ignorance, and
to know, and to know Him even as we have been known, to die. You know what our Lord said about
dying? God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, no more sorrow,
no more crying, no more pain, No more night, no more darkness,
no more weariness for the former things. the former things are
passed away. To me, to live is Christ, and
to die is gain. Blessed are the dead who die
in the Lord, because I have a desire to depart and leave this old
flesh, and lay aside all pain, disease, and death, and to lose
all doubts, fears, and ignorance, and to wake in the likeness of
our Lord Jesus Christ. For our Lord said, Blessed, blessed
are the dead who die in the Lord, because, behold, I make all things
new. Death is not loss. It's not loss. To die is gain. Now I'm going
to answer that question. How is death gain? How is it
gained? Well, in death we lose this sinful
body and we gain a perfect body, a body made in the likeness conformity
to the Lord Jesus Christ. How is death gained? Well, in
death I lose my place on earth. but I gain a place prepared for
me by Christ. Our Lord said, I go to prepare
a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again and receive you unto myself. How is death
gained? Well, in death we lose. What do we lose? We lose for
temporarily our family and friends, but soon we'll be joined forever
with them. in glory, never to say goodbye
again. And actually, we welcome the
loss of these things, the loss of this simple body. We lose
that. And actually, I'm glad, I'm glad,
I'm glad, because we shall inherit all things. Because God said,
behold, I make all things new. I heard a voice from heaven,
John wrote, I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, write, blessed,
blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. Yea, saith the Spirit
of God, that they may rest from their labors, and their works
do follow them. Yes sir, in Christ we live. And to die is gain. Blessed are
the dead who die in the Lord. One of the old writers wrote
a beautiful, beautiful word about dying. And I want to give it
to you as I close this morning. One of these old writers had
written about God's children who believe and endorse, blessed
are the dead who die in the Lord. To me to live is Christ and to
die is gain. Now here's what he had to say.
My friends, it is not death to die, to leave this weary road,
but with our family, the family of God, to be at home with God. It is not death to close our
eyes, long dimmed and hurt by tears, and wake and glorious
repose to spend eternal years. It is not death to die. It is not death to bear the pain
that will set us free, that would be good, from dungeon chains
and to breathe the life of perfect liberty. It is not death to fling
aside this sinful body of dust and rise on angels' wings to
live among the just. Lord Jesus, Thou Prince of Life,
Thy chosen ones cannot die. To Thee they went over all the
strife, and they reign with Thee on high. Yes, sir, what is life? Well, to some it's living in
this flesh. To some it's an accumulation
of things. To some, it's pleasure, excitement,
and all these other fame and fortune. But to the Apostle Paul,
what is your life? He said, Christ is the giver
of life. And that giver of life, our Lord
Jesus Christ, gives us life on purpose, in peace, in joy, and
with a good hope. For since we heard of your faith
in Christ, and the love which you have to all the believers,
and for the hope which is laid up in heaven, Jesus Christ, Jesus
Christ is the resurrection and the life. And he said to Martha,
Martha, I am the resurrection, I am the life. For me to live
is Christ and to die is gain. I hope this message will be a
blessing to you and you'll join us again next Sunday morning
at this same time. Until then, I bid you a very
pleasant good day.