“The Gain”
(Philippians 1:21-26)
Dr. Richard S. Koole
Chapel Pointe
June 29, 2008
I. Introduction
A. The “California funeral”
1. Call from Allen Brothers
a. My first funeral in California
2. Different
a. No viewings
b. No crowds
c. No graveside service
d. Me and the organist
*I never saw her!
3. California….where people live forever
a. Plastic surgery
b. Doing funerals at Forest Lawn
The late Hubert Eaton became a multi-millionaire by softening the hardness of death in the world’s most famous burying ground…Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. There the bodies of many movie stars and other famous people lie surrounded by rolling lawns sparkling fountains, and marble statues.
The famous mortician admitted he wanted “to erase all signs of mourning.” For him and his employees, death became “leave taking;” a corpse “the loved one” who was treated by skilled cosmetologists in a luxuriously furnished “slumber room.”
B. But…people do die
1. Can’t escape death and taxes
3. Undertakers I’ve gotten to know
a. One signed his letters “Eventually Yours”
4. 60 million die per year across the world
a. More than 2,000 will die while I preach this sermon
C. Death’s unanswered questions
1. Where will I be one second after I die?
2. Is there really life after death?
3. What is Heaven or Hell like?
4. …and why does the Bible say “to die is gain?”
D. Watching people die
1. The mature believer
a. A sense of excited anticipation
2. The unsaved
a. Gandhi (#996)
Some fifteen years before Gandhi’s death, he wrote: “I must tell you in all humility that Hinduism, as I know it, entirely satisfies my soul, fills my whole being, and I find a solace in the Bhagavad-Gita and Upanishads that I miss in the Sermon on the Mount.”
But as death drew closer, Gandhi wrote: “My days are numbered. I am not likely to live very long—perhaps a year or a little more. For the first time in 50 years I find myself in the slough of despond. All about me is darkness: I am praying for the light.”
E. Let’s look at a book that has some answers
II. Philippians 1:21-26
(21) For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (22) 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.
A. Paul’s conflict
1. Between life and death
2. He knew the advantages of dying
a. “To die is gain” (v. 21)
1. Rewards
2. His investments were there!
*not like our stock market
3. No longer a prisoner
4. No more suffering
b. “to be with Christ which is far better” (v.23)
1. “analusia”
b. “to break camp and leave”
2. Deer hunters
a. “time to break camp”
b. Home is “far better”
3. “to be with Christ”
a. Wherever Christ was—that’s where Paul was headed
3. Yet he realized their need
(24) “but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.”
a. Those who depended on Paul
1. Paul put their needs above his desires
b. As I faced my heart procedure
1. Never know if you’ll come out of the anesthesia
a. Waking up in Heaven
2. Yet I’ve got a family that needs me
a. My desire to stay and help family
3. When a father or mother faces death
a. Their concern is for those left behind
4. Paul knew his work wasn’t done yet
(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,
5. There was still work to do
a. “For your progress”…..v.25
1. (Greek)—“Blaze a trail for the army”
a. Paul led them
2. Are you a “trailblazer?”
a. Have already traveled the trail
b. Know where the danger lies
c. Know where the water and food is
d. Spiritual trail blazers
3. Like a tour guide
a. Leading people through Jerusalem
b. “I’ve already been there”
c. Know where the dangers lie
*out of “old Jerusalem” by dark
d. The Casino in Cairo, Egypt
e. The water
f. Johnny and the vendors
b. “for your progress and your joy in the faith”…v.25
1. Teach them joy…in the face of suffering
6. Paul never forgot the first time he saw a Christian die
a. He was there for the murder of a man named Stephen
C. The death of Stephen
1. A young Jew named Stephen preached Jesus Christ
a. Accused Jews of crucifying the Son of God
b. The mob flew into a rage
2. Stephen refused to stop or recant
3. Acts 7:54-8:1
(54) When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. (55) But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. (56) “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (57) At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, (58) dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. (59) While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” (60) Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. (1) And Saul was there, giving approval to his death.
4. In the early days of the church
a. Paul was still known as Saul
b. Persecutor of Christians
1. With great zeal
5. Paul never forgot what he saw
6. Stephen’s death gives us great insight into life after death
D. Your Life after Death
1. Believers in Christ need not fear death
a. Stephen
1. Saw his destination….Heaven
a. The dwelling place of God
b. Jesus on his right
2. Jesus was standing
a. To greet Stephen?
b. Other times Jesus is seen as seated
b. As a believer in Christ you have no reason to fear death
1. The start of eternity
2. “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
c. Why the mob stopped their ears
1. The truth burned
2. Hell awaited them
d. Why pastors avoid the topic of Hell
1. It makes people uncomfortable
2. “If we don’t talk about it…it may go away”
e. Christians should have no fear of death
2. There are some who are “lost in the church”
a. The book “Rescued”
1. Absolutely frightening
2. Impact on people who have read it
b. Pictures the “Great White Throne of Judgment “
1. Where sinners will be judged
2. Where the “Book of Life” will be checked
3. Where each individual’s deeds will be reviewed
4. Where there will be some real shocked people
c. Matthew 7:21-23
(21) Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (22) Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?” (23) Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”
d. Who are these people?
1. Fully expected to be admitted to heaven
2. These are the “lost in the church”
e. Church members brought before God
1. “Sorry, I never knew you”
f. Review of sins
1. “I was prepared to forgive all of them”
g. My sense of burden for each of you
1. “Be not many teachers for ours will be the greater judgment”
h. My commitment to God
1. I’ll teach it all
2. I don’t want any of you standing before God someday saying I didn’t warn you
i. You didn’t call me to make you feel good
1. The sad state of the American Church
2. I want to get my sheep to heaven!
3. If you want everybody to feel happy Sunday mornings?
*hire a clown!
j. Salvation
1. Repent of your sins
2. Ask Christ to be your savior and Lord
3. “Unconditional surrender”
4. A life consistent with your talk
3. Believers will see Christ the moment they die
a. As Stephen inched toward death
1. A young man named Saul…later known as Paul
2. Watched their robes
3. Saw how Christians died
a. Augustine attributes Saul’s conversion to Stephen’s example
b. Haunted by the memory
b. “Lord Jesus receive my spirit”….Acts 7:59
1. Didn’t worry about the body
(Lk 12:4)—“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do”
2. Receive a new body
a. Incorruptible
b. Eternal
c. Never age nor die
c. “He fell asleep”…..Acts 7:60
1. Died
d. Do we go straight to Heaven?
1. Jesus to the thief on the cross
“Today you will be with me in Paradise”
1. II. Cor. 5:6-8
6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
e. Stephen’s eyewitness account
1. Saw Jesus
2. (Acts 7:56)—“Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
f. Paul’s special vision
1. II Cor. 12:2-4
2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—4 how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter
g. That’s why Paul was able to say…
1. “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain”
2. He caught a glimpse of “the gain”
4. A good name is priceless in death
a. Ecclesiastes 7:1-2
(1) A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth. (2) It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.
b. The legacy we each leave
c. Filters down for generations
d. How will you be remembered?
e. Today you are writing your own obituary
5. A believer’s “death date” is far more glorious than their “birth date”
a. Ecclesiastes 7:1
(1) A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth.
b. What you got on the day you were born
1. Years of hard work ahead
c. What you’ll get on the day you die
1. An eternity of bliss
d. Our birth begins a life of uncertainty. There are sorrows, disappointments, pain, losses, broken lives, broken bodies, and broken homes. But our “death-date” marks the beginning of certainty. On this date, chiseled into the marble markers as our termination point, the believer leaves a life of struggle and uncertainty and enters a life of bliss and certainty…into the glorious presence of God
e. Psalm 23:6 “and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever”
6. Death is the destiny of every person
(Ecclesiastes 7:2) It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.
a. Some live longer than others…but all will die
b. We pretend it won’t happen to us
c. Its not “if” but rather “when” you will die
d. What are you doing to prepare for the certainty of death
7. The living should take this to heart
(2) It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.
a. What will happen to you the moment you die?
b. Is there life after death?
c. Is there a heaven and a hell?
d. What must you do to be saved?
e. Now is the time to get ready
f. Regardless of how young and healthy you are
1. Teens at NorthPointe Christian who died
8. The death of a believer is precious in the sight of God
a. Psalm 116:15…..“precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints”
b. The Lord’s view of death as “precious” is because He alone can see both sides…the full scope of life as we know it here, and also as He knows it beyond this dark veil we call death.
c. Romans 8:18 “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
9. The hope of every believer in heaven is that their loved ones will join them some day
a. What must happen when you arrive
b. The reunion
1. A godly mother waiting there for you
2. A child who died in infancy
3. A friend who died in a traffic accident
c. The hope of those in heaven is that you will join them
d. The promise of John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”