The Most Fruitful Statement
in the Bible!
Little girl sitting in Grandfather’s lap. She would
reach up and feel the face of of her grandfather and then she would feel her
own face. Finally she asked, “Pawpaw,
you said God made you , didn’t you?” He replied, “Yes!” She asked , “and
you said God made me, didn’t you?” Again he answered , “Yes” One more time she felt of his face then her own. She said, “Well God sure is doing better work these
days, isn’t He?”
It is easier to judge others than to judge ourselves. On a scale of 1 to
10, with 1 being you never consider the spiritual ramifications of the
decisions you make and 10 being you approach every decision with prayer seeking
God’s guidance. How would you rate the strength of your spiritual life?
In a single verse, Paul sums up his spiritual life.
As we consider this verse, let us reflect on our own
lives and determine where we stand in light of this statement by Paul.
Philippians 1:21 “For
to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
I.
THERE ARE DECISIONS TO BE MADE
Philippians 1:21 “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
a. “For to me…”
b. Each of us must make the
decision for ourselves.
c.
Only
YOU can determine your response to this question.
d. Your
parents can’t answer for you… nor your spouse nor your pastor… nor anyone else!
Joshua:
Joshua 24:15 “If it is
disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom
you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond
the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for
me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
Who will you choose to follow?... Jehovah;… the Chaldaean gods worshipped
by their ancestors;... the gods of the Egyptians; or …the gods of the Amorites among
whom they dwelt.
Make your choice between these, said Joshua, if you are dissatisfied
With Jehovah. But could there be any reasonable choice between these gods and
Jehovah? “but for me and my house…”
Jesus:
John 14:31 “but so
that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father
commanded Me…”
Philippians 2:5-8 “Have
this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He
existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be
grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made
in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself
by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Paul:
e. Saul trying to earn his way to Heaven through works …
f. Paul’s pedigree is found in Philippians 3:4-9
g. Each person must decide to receive Christ as their Savior!
John 3:36 “He
who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will
not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
h. Eternal life is through faith in Christ.
John 14:6 Jesus said
to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father
but through Me.
i. But wait there is more!
j. After accepting Christ, a Christian must also decide to live for Christ.
k. This is where “(sin) synthetic polyester” Christians mess up!
l. Christ is to be the center of all we are
and all we hope to be.
m.
Polyester
Christians look like the real thing but they have no substance, no depth to
their Christian Walk. The first flame of temptation or trial comes their way
and they go up in a bright flash of light!
Romans 12:1-2 Therefore I
urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and
holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good
and acceptable and perfect.
When the explorer, Cortez, landed in Mexico with his
500 men, he did a wise thing; he burned the ships. His men realized that they
must be committed to staying and to succeeding here because there was no
turning back. Too many people try to receive Christ as “Fire Insurance” to be
safe from Hell. But they never really make Christ the Lord of their lives!
II.
THERE IS A DENIAL TO BE MADE
Philippians 1:21 “For
to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
a. Just as Jesus denied His equality to God and humbled Himself to
obedience even to death, to give life to all who would believe, we must deny our own selves and let
Christ live through us.
Luke 9:23-24 And He was
saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself,
and take up his cross daily and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life
will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will
save it.
John 12:24-25 “Truly,
truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it
remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. “He who loves his life
loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.
Galatians 2:20a
“I have been crucified with Christ…
b. The way this is written indicates the present effect of a past action:
c. “I was crucified with Christ [at the time he was crucified] with the
present result that I am now still crucified.”
d. …and it is no longer I who live…lit. “and I live no more.”
e. The “I” here is the old man, Paul’s old
ego; such had been crucified with Christ.
f. …but Christ lives in me…in the place of Paul’s old life, Christ
lives in Paul.
g. Paul was saying, “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who
lives in me” (RSV).
WE MUST DENY THOSE THINGS THAT SOCIETY WANTS TO DO
THAT ARE COUNTER TO WHAT WE BELIEVE AS CHRISTIANS!
New American Commentary, … "To
deny oneself is not to do without something or even many things. It is not
asceticism, nor self-rejection or self-hatred, nor is it even the disowning of
particular sins. It is
to renounce the self as the dominant element in life. It is to replace the self with God-in-Christ
as the object of affections. It is to place the divine will before
self-will".
III.
THERE IS DEVOTION TO BE MADE
Philippians 1:21 “For
to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
a. My life is to be devoted to Christ,
b. Galatians 2:20b “…and the life which I
now live…
c. the Christian life,
d. now lived by the new “I,” the new
regenerated self.
e. the flesh…referring to his human existence or to his body.
f. I live by faith in the Son of God...i.e.,
Paul lived by Christ’s life and by the faith Christ gave him.
g. who loved me and gave Himself up [to death] for me [on my
behalf]…referring to Christ’s death on the cross.
h. The love which motivated that giving is
the link which united Paul with Christ.
i. The death of Jesus was not merely an act of violence, or an accident
which took place in history, but rather self-sacrifice on behalf of all
sinners.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded
this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that
they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and
rose again on their behalf.”
Mark 10:45 “For even
the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a
ransom for many.”
We make this choice because of what Jesus did for us
on the cross!
Philippians2:3-5 “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility
of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely
look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,”
Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to
present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is
your spiritual service of worship”
Matthew 5:16 “Let your
light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and
glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
Scripture says they "devoted themselves"
it means they were steadfast or single minded in purpose or desire. They wanted
it and they were going after it, so to speak.
In 2008 Sanya Richards-Ross
competed in the 400 Meter in Beijing. She
started the race strong and built a substantial lead before locking up on the
home stretch. She finished third for the Bronze. This year she competed and won the gold medal in the 400 Meter
in London with a time of 49.55 seconds. Four
years, Sanya Richards-Ross waited. Four years she waited with the hunger pangs
of unfinished business and the sense of an uncompleted mission. When they introduced her before the 400 meters in London, she
blew a kiss to the camera, went out and got the gold medal she had worked
tirelessly for since Beijing.
Just as Sanya Richards-Ross was devoted to her
pursuit of Olympic Gold... those early Christians modeled devotion to Christ
and the process of becoming Christian. They were intentional and disciplined
about the process of becoming devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
IV.
THERE IS DEDICATION TO BE MADE
Philippians 1:21 “For
to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
a. To say “For to me to live is Christ,” takes dedicated practice.
Philippians 4:9 The
things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things,
and the God of peace will be with you.
b. I must dedicate myself to prayer.
I Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything
give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
c. I must dedicate myself to Bible reading and study.
Hebrews 5:14 “But solid
food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to
discern good and evil.”
d. I must dedicate myself to walking in the Spirit.
Revelation 22:11b
“…and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the
one who is holy, still keep himself holy.”
Colossians 1:10-13 “…so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to
please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in
the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious
might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving
thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the
saints in Light.”
e. As I practice, I must depend on the Lord’s help.
Romans 15:18a “For I will not
presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me…”
John 15:5 “I am the
vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much
fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
Philippians 4:13 “I
can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
I remember as a child living in San Antonio. Our
parents were looking to buy a house. As a family we went house hunting. I
remember us looking at a house that the front yard was landscaped. As part of
the landscape there was a small tree (bush) that had oranges on it. In making
the decision to purchase that house our parents asked what we thought. I
thought it would be great because I wanted oranges from the orange tree. … After
we moved in I found out that the oranges were plastic and not real. … It was an
ornamental orange tree. (It never would produce fruit) … some “Christians” are
just ornamental … they never produce fruit.
It takes dedication to produce fruit!
V.
THERE IS DESTINY AHEAD
Philippians 1:21 “For
to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
“...and to die is
gain.” See Philippians 1:23.
a. Paul looked forward to departing and being with Christ.
b. We have that same hope of being with Him when this life is over.
2 Timothy 4:7-8 I
have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;
in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the
Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me,
but also to all who have loved His appearing.
Destiny is not a matter of chance,
it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to
be achieved."
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