HOW TO BE A CHRISTIAN AND STILL ENJOY LIFE
HOW TO DETERMINE GOD’S WILL FOR YOUR LIFE
Sunday April 27, 2008
Scripture Reference: Philippians 1:22-26
Intro.
A. [] I know this is kind of a scary thought but if someone were standing before you today with a loaded gun and asked you, “Which do you want to live or to die?” What do you think your answer would be? Unless you are suicidal I am pretty sure your answer would be, “I want to live!” In fact you might even get down on your knees and beg them to let you live. Isn’t it true that if we were to ask this question of someone and they responded by saying that they wanted to die. We would think they were crazy or that they might need psychological help, right?
1. We have been noting in the last several messages here in Philippians that Paul seems to be somewhat preoccupied with the subject of death. For whatever reason he feels that his death might not be to far away.
2. For most of us the choice or decision between living or dying is not all that difficult. In fact I think most people fear death and for some the very word brings terror to their hearts. You know it is really not all that difficult to understand these fears. If my life is all about my job, earning a living, accumulating possessions, saving for retirement and looking forward to enjoying those years then I have every reason to fear death. As we learned a few weeks ago death means the loss of all those things. If I am living for power, for position, for fame in this life then death is a terrible thing because death will take that all away from me. A few weeks ago we watched that little video where we were reminded that our lives will boil down to the dash between two dates. I have yet to see a tombstone with PhD’s listed on it or other accomplishments in life that we hold so dear.
3. I believe that one of the biggest reasons we fear death is because there is so much unknown about death. When I officiate for funeral services I often talk about this factor. Even for all the talk about these so called “near death” experiences no one has yet to go beyond the grave and tell us what death is really like. In fact most of these stories we hear have to do with “feelings” people had rather than any thing concrete or substantive. There were bight lights or warm feelings or for some if was dark and cold.
a) Let me add a little side note here if you will. Paul admonished us in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. I have stood beside many, many people over the last 23 years of ministry and watched people grieve who have no hope. Who as we learned a few weeks ago in V.21 see death as nothing but a total loss. Now I want you to see that Paul did not say, “Don’t grieve” or “Don’t cry”. What he said is that we should not grieve as those who have no hope beyond this life. Do you want to know why Christians should not fear death? Why we should not grieve like those who have not hope? The reason we should be able to face death with confidence and assurance is because we DO know what lies beyond the grave! Yes we do not know what heaven will be like in it’s fullest detail, bet what we do know is that it will be more wonderful than we are able to imagine. Here is what the bible says about heaven, 1 Corinthians 2:9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”
B. I have talked about lot in this series about the need to die, which I know sound strange especially in light of the fact that the series is entitled, “How To Be A Christian And Still Enjoy Life” but we have also noted that our lives as Christians is a paradox to the rest of the world. We are as Paul told Titus, “peculiar” people. We are taught in the bible that if we want to really live we first have to die. We are also taught that if we really want to love our fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers then first we have to hate them. We are even told that in order to become rich we have to give everything away. It is little wonder that Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that the way that leads to life is a narrow way. That is why I believe there is no such thing as a “casual Christian”. This life of faith requires too much concentration to be anything less than totally dedicated and surrendered to God.
1. I think that one of the biggest questions Christians are often faced with is this, “What Is God’s Will For My Life?” There are things that I want to do, things that are certainly not wrong, bad or evil, but are they God’s will for my life? If we go back to V.9-10 (read) and we want to know what is God’s BEST for us not simply what is OK, GOOD, or ALRIGHT. How do I determine this, How do I know what God’s will is for me? I am pretty sure that I will not be able to answer this question fully today but I do believe that Paul gives us some help in the process of determining God’s will for our lives. I see two things in these verses that Paul does that I feel are necessary in our determining God’s will for our lives. They are #1 Exploring our desires and #2 Determining our responsibilities. Let’s explore these two things for a few minutes this morning.
I. BEGIN BY EXPLORING YOUR DESIRES.
Let’s begin here by considering the desires that Paul had.
A. What Were Paul’s Desires?
1. Before I show you what I think Paul’s desires were I think it is very important to note here that even though as we saw in Galatians 2:20 that Paul said he died to himself that did not mean that Paul had become some mindless automaton. When we die out to Christ it does not mean that we no longer have human emotions and desires. Let’s look at Galatians 2:20 again, My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Notice that Paul said that even though his old self died he was still living in this earthly body and as such he still faced temptations, he still had personal desires and ambitions. The difference was as we will talk more about later was his willingness to surrender his desires to God. He was willing to put God’s will above his one desires.
2. Notice in V.23 that Paul said, “I’m torn between two desires..” What were those two desires? Well they were the ones we talked about in the beginning of this message; they were the desires to live and to die. Now notice what Paul’s greatest desire was, I long to go and be with Christ,.. In other words Paul said, “My greatest desire is to die.” Wait a minute Paul it sounds to me like you have a mental problem. We better see about getting you checked into a mental health facility, right? Isn’t that how we would treat someone like Paul today? I can’t help but think back to what I said in my last sermon about how things are so upside down in today’s world, even in today’s church. Paul is still a fairly young man so he should not be talking about a desire to die, correct? Because talk like that is crazy, right?
3. Now we know of course that Paul is not thinking here of a desire to kill himself. He is not thinking about shooting himself or cutting his wrests. He is not living with such great depression that death looks inviting. In fact Paul is finding great joy in his life in spite of all the difficulties he faces. He just knows that the possibility of imminent death is a reality and if it were to happen he is totally OK with it because he knows that death is not the end, but the beginning.
4. The word Paul used here that is translated “go” is a word rich in meaning. It had several different uses in Paul’s day. One use of this word had to do with sailing. It meant for a ship to be untied from its moorings so that it could sail on to another destination. What a great word picture for the Christian. Paul said “I desire to set sail for heaven.” Another use of this word had to do with a prisoner being set free. For the times Paul spent in jail and the fact that he was in jail now as he writes these words he certainly understood what this meant. Here are a few biblical references to what Paul was saying here. Romans 8:23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children.. 1 Corinthians 15:44,53 They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. Another meaning of this word had to do with farming and it meant taking the yoke off the oxen after it was done plowing. I am sure that Paul had done just what Jesus told is in Matthew 11:28-30 when he said, Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Paul had certainly been carrying the burden of Christ as he cared for the people of these various churches he started and he desired to have the burden removed. Here is what he said in 2 Corinthians 11:29 Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches. The other usage of this word is the one I love the most, it has a military context. It was a word the military used for breaking camp and moving to a new location. When the soldiers would leave they took down they tents. What is a tent? It is a place of temporary residence. I know that some of you enjoy camping. You enjoy planning a vacation when you get to go off to the mountains or the beach and camp out in your tents. By the way this is NOT my wife’s idea of a vacation. I think that would be her idea of torture. Now for those of you who enjoy camping it may be great for a week or maybe two but I sincerely doubt that you want to spend you life living in a tent. After a week or two you want to break camp and go home, right? Well that is exactly what Paul was talking about here when he said he wanted to go. Paul said I am done camping out I want to go home. Here is how Paul viewed this 2 Corinthians 5:1-4 For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.2 We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing.3 For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. 4 While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life.
5. Now I want you to think with me for a minute about why Paul desired to go. I am sure that Paul could have said the same things we would say for why we want to go to heaven. We are tired of this earthly life. We are tied of all the burdens we carry. We are tired of all the temptations face. We are tied of trying to make ends meet; we would just love to be debt free right? These are certainly all legitimate reasons for wanting to break camp and head for home but these were not the reasons Paul wanted to go. His desire was to be with Christ. As much as these relationship meant to him that he had with the Philippian church and the other churches he started what he longed for most was to see Christ.
a) If you will allow me I want to add one more side note here because I think that what Paul says here answers a question that I am often asked. That question is, “What happens after we die?” “Do we sit in the grave decomposing or do we go into the presence of God?” The bible refers to death in several places as “sleep”. I believe that this “sleep” refers to the sleep of our bodies and not the sleep of our spirits or souls. When we die our bodies “sleep” they cease to exist, they are immobile like in physical sleep. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:8 Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. The bible does not indicate to us any sort of waiting period for us after we die before we see the Lord. It does talk about a later resurrection of the body when these earthly bodies will be glorified. ** Now this takes me back to something I said as we began today. Part of the reason we as Christians can look death square in the face without fear is because we are confident of what lies beyond the grave. For us there may be some unknowns but what we do know if enough and that is that we will be with out Lord!
Trans. Let me say one more thing here before I move on to the last point of this message.
B. What Are Your “True” Desires?
1. Notice I highlighted the word “true”. We might as well be honest with God about our desires because He already knows what they are. It is not sinful for us to have desires. Paul said I want to leave this earthly life of mine and go be with Jesus. Was that sinful, was that wrong? NO, but it was what he really felt. I believe that when we are honest with God about our true desires it is then that we are able to lay these things before him and ask Him to help us evaluate whether or not what we desire is also what He desires for us.
Trans. Now I have spent a lot of time on this one point so I will have to be a little brief in sharing this final point but let me give to you what I see as another way we can discern God’s will for our lives.
II. DETERMINE WHAT YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES ARE.
As I explore these words of Paul I see that he expresses his desire. He shares with us the thing that he would really like to do but then he begins to think about what his responsibilities are.
A. What Are My Responsibilities To God?
1. Folks this is where it all begins or nothing makes any sense at least from a Christian point of view. The Great Commandment that we have talked about over and over again is, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” It is and must always be God First or we are deceiving ourselves by calling ourselves Christians. Listen to what Paul said over and over again to the various churches he wrote to. Romans 1:1 This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus,.. Philippians 1:1 This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus. Titus 1:1 This letter is from Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. Now what is the position of a slave? Does a slave tell his master what things he will and will not do? NO! The slave is at the total control of the master. As slaves of Christ we are not masters of our own domain, we have no domain! Paul understood his responsibility as we saw in V.21. For him living meant living for Christ. That meant that even thought he did have certain desires, certain things that he would really prefer those were all deferred to Christ. For Paul as it ought to be for us as well, living life to it’s fullest means obedience to Christ. Remember what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 You do not belong to yourself,20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. That means he is always asking that question, “What would Jesus do?” *And if you will remember Paul IS doing what Jesus would do. Do you remember what Jesus did the night he was put on trial before his crucifixion? In the Garden of Gethsemane he prayed, ..“My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Here is the bottom line of our responsibility to God. One word, SUBMISSION.
Trans. Now as Paul understood his responsibility to God he also understood his responsibility to others.
B. What Are My responsibilities To Others?
1. If my responsibility to God is submission then what I see Paul saying my responsibility to others is SERVICE. I love what Paul says in V. 24-25 (read). He acknowledges that going to be with Jesus is better by far than staying behind in this world full of all its heartaches and sorrows, but his passion for Christ (as I might add it always should) translates into a passion to serve others. Again “What would Jesus do?” Here is what Jesus said, For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45 [] The week I was preparing this message I was asked to pray the invocation for the San Bernardino County Board Of Supervisors meeting. The lady in the supervisors called me to get sort a bio that they share when they introduce me. I told her I had been the pastor of Cornerstone for 12 years, that I was a police chaplain, and a member of the board of directors for the YMCA. She questioned if that was all I wanted and I said I thought it was enough, and then she told me how brief mine was compared to so many others she gets. As I thought about that her comments what occurred to me was that “I am a servant not a celebrity.” Sure I have other achievements that I could have listed for her but my purpose at that meeting was to magnify Christ though a brief prayer that I was to pray not to magnify Sheldon. If it takes longer to introduce me because of all my accomplishments than it does to pray the invocation there is definitely something wrong.
2. Now there is so much I could say here but I have already made this sermon longer than I should so let me close with these thoughts. When Paul said in V.25 that he wanted to help the Philippians to “grow” he used the same word he used in V.12 when he said that the things that had happened to him had served to spread the Good News. If you remember that word literally means “to pioneer”. It means to cut through all the brush and trees and blaze new trails. ** What I find so exciting about this is that Paul it telling them that he is looking forward to helping them discover new heights of joy in their walk with Christ. ** Friends, this is what I am about as your pastor. This is one of the reasons I love to preach (and probably why I preach so long). I want to help you grow in your faith and to experience this enjoyable life in Christ. This is why I chose the title for this series. I sincerely believe that a major reason we do not find joy in our Christian lives is because we are not single minded as Paul was. I say this again, Yes Paul had wants, he had personal desires but he knew that God’s will for his life would bring him much more joy than pursuing those things he wanted.
OUR NEXT STEP:
A. You know I think that I am going to sound like a terribly broken record but I cannot get away from this key thought. To live a life of joy and to know God’s will for your life begins with total surrender. We will never really know God’s will for our lives when the only will that matters is ours. Now this is not to say that our will or our desires don’t matter or that we can’t have them. We have already seen that Paul had them. The difference between us and Paul it whether or not we will we are willing to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
