EVER READY!

Philippians 1:20-26

INTRODUCTION: When we are born there are two things we all must face: those two things are life and death. We all face times in our lives when we think we may be pushing hard towards death: Luke 12:20. A question that should come to your mind in those times is: “Am I ready?” If you are in a right relationship with your Lord Jesus Christ the answer should always be “Always ready!” The apostle Paul wrote the book of Philippians while sitting in a Roman jail not knowing from day to day if one of those days would be his last. Philippians 1:18. How could the apostle Paul be so full of joy? How could he say that? Because he also said: Philippians 1:20. Paul said: “My life is Christ!” Jesus Christ was the very center of what the apostle Paul was living for. Philippians 1:21: If your life is Christ then dying is gain for you. “If to live is Christ then to die is gain!”

      I.   LIVE IN THE PERSONAL PRESENCE OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR!

      Let me ask: Can you honestly say today Philippians 1:21 and mean it? If the gospel is true and Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died on the cross to pay for our sins and came back from the dead and is the King of kings and Lord of lords, then yes, Jesus alone is worthy of us living for Him. In fact if all that is true then living for anything other than for Jesus Christ makes no sense at all. Paul said this about his life: Philippians 1:22-23. Our desire to depart and go to heaven with our Lord in in exact proportion to our love for Jesus here and now.

      II.   ENTERING THE KINGDOM OF GOD!

Paul said death in his view is simply departing this world and going into the presence of Jesus Christ: Philippians 1:23. That word “depart” literally means “to untie or free something.” We were truly not made for a world such as we live in today. We were built for another place and when we die we set sail for heaven. Heaven is a prepared place: John 14:1-3. Heaven is a perfected place, built by God Himself. Once we really understand that death is simply departing a place of pain and sorrow and going to a place where there will never be death, sickness, pain or sorrow again: Revelation 21:1-7.

III.   WE WILL ENJOY FOREVER THE PRECIOUS PEOPLE OF THE FAMILY OF GOD!

Jesus said we will be with some famous ancestors when we get to heaven: Matthew 8:11. All these people we have read about for years in our Bibles will be part of our eternal family. We will meet again sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, grandparent and yes great grandparents we have not seen in years. In Accounting 101, one of the first things you learn is the difference between a debit and a credit. Simply put a debit is when money is going out of your account and a credit is when money is coming into your account. Another difference in accounting is the difference between an asset and a liability. An asset refers to a future economic benefit. A liability refers to a future economic loss. So the question is “What is death for you? A debit or a credit? Is death an asset or a liability?” It all depends upon your answer to this statement: “For me to live is _________.” When you answer that question is anything other than Christ: your death will be a debit and a liability. If the answer is Christ your death will be a credit and an asset. If your life is not Jesus when you die your life will have been a total loss. When Paul said “for me to live is Christ.” He wasn’t talking about going into a church service one hour a week, or being baptized, only to go back and live like everyone else does. He did not meangiving lip service to his relationship. Jesus was truly the source and purpose of Paul’s life!