lot of you guys know we're in Philippians. So turn to Philippians. I will be preaching out of
Philippians 18 to the end of the chapter. But I'm just going to give a brief overview of the chapter,
everything that is the priest on already. I'm going to get into it. So just note on verse 1,
Paul and Timothy, you can find where Paul meets the Philippians in Acts chapter 16.
A great thing also is that you can find where Paul meets Timothy in Acts chapter 15.
Paul and Timothy together, the first church planting that they did was the Philippians church,
which is amazing because now Paul and Timothy can ride back together to the Philippians church.
Philippi was a hub in Alexander the Great's empire. Then it was conquered by the Romans
and now it's a very militaristic place. It was almost a fort. It was a colony. It was where
a lot of Roman soldiers went to retire. It's a colony of the Romans. And so you're sending people there
to start the city, basically, to start a village, right? A lot of prominent people there.
Chapter 16, you learn of Lydia, who's a dealer in purple cloth,
which is mainly with kings and nobles. You learn of the jailer who gets saved. So the letter of
Philippians, bring all that up because Paul uses a lot of militaristic language whenever he's
addressing the Philippians. And then when Seth was preaching, one of the things that he highlighted was
partnership. We see that in verse 4, the partnership in the gospel. Then onward,
I have you in my heart. You are all partners with me in grace. Partnership is littered throughout this letter
because this is a modern day missionary support letter, right? The Philippians is providing funds
to Paul so that he can further his mission. And Paul, in turn, is also praying for them and partnering
with them in this regards as he prays for them there and as he prays for them in the section that
I'll read from. And then what Sam preached on is the advance of the gospel. The gospel is going forth.
Paul is in prison. Sam challenged us in how are we also not in chains, advancing the gospel.
So it's a brief introduction. Now we get to my section. I'll start reading from verse 18 onwards
and then begin. What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether from false motives or true,
Christ has proclaimed. And in this I rejoice. Yes, I will continue to rejoice because I know this will
lead to my salvation through your prayers and help from the spirit of Jesus Christ. My eager expectation,
hope, is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now, as always, with all courage,
Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For me to live is Christ and to
die is gain. Now, if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me, and I don't know which
one I should choose. I'm torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ, which is far
better, but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. Since I'm persuaded of this, I know
that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and join the faith so that because
of my coming to you again, your boasting in Christ Jesus may bound. Just one thing, as citizens of
heaven, live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then whether I come to you and see you
or am absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, in one accord,
contending together for the faith of the gospel, not being frightened away by your opponents.
This is a sign of destruction for them, but of your salvation, and this is from God. For it has
been granted to you on Christ's behalf, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him. Since
you're engaged in the same struggle that you saw I had, and now hear that I have.
What a great passage. It's kind of like two porterhouse that I was given to preach on. It's so rich.
So we might be spending a lot of time on this. Hopefully not. So verse 18b, starting in yes,
I will continue to rejoice. To verse 19. Yes, I will continue to rejoice because I know
this will lead to my salvation through your prayers and help from the spirit of Jesus Christ.
In Paul's life right now, he's in chains. He is under house arrest. He is awaiting trial
in front of Caesar, either to be free or to be executed. So he writes this asking for prayer. But he also says,
I know this will lead to my salvation through your prayers and help from the Holy Spirit. This
shows two different things. One is, Paul is asking for prayer as the elite apostle, but also saying that
the Holy Spirit works through our prayers. It's not like God can freely act however he chooses,
but one of his modes of acting is by our prayers. Paul knows this. Say, I need your prayers because
it's how God acts. The word there, salvation or deliverance is not a means of being saved, right?
Paul's already saved. Whenever the Lord is revealed to him, he is saved there. But this is just
deliverance from his chains, from his house arrest, right? From prison is what he's meaning.
And this is reminiscent of many that have gone before Paul for the sake of God, such as Daniel in the
lion's den, right? Daniel, betrayed by some of his fellow co-workers in a law that he could only pray
to the emperor. He prays to God and then is thrown into a den of lions. But the Lord delivers him.
Right? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego commanded to bow before a golden idol. But the Lord delivers them
in the fire. In the New Testament, the apostles are imprisoned, but then freed by an angel. And then Peter
is thrown into prison, but then freed by an angel again, comes, knocks on the door. And in their joy,
the people greet him and rejoice. This isn't abnormal to happen of someone being thrown into prison.
And Paul knows that he can be delivered by the help of the Spirit because it's happened before
many times. This form and Paul wanting prayers from these sins, right? Paul desiring their prayers to be
saved from his chains should drive us also to our knees to pray for God as well, to pray for ourselves,
to pray for fellow believers. Because it's how God chooses to act. Right? Prayer is how God chooses to
act. I would rather you all pray for my marriage, my kids' salvation, my leadership, freedom from sin,
than to be invited to your house for a meal. I would much rather that. Because it's how God chooses to act.
It's what I need. I need my marriage to be secured. I need you to be praying for me.
I need that more than I need a free meal.
Of course, I love fellowship.
So keep inviting me.
But my encouragement is to you to pray.
And if you're already praying for the saints on a daily basis, praise God.
Please keep doing that. I need that. We all need that.
But if you're convicted because you haven't been praying, please pray.
This is a new church plant. We need prayer.
And then keep on moving. Moving on to verse 20.
Again, Paul's under house arrest.
There's either salvation to come or death to come.
That I will be highly honored, whether that Christ will be highly honored, whether by life or by death.
Christ's greatest desire is not necessarily freedom.
It's not his greatest desire. He says it right there, Mike.
His greatest desire is that Christ will be honored in this body.
Right?
That Christ, supreme, would be honored.
That we would all forget about Paul, honestly.
And that Christ would be going forward.
As he says, even in the advance of the gospel.
Like, some preach out of just wanting to gain money.
But he rejoices because the gospel goes forth.
Because Christ is proclaimed.
We'll explore more of what Paul kind of means by life.
But if Paul dies at the hands of Caesar, he honors Christ in his martyrdom.
Right?
Whether by life or by death.
Because if we think about persecution, martyrdom, the gospel always spreads even more because of persecution and martyrdom.
Think about Stephen.
Stephen is preaching against and for all of these Jews.
Um, he, he, he's like, he's tearing them a new one, basically.
Um, but he, he wants them to repent and believe in the gospel.
Right?
Uh, but he is, they're enraged.
Right?
They cover their ears, rush Stephen and stone him to death.
And then in Acts it says, devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentations over him.
But Saul was ravaging the church, entering house after house.
He dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.
Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.
The martyrdom of Stephen caused the word to go forth.
It caused, uh, Philip, Philip the evangelist to preach to Ethiopian eunuch to be saved.
Paul's death honors Christ because it will, it will spread the gospel.
So, on to verse, uh, 21.
Don't forget.
I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll preach more on life.
For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.
So much to unpack in these 11 verses or words.
For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Uh, the first thing I want to note is that in the original language, uh, there's no verb
used in, um, this verse.
Uh, it's just, uh, they added a verb, which is the word is to better help, uh, the reader.
So it should be read for me to live Christ and to die gain.
Um, make this a note of is because one signifies purpose.
Like you could say for me to live is my family, uh, which signifies my purpose is my family.
I live to work for my family.
I live to provide for my kids.
If you said to live family.
It's, it's weird.
It doesn't make a lot of sense.
But when Paul says that he signifies existence, whole being to live Christ, right?
Paul exists because of Christ.
He acts beyond the behalf of Christ.
He does everything because of Christ.
It's not merely purpose.
I'm just, you know, doing all these things for Christ.
It's in all of life, Christ.
One commentator says to live Christ, the absence of the verb may be filled in many ways.
To live is Christ.
To live means Christ.
To depend on Christ.
To live honors Christ.
The foundation, center, purpose, direction, power, and meaning of Paul's life is Christ.
It's nothing else.
Certainly life so transformed and empowered by Christ's life is on a higher level and on a different quality than common, ordinary human life.
Right?
If your life is just for family or just for work, you're not, you're not different from anyone else.
Right?
But the spiritual man and woman whose life is Christ, whose life, Christ, exists, works, does all these things in light of Christ.
To live Christ means that you must be dynamic and not static.
What do I mean by that?
A good example is imagine you're talking to someone who went skiing.
Right?
I've never been skiing before.
So I'm talking to them.
I'm like, how?
How do you?
Like, do you enjoy it?
Like, yeah, I love it.
They're like, I do like the double black diamonds.
You know, I started at the intermediate and beginner.
It was kind of hard.
It was a little scary.
But I, I like, love the black diamonds.
It's like expert level.
So much fun.
Then you're like, well, how's it like, like going down on the skis and stuff like that?
And then they're like, what do you mean?
Like, well, aren't there skis involved that you have to like go down the mountain?
He's like, no, I ride the gondola up.
And then ride it back down.
And you say, what do you mean?
But I'm like, what do you mean by that?
You just ride it up and down.
It's like, yeah, so much fun.
It's thrilling.
You're like, what?
What do you mean by that?
And what I'm trying to say by that is that the life of a Christian is not just riding the
gondola up and then back down.
It's dynamic and not static.
We're not just sitting there going through the motions of life.
Right?
There's intense and scary things about life.
As a double black diamond is.
But we're meant to go down that hill, not back down with the gondola.
Right?
So what about us?
Right?
How are we living this Christian life?
Right?
Are we going through the motions?
Are we just reacting to stuff that happens?
Sometimes we have to react because we don't know the future.
But is our life just static?
Like gestational?
To live Christ, to die again.
Is your life saturated with Christ?
Is it?
Is your life saturated with preaching the gospel to those you know and those you don't know?
Like we're commanded to God to preach the gospel.
New church plan.
Right?
Your wife.
Right?
To live as Christ is all of life.
Your wife.
Do you love her as you should?
In an understanding way.
Seeking to live in a quiet and peaceful way with her.
Your husband.
What's your submission like to your husband?
Christ-like?
Is it in a way that you can say to live Christ?
Are you constantly nagging your husband?
He might want to live in the corner of a roof.
Your kids.
Do you give them time of day?
Do you love them?
Fathers, are you exasperating your kids?
Moms, most of your times are spent with kids.
Are you annoyed by them?
Or are they a blessing from the Lord?
Kids.
You kids.
Are you obedient to your parents?
Do you...
Do you like say no when they ask you to do something?
Do you talk back to your parents?
Obey your parents.
Your work.
Are you lazy in your work?
Are you lazy in how you work?
Do you work too much to not take care of your family or not give them time as it ought to be?
There's a balance in all of these things, but your life, Christ, is all of life.
It's pervasive in everything.
It's not church worship.
And then work is kind of like my own thing.
That's not really spiritual.
No, God created work.
God created kids.
God created you.
So everything you do reflects Christ.
And if you call yourself a Christian, which is a disciple of Christ, which is a follower of Christ, then all of life is what you do.
Reflects who God is.
Is it a good reflection of being a disciple of Christ?
To die is gain, right?
As we live this life of suffering and hardship and toil and death, we receive what we've lived for.
Right?
If we're living for ourselves, what we receive is hell.
If we're living for the next paycheck, really what we will receive is hell.
If we're living for the next experience, the next bottle off the shelf, the next hit, what we gain is hell.
But if to live Christ, then to die is Christ.
What we gain in death is Christ.
In 1 Corinthians 13, it says,
Of these, faith, hope, and love were made.
But the greatest of these is love.
Now, why is that?
Why is the greatest of these love?
Primarily because God is love.
But when we die and go to heaven, our faith is realized.
Our hope is realized.
But the love of God still remains.
And in this, I want you to realize this, that when we die, we will receive something.
Either eternal paradise with God or hell.
Hell's a real place.
But as we talked about earlier, in Paul's martyrdom, and in all of his hardships, he says to live is Christ and to die is gain.
You would think someone who suffers hardship, like all the hardship Paul has suffered, would kind of want to die in that way.
Paul has gone through multiple floggings.
In Philippi, in fact, he had a severe flogging.
He has been in shipwrecked.
Right?
He has been in countless trials.
You would think that death, I mean, he believes in Christ, would be a freedom from all death.
But in verse 22, he says,
Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me.
And I don't know which one I should choose.
Guys, Paul has been flopped.
Flogged.
Many times.
Shipwrecked.
Faced hunger.
Toil.
Deceit amongst the brothers.
Right?
And he says,
I'm torn between the two.
I don't know which one I should choose.
A life full of hardship.
Or death and be with Christ.
I'm torn between the two.
But he says,
I live on in the flesh.
This means fruitful work for me.
And I don't know which one I should choose.
Isn't that astounding?
Right?
In this,
it's just a hard decision for him.
And I want to just note on Paul's love for the Philippians and his partnership with them.
Right?
He's so torn in this because he loves them.
But to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.
Like...
More necessary for the Philippians.
That's such love and partnership.
They are providing for him a means of which he can further the advancement of the gospel.
But his love and partnership stretches so far that he would say,
I want to be with Christ, but it's more necessary for me to be with you.
Because I love you.
Because I'm a partner with you.
Because it's necessary for your sake.
And he's confident in this, that he knows that it would be fruitful work.
And then partnership and the bonds of love.
I almost cried just studying those verses because of how much he loves them.
There's so much evidence, I think, in partnership in this letter,
but I don't think anything like this.
Of his love for them.
Is there love like that for one another?
Are we seeking to love one another like that?
This is a relatively new church plant.
Are we...
I don't think we're there yet,
but are we striving for that?
Are we striving to love one another like that?
Is most of our time spent with people outside of this body?
It's not a bad thing.
We're not a cult.
But we're striving for strong partnerships and bonds of love.
Right?
We're striving for this type of partnership,
which we could also say,
but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.
Right?
What is our partnership like with one another?
What does that mean to you guys?
Does it mean that we just come on a Sunday?
Like we make coffee?
Like, is it just responsibility
in those things on a Sunday morning?
Or is it all of life?
Right?
Continue on to verse 27.
Just one thing,
as citizens of heaven,
live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ.
In this verse,
we should hear echoes of verse 20 and 21.
It's keeping in Paul's theme of life and death.
Right?
21,
for me to live as Christ since die is gain.
20,
Christ will be highly honored in my body,
whether by life or by death.
And then he says to the Philippians,
just one thing,
as citizens of heaven,
live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ.
And those other two,
it's kind of his ethos,
right?
His goal,
his way of life.
And now this is a command
that he's giving the church.
And if we believe
that all of God's word
is God breathed,
then it's a command from God.
For us to live
as citizens of heaven,
live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Right?
An imperative,
a command from Paul
and from God.
Just a note really quickly
on the original language.
There is,
the word heaven
is not included
in that verse.
Some translator
choose to add it
due to
Philippians 3.20,
which says,
but our citizenship
is in heaven
and we eagerly await
for a savior
from there,
the Lord Jesus Christ.
But I think here,
Paul
chooses to admit
the word heaven
because of
Roman pride
in their citizenship.
And really,
their dual citizenship
is what Paul
is focusing on.
to live their lives
as Roman citizens
worthy of the gospel of Christ,
but also
to live their lives
as heavenly citizens
worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Right?
As we live here
on this earth,
we're to live our lives
worthy of the gospel of Christ.
in this United States of America
where we have
all the freedom
that we can't,
we're not to take pride in it,
we're not to rejoice in this,
but we're to live our lives
worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Like,
if persecution comes
to the American church,
like,
would we be able to stand?
As it is
in the rest of the world
right now.
Of course we will.
Because Christ is our head.
In verse 27,
the end of it,
then whether I come
and see you
or am absent,
I will hear about you
that you are standing firm
in one spirit
and one accord
contending together
for the faith
of the gospel.
Paul is not
threatening them
in what he says.
It's in regards
to how they're living.
He's more holding them
accountable
as adult children.
He's talking
to adult children
in this letter.
In Corinthians,
he's talking to them
like children.
Here he's talking to them
like adults.
Right?
And so he's holding
them accountable.
He's not threatening them.
And I hope that
distinction is clear.
But he presents
three things
a life worthy
of the gospel
of Christ produces.
The first
is that you're
standing firm
in one spirit.
The Holy Spirit
that we received
means that we've
believed in the gospel
and that we've been
sealed by the spirit.
Right?
To stand firm
in one spirit
means to stand firm
in the Holy Spirit.
But this confidence
can only be done
if we're trusting
in God
and trusting
in his spirit.
In Ephesians,
it says,
to put on
the whole armor
of God
that you may be able
to stand
against the schemes
of the devil.
Take up the whole armor
of God
so you can withstand
in the evil day.
Stand,
therefore,
having fastened
on the belt
of truth
and having put on
the breastplate
of righteousness.
Right?
standing in what
God has provided.
Standing in the confidence
of God.
Are we standing
in the confidence
of God?
Right?
Standing in the Holy Spirit.
Trusting
in the Holy Spirit.
Right?
We cannot stand
against cosmic powers
if we are not standing
in God's protection.
In the armor,
in and with the armor
of God.
And then the second one,
with one mind,
strive side by side
for the faith
of the gospel.
One mind
can also be translated
one soul
or one psyche.
We need unity
and we cannot
get unity
if we are not
unified
in the Spirit.
Right?
The Spirit
is granted to us
when we are
believers,
but this striving
is an effort
that we have to make.
It's a toiling.
To strive
means to struggle
or fight vigorously.
Right?
This is what Paul
is telling us to do.
But are we doing that?
Are we striving
side by side
vigorously?
Right?
Fighting,
linking arms together.
together.
The third one
is,
and not be frightened
in verse 28
in anything
by your opponents.
Imagine like
an ancient
battle line.
Right?
Kind of like
Lord of the Rings
or something.
There's one force
that's like
running with
swords
and spears
towards
another army
that's just
lined up
and there's
people just
standing there.
They've got
pipes or
shields up
or something.
The battle line
can usually fail
because of one guy.
Because everyone
standing there
is nervous
at that force
coming at them.
But one guy
who starts running
ensues mass chaos
and everyone
starts running.
That's why you can
see in the Old Testament
and they fled
before them.
They're running away.
Christ Church,
there's some scary
stuff out there.
One of them
is named Satan.
He is,
his goal
is to steal,
kill,
and destroy.
And he does
all of that.
He steals,
he kills,
and he destroys.
He destroys marriages,
he destroys lives.
He whispers lies
into the ears
of believers.
He kills,
seeks to kill
many babies
in the womb.
He prowls
around
seeking
whomever
he may devour.
And on our own,
a Christian
isolated
will be frightened.
We need
the Holy Spirit
to stand
and we need
unity
in the body
to strive
together
to not be frightened.
We cannot be,
we will be frightened
if we don't
have the Holy Spirit
and if we don't
link arms
with one another.
A man isolated
is not a good thing.
A woman isolated
is not a good thing.
And continue
in verse 28
it says,
not being frightened
away by your opponents.
We don't,
we're not sure
who the Philippians
opponents are.
And Paul,
Paul calls them
the dogs
in Philippians 3-2.
Not sure
who they are.
could be
the same people
who flogged
and persecuted
Paul,
but we're not sure.
But
the rest of that,
this is a sign
of destruction
of them
but of your salvation
and this is from God.
Essentially saying,
they will be destroyed
and you are to be saved.
This is from God.
If you
stand firm
in the Holy Spirit,
if you
rely and depend
on one another,
you will not be frightened
but not only this,
they will be destroyed
and you will be saved.
This is from God.
That's a promise.
And so,
just application
really quickly on that.
We must be
on the battle lines
together.
We can't be isolated
doing this by ourself.
holding firm
to the promises
of God,
trusting
in the Spirit
and relying
on one another.
All necessary.
Can I rely
on you
to strive together?
are we reliable?
Like,
if I call you
and I really need you,
will you be there?
Like,
can I call you
at any time?
Like,
I'm really struggling.
Or do you pick up
the phone and call
and want to just
fight by yourself?
If we're not trusting
in the Holy Spirit,
if we're not relying
on one another together
and we're isolated,
we will be terrified
because Satan
is a cosmic force.
Ephesians says
we're not against
flesh and blood,
but against
the cosmic powers.
Do you know
how vast
the cosmos are?
Can you grasp
how vast
the universe is?
Satan is a cosmic force.
He's not like us,
flesh and blood.
We need God
and we need each other
to withstand.
And then just
verse 29-30,
for it is granted
to you
on Christ's behalf
not only to believe
in him,
but also to suffer
for him,
since you are engaged
in the same struggle
that you saw
I had
and now here I have.
one of the great lies
of the prosperity gospel,
which is a false gospel,
is
you can get the crown
of life without the cross.
Right?
You can get the crown
of life without the cross.
It's a great lie.
Do better.
Right?
Do better.
Give more money
and your life
will be
free of heartaches
and trials
and troubles,
but that's not true
because it's a false gospel.
We are to believe
in him
and the cross
and suffer
for him
to live
Christ
to die
gain.
We're to take up
our cross daily.
Right?
Paul's just reiterating this.
Not only to believe in him,
but also to suffer for him.
We're told to suffer.
The Christian life
is a life of suffering.
And to promise
that we will suffer.
Paul,
and at the end,
since you are engaged
in the same struggle
that you saw
I had
and now here
that I have,
the Philippians
knows
Paul's suffering
firsthand
and they have
a similar struggle.
Right?
When Paul was in Philippi
in Acts,
this is what it says.
Oh,
there was a slave girl.
Paul cast a demon
out of her
and
pick up here.
But when the owners
saw that their hope
was
of gain
was gone,
they seized
Paul and Silas
and dragged them
into the marketplace
before the rulers.
When they had brought them
to the magistrate,
they say,
these men are Jews.
They are disturbing
our city.
They advocate customs
that are not lawful
for us Romans
to accept or practice.
The crowd joined
in attacking them
and the magistrate
tore the garments
off them
and gave orders
to beat them
with rods.
And when they had
inflicted many blows
on them,
they threw them
into prison,
ordering the jailers
to keep them safe.
having received
this order,
he put them
in the inner prisons
and fastened
their feet
in stocks.
Paul says,
you are engaged
in the same struggle
you saw I had
and now hear
that I have.
Don't know everything
that's happening
in Philippi,
but we can tell
from that
there's persecution
happening there
from people
in Philippi.
that's the struggle
that Paul had there.
That means that
they're experiencing
something similar,
which is why
the encouragement
it's giving
to live as Christ
to die as gain.
A few last points
and then I'll conclude.
As we are living
right now,
I don't think
that any one of us
are threatened
by death.
Right?
A few last points
for basics
in holy living.
Communion with God,
right?
The first is prayer.
We need to be praying
for one another.
If you aren't doing that,
please start doing it.
We need it.
Price Church needs it.
I need it.
God's mercy
is new every day.
Yesterday's gone.
Tomorrow's here.
I need to love my wife
today,
not yesterday.
fasting.
Fasting.
I'll say it.
I don't know how it works,
but it works.
Whenever we deprive
ourselves of food
or of something
and are depending
on God,
God's ears
are open to us.
It works.
Meditating
and studying
God's word,
not merely reading.
I've read
my Bible
many times
and just forgot
what I've read.
How are we
studying God's word,
not just merely
reading it,
right?
Like,
are we trying
to understand
what the text
is saying
instead of
checking off a box?
If you're just
trying to check off
a box
and just read it,
I don't think
that you're going
to get much.
I don't get much
doing that.
You need to meditate
and study God's word.
What does it mean
to study God's word?
If it means
to just read
and you're not
getting anything,
maybe you need
to redefine
what studying means.
Listening
and waiting
on his word.
Sometimes
we just do
so much
and podcasts
are going,
doing all
of these
different stuff
that we're not
just listening
and sitting
and waiting
on the word
to hear from him.
We need to do that.
The last thing
in communion
with God
is obedience.
We need to
obey God.
Obey his words.
And then
the next,
does communion
with God,
union with
God's people.
Love God
and love people.
We need to
fellowship
with God's people.
We need to
live in harmony
with God's people.
The psalm says,
how blessed
it is
when brothers
and sisters
live together
in harmony.
We need to
love
and sacrifice.
We need to
love one another,
sacrifice our time,
our finances,
our possessions
for one another.
We need to
spend ourselves
and be spent
for unity
within the body.
Are we doing
all that?
Paul says
three times,
Christ will be
highly honored
in my body
whether by life
or death
and then
for me to
live as Christ
and die as gain
and then
says to us,
live your life
worthy of the
gospel of Christ.
Brothers and
sisters,
we must
live our life
for Christ.
If we're not
living it for
Christ,
what we're
doing is
we're working
for hell.
And so
I leave you
with some
verses from
the song.
What is our
hope in life
and death?
Christ alone,
Christ alone.
what is our
only confidence
that our
souls belong
to him?
What truth
can calm
this troubled
soul?
God is good.
Where is his
grace and goodness
known?
In our great
Redeemer's blood.
Unto the grave
what shall we sing?
Christ he lives.
And what reward
will heaven bring?
Everlasting
life with him.
There we will
rise to meet
the Lord
and sin and
death will be
destroyed.
And we will
feast in endless
joy when Christ
is ours
forevermore.
Thank you.
And we will