1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,600 Welcome to Walk in the Truth podcast. 2 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:17,720 How do we know where to find answers to the toughest questions in life? 3 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:22,160 While the simplest answer is the Bible, where do we start this search and how do we discover 4 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:23,160 this truth? 5 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:30,160 Today, in this teaching podcast, John Metter, lead pastor of Cross City Church, takes a 6 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:43,280 specific text of the Bible and helps us find truth for the life we're searching for. 7 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:47,600 We are so glad that you're with us this morning and if you have your Bibles, please take them 8 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:49,920 and turn to Philippians chapter 1 today. 9 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:55,760 If you don't have your Bibles, we certainly have them under seat backs and we also have 10 00:00:55,760 --> 00:00:57,240 them on the tables at the back. 11 00:00:57,240 --> 00:01:01,520 We even use page numbers to help you find where they are in those versions of the Bible 12 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:03,320 if you need those. 13 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:07,240 We want you to turn to Philippians chapter 1 and verse 21. 14 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:12,040 Over the last couple of weeks and for the next two more, I'll be preaching a series 15 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:17,320 of messages that deal with some of the basic most important questions in life. 16 00:01:17,320 --> 00:01:20,080 One of them is, why are you here? 17 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:21,080 Why are you here? 18 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:23,800 Last week we looked at who are you or who am I? 19 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:24,800 What is our identity? 20 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:26,320 How does God see us? 21 00:01:26,320 --> 00:01:28,920 And this week, a question about the why. 22 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:29,920 Why are you here? 23 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:33,200 Would you stand with me as we read Philippians chapter 1? 24 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:38,280 I'm going to read the first few verses after verse 21 down to verse 26. 25 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:43,920 It's a very significant passage of scripture for me because it was very present in my life 26 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:49,960 recently this year as I went through cancer surgery and cancer discovery before that. 27 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:51,760 And this text spoke to me very, very loudly. 28 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:58,120 In fact, the Bible I'm preaching out of today is a blue large Bible that was given to me 29 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:00,720 by my staff before I went into surgery. 30 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:03,800 So it's a very meaningful Bible for me today. 31 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:07,960 And actually this text is highlighted because this was the text that God spoke to me so 32 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:10,560 powerfully in those days. 33 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:17,800 This chapter 1 beginning in verse 21 the apostle Paul is talking about life and death and the 34 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:20,840 present threat upon his life. 35 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:22,280 He's in prison anyway. 36 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:27,280 He's already gone through so much as an apostle of Jesus and so death is very near him most 37 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:29,080 of the time. 38 00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:32,800 And yet at the same time he knows that if he dies he's with the Lord and that's good. 39 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:37,560 But at the same time he knows that if he's going to remain he's got to know why. 40 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:40,520 What's my purpose for leaving me here on the planet? 41 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:42,960 So here's what he says here in verse 21. 42 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:47,920 For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. 43 00:02:47,920 --> 00:02:53,680 Now that verse alone doesn't stand up and stand the test of time in your life. 44 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:55,640 This is how he begins a larger section. 45 00:02:55,640 --> 00:02:59,800 So again for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. 46 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:01,680 I'd like for us to say that verse together. 47 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:02,680 It's short, it's brief. 48 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:04,700 Hopefully you see it on the screen here. 49 00:03:04,700 --> 00:03:05,700 Verse 21. 50 00:03:05,700 --> 00:03:06,700 Let's say that together. 51 00:03:06,700 --> 00:03:11,840 For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. 52 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:14,200 Boy that can be a great motto for your life. 53 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:18,240 He goes on and says, but if I am to live on in the flesh this will mean fruitful labor 54 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:21,360 for me and I do not know which to choose. 55 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:27,000 But I am hard pressed from both directions having the desire to depart and be with Christ 56 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:29,240 for that is very much better. 57 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:32,960 And yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. 58 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:38,280 Convinced of this I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress 59 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:44,120 and joy in the faith so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my 60 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:46,480 coming to you again. 61 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:52,360 Father, today I pray that you will let this text speak to every heart in this room. 62 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:58,320 Father, I know all of us are at different places in our lives and all of us have different 63 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:02,060 ideas of how long we'll be here and what our purpose is. 64 00:04:02,060 --> 00:04:07,720 And today I pray that you'll bring them all together to where Paul was and where you want 65 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:09,720 us to be in terms of our why. 66 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:13,760 I ask this in Jesus' name and everybody said amen. 67 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:17,520 Please be seated. 68 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:24,400 If you've been with us over the years you know that I've shared several near death encounters. 69 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:26,840 And I had a near death encounter when I was six years old. 70 00:04:26,840 --> 00:04:33,840 I remember very little about that near death encounter but I do know that my father picked 71 00:04:33,840 --> 00:04:38,680 me up and put me over his shoulder and carried me across the street to a local clinic that 72 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:40,080 was there. 73 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:45,360 And I had had a penicillin shot and so I was having an adverse reaction to penicillin. 74 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:50,400 So my body just went into shock and my heart stopped beating, I stopped breathing and so 75 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:52,280 he was rushing across the street. 76 00:04:52,280 --> 00:04:54,600 I was still conscious when he was doing that. 77 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:59,880 And later on they laid me down on a stretcher and injected a shot of adrenaline I believe 78 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:01,680 directly into my heart. 79 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:02,960 It resuscitated my life. 80 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:06,160 And later on my parents said they didn't know if I would live or die. 81 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:12,000 Of course I didn't know all that was going on but I do know I had that near death experience. 82 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:17,960 And then on my honeymoon, day two, Acapulco, red flags on the beach. 83 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:21,600 This Oklahoma boy does not know what a red flag on an ocean beach means. 84 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:26,880 And it means you can't swim because the undertow is too strong. 85 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:31,320 Trying to impress my dear broad, I run headlong into the waves, dive in, because I have swim 86 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:32,680 in a swimming pool, right? 87 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:38,800 And immediately was sucked under by the undertow and it was a long time before I surfaced again. 88 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:44,360 And during those moments I thought I'm going to die on my honeymoon. 89 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:46,480 One day married, right? 90 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:50,800 And eventually I came to the surface and didn't have the heart to tell my wife for another 91 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:53,560 few days that I nearly died in that encounter. 92 00:05:53,560 --> 00:06:00,000 A few years later I was actually standing in a mechanic shop and had a 45 caliber pistol 93 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:05,480 loaded with the finger on the trigger by another man pointed at my head. 94 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:08,200 And I knew that I'd had a near death experience with that. 95 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:09,560 That's another story for another day. 96 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:12,960 Oh, it's a good story but it's another day. 97 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:15,460 But you know in moments like that you don't have the time to think. 98 00:06:15,460 --> 00:06:20,680 You don't really have time to evaluate and think through what is the purpose of my life 99 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:22,040 what's the why of my life. 100 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:24,240 You don't even have time to pray. 101 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:28,280 You just are in that moment either going to live or die. 102 00:06:28,280 --> 00:06:32,600 But what I experienced early this year was very, very different from that. 103 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:38,080 I discovered a lump on my throat and discovered it was stage two cancer of the thyroid. 104 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:42,840 And visiting the surgeon that was getting ready to do surgery on me a few days later 105 00:06:42,840 --> 00:06:48,640 and hearing the explanation of possible outcomes that could take place from that cancer and 106 00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:50,160 that surgery. 107 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:54,280 And this particular surgeon is a young surgeon very, very good at what he does. 108 00:06:54,280 --> 00:06:59,920 I would say his bedside manner has a little bit to be desired as he gave me the good news 109 00:06:59,920 --> 00:07:00,920 first. 110 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:04,760 And the good news is we're probably going to be able to take care of that cancer. 111 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:05,760 You're probably going to get it out. 112 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:10,320 You're going to have to remove all your lymph nodes and it'll be this long and recuperation 113 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:11,320 and so forth. 114 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:13,120 But the bad news is what's next. 115 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:15,060 In the bad news he told me all the bad things. 116 00:07:15,060 --> 00:07:16,400 You could die in surgery. 117 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:20,920 You could lose your voice and never again speak for the rest of your life. 118 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:21,920 Think like that. 119 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:25,480 So it was a lot for a few moments. 120 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:27,920 Not entirely expected. 121 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:33,840 And I remember coming back to the car with my wife and sitting down and thinking through 122 00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:35,920 the visit we just had. 123 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:40,280 And four things immediately hit me and hit me in the days after that. 124 00:07:40,280 --> 00:07:43,320 One was an immediate peace that came over my heart. 125 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:47,520 You don't normally naturally get an immediate peace when you have that kind of diagnosis 126 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:48,760 or that kind of explanation. 127 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:53,680 But immediately I felt the peace of God come over my heart. 128 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:57,440 That's what the Bible calls the peace that passes all understanding. 129 00:07:57,440 --> 00:07:58,640 Because it doesn't add up. 130 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:02,320 It doesn't make sense if you're going to find peace in a moment like that that would normally 131 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:04,840 be filled with turmoil. 132 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:08,280 The second thing that took place was a reminder. 133 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:13,720 A reminder of an interview I'd had with four ladies that had dealt with cancer. 134 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:17,080 Each of them had dealt with breast cancer and they were calling themselves the bosom 135 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:20,720 buddies because they'd been through it all, all the treatments and all that happened. 136 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:24,640 And I included them in the ninth chapter of my book, God's Not Done With You. 137 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:31,000 In fact, the title of that book alone came back to remind me God's Not Done With You. 138 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:34,000 And I was happy to be reminded of that. 139 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:40,680 The third thing that I discovered in that process was a praying church. 140 00:08:40,680 --> 00:08:42,760 A praying church. 141 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:48,160 I've said before in praying for other people, if I ever get sick, I hope to be in a church 142 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:50,680 like this that knows what it means to pray. 143 00:08:50,680 --> 00:08:52,360 And lo and behold, I did get sick. 144 00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:54,800 I did get cancer and I did need prayer. 145 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:59,400 And I cannot thank you enough for the incredible amounts of prayer and expressions of prayer 146 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:03,280 and the cards that came and everything else that told me I was a prayed for man. 147 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:07,560 I would not be surprised if I was one of the most prayed for people on the planet during 148 00:09:07,560 --> 00:09:11,520 that period of time and I'm very grateful to you for doing that. 149 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:15,600 And I know you're grateful for when brothers and sisters in Christ pray for you when you 150 00:09:15,600 --> 00:09:16,800 really need prayers. 151 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:18,400 Aren't you grateful for that? 152 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:21,840 Thank God for that. 153 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:22,840 So I felt at peace. 154 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:25,320 I had a reminder. 155 00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:30,860 I realized the prayers of God's people were going to accompany me through this. 156 00:09:30,860 --> 00:09:34,440 And then finally, I got a word from God. 157 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:38,440 Now when someone tells you, you get a word from God, you have to kind of ask the question, 158 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:39,440 what does that mean? 159 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:40,520 What does that look like? 160 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:42,160 How does that actually happen? 161 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:46,880 But Kim and I sat together in the car after we came out from that doctor's appointment 162 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:51,760 and she says in the silence, what are you thinking? 163 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:56,060 And the first thing I said to her was, Philippians 1 21. 164 00:09:56,060 --> 00:09:58,480 I'm thinking about Philippians 1 21. 165 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:02,120 Now there was a reason that I was thinking about Philippians 1 21. 166 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:07,200 I'm not going to say to you that I was thinking about it just because I'm spiritual and have 167 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:09,520 all the verses at the right times to come to my mind. 168 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:11,360 That's not what I'm saying. 169 00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:16,420 But it just so happened that I was studying Philippians 1 21 and preparing for the message 170 00:10:16,420 --> 00:10:19,020 that coming Sunday. 171 00:10:19,020 --> 00:10:20,020 Great coincidence, right? 172 00:10:20,020 --> 00:10:26,320 And it just so happens that I'd ingested that text and had discovered its truths and had 173 00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:30,640 poured over that and immersed myself in it and found them to be riveting. 174 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:36,840 It just so happens that the text dealt with life and death situations and the why if you 175 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:37,840 remain. 176 00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:38,840 It was so, so meaningful. 177 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:44,760 And it just so happens that it answers the why question for Paul and for anybody that 178 00:10:44,760 --> 00:10:46,800 wonders about the purpose of life. 179 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:51,840 And God just spoke to me through this text in a very, very personal way. 180 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:57,320 The way he would to any of you if you were looking for God, reading day in and day out 181 00:10:57,320 --> 00:11:00,680 for God to speak to you about something, he will speak to you in that way as well. 182 00:11:00,680 --> 00:11:04,060 And I want to emphasize God didn't shout. 183 00:11:04,060 --> 00:11:05,240 He didn't whisper. 184 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:07,160 I didn't hear him audibly. 185 00:11:07,160 --> 00:11:08,580 He just had a word for me there. 186 00:11:08,580 --> 00:11:12,880 The way he does for everyone that opens the scripture and expects him to speak. 187 00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:17,520 Look, the Bible that you have is not just a Bible that deals with the historical truths 188 00:11:17,520 --> 00:11:18,520 of history. 189 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:20,480 It's not just a book of doctrine. 190 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:24,760 It's literally God's letter to you and he will speak to you from his word. 191 00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:25,760 You need to know that. 192 00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:29,720 And if you know that God's going to speak to you from his word, you're going to open 193 00:11:29,720 --> 00:11:30,720 the Bible, right? 194 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:34,120 And you're going to find a way to get in the habit of reading God's word. 195 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:41,440 So there I was, Philippians 1 21 was dominant in my mind and it had prepared me in advance 196 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:45,560 for what I heard from my doctor on that day. 197 00:11:45,560 --> 00:11:46,560 And I was grateful. 198 00:11:46,560 --> 00:11:52,520 And so I'm coming to you today and I want to speak to you about this text and what it 199 00:11:52,520 --> 00:11:57,880 says to Paul and what Paul means it to understand for us to understand about it, what it meant 200 00:11:57,880 --> 00:12:02,720 to be in that moment and what it should mean to you in the days ahead. 201 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:06,560 I find Paul making four very clear statements here in this text. 202 00:12:06,560 --> 00:12:08,760 And the first one is found in verse 21. 203 00:12:08,760 --> 00:12:13,880 And I'm going to personalize this in the sense of using the personal pronoun of you because 204 00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:15,080 God did speak to me. 205 00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:20,680 God did speak to Paul through these same words, but he intends for you to hear it for you 206 00:12:20,680 --> 00:12:22,040 as well. 207 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:26,240 And the first point I want to bring out is you have a future to anticipate. 208 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:28,360 You have a future to anticipate. 209 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:33,480 Now look in verse 21 again, for it to me to live as Christ. 210 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:35,160 And that's the focus of that message today. 211 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:40,600 Most of what we say today is going to be based on that text, that part of the verse. 212 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:45,720 But the other part of that verse says for it to me to live as Christ and to die is gain. 213 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:51,560 And I want to spend a moment on that because Paul is saying that I know that I have life 214 00:12:51,560 --> 00:12:52,560 ahead of me. 215 00:12:52,560 --> 00:12:57,080 I don't know how long and I know my life at this point has been filled with threats, but 216 00:12:57,080 --> 00:13:03,080 I know that if I die, that dying is going to gain me something that I could never have 217 00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:07,960 while still on this planet to live as Christ to die is gain. 218 00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:13,680 Now you need to remember that death has an advantage for you as a believer in Jesus that 219 00:13:13,680 --> 00:13:15,240 we don't have while alive. 220 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:21,760 The benefits that we get when we die are beyond anything we can imagine here and now. 221 00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:26,360 And I walked through this text earlier this year and I hope you'll remember that you gain 222 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:32,720 the presence of Jesus like never before when you die. 223 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:36,080 You know we talk about the presence of Jesus in worship, the presence of the Holy Spirit. 224 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:39,400 We talk about the presence of God in our life. 225 00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:43,040 But the first thing Paul thought of when he thought of dying was not the process, not 226 00:13:43,040 --> 00:13:45,960 the pain, but the presence. 227 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:52,240 He said for it to me to live as Christ, but to die is gain. 228 00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:56,920 He was thinking about all that he was going to have and who he was going to face. 229 00:13:56,920 --> 00:14:00,280 Now the apostles were mesmerized by this idea. 230 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:02,840 Paul said it like this in 2 Corinthians 5. 231 00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:07,480 He said, we are of good courage I say and prefer rather to be absent from the body and 232 00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:09,760 to be at home with the Lord. 233 00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:11,840 You guys have heard this before in funerals. 234 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:13,200 Absent from body, present with Christ. 235 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:14,200 Say that with me. 236 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:16,200 Absent from body, present with Christ. 237 00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:21,280 That's a theologically solid concept that the moment when you die as a believer in Jesus, 238 00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:25,920 you close your eyes to this physical life and you open them to a spiritual world in 239 00:14:25,920 --> 00:14:29,600 which you stand face to face with Jesus Christ. 240 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:32,040 Now that's a great, great threat isn't it? 241 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:34,720 That's a great opportunity isn't it? 242 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:35,720 Amen. 243 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:36,720 Somebody celebrate. 244 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:39,920 Ron Dunn used to say it like this. 245 00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:45,880 He had had many, many surgeries and many illnesses through the years and he used to say, do not, 246 00:14:45,880 --> 00:14:49,720 do not bring me back if I die. 247 00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:50,720 Do not bring me back. 248 00:14:50,720 --> 00:14:54,680 He said, if I see the face of Jesus and then you bring me back, I'm going to be very angry 249 00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:58,320 at you. 250 00:14:58,320 --> 00:14:59,920 We gain the presence of God. 251 00:14:59,920 --> 00:15:03,880 We gain the face to face sight with Jesus. 252 00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:10,240 John in 1 John chapter 3 verse 2 says, we know that when he appears, we shall be just 253 00:15:10,240 --> 00:15:15,080 like him because we will see him just as he really is. 254 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:17,400 Man, you can't, you can't duplicate that on the planet. 255 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:23,320 Some of us have seen celebrities and we've seen famous people and some of us have even 256 00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:24,720 seen famous people up close. 257 00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:29,840 I remember seeing Muhammad Ali 15 or 20 years ago for the first time I saw him face to face 258 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:32,360 and my heart literally didn't stop beating. 259 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:35,080 It was beating very, very fast because it was Muhammad Ali. 260 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:39,000 I mean, float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, Muhammad Ali, right? 261 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:42,000 And he was the guy that I watched all my life growing up. 262 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:46,800 But that's nowhere in comparison to what will happen when I see Jesus Christ face to face. 263 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:51,000 You're going to have to have a glorified body to see him face to face because you can't 264 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:56,280 handle seeing Jesus face to face and still just being a human body. 265 00:15:56,280 --> 00:16:00,760 The apostles were talking about the fact that we will have the presence of Jesus in a way 266 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:02,480 that is almost unimaginable. 267 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:05,920 We also gain the promises of Jesus. 268 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:11,680 To die is gain means that everything that God has promised us that has not been fulfilled 269 00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:17,600 on earth will be fulfilled in eternity and many of the promises God gives us are eternal 270 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:19,440 promises. 271 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:24,000 For example, if you read Revelation chapter 21, you'll see some of that. 272 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:28,680 He says, and he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, there will no longer be any 273 00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:34,360 death, there will no longer be any mourning, there will no longer be any pain for the first 274 00:16:34,360 --> 00:16:36,600 things that passed away. 275 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:40,560 Can you imagine a life without pain, without mourning, without death, without all the awful 276 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:45,840 things that we deal with day in and day out, that the promises of Jesus will come to pass 277 00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:46,840 when you die? 278 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:51,920 Now, if you wonder why we're very enthusiastic about helping people who don't know Christ 279 00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:55,340 come to Christ, maybe you need to remember what we just said. 280 00:16:55,340 --> 00:16:59,680 When you come to Christ at death, you see the presence of Jesus and the promises of 281 00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:00,680 Jesus. 282 00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:03,980 We want people to know they have a relationship with Jesus Christ. 283 00:17:03,980 --> 00:17:07,760 We want them to know that they don't have to fear death because to live is Christ but 284 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:11,560 to die is absolutely gain. 285 00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:18,880 Heaven is that place of every promise of Jesus untouched by human unbelief and sin and depravity 286 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:22,800 and decay and hatred and injustice. 287 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:26,080 It is unlettered glory. 288 00:17:26,080 --> 00:17:32,080 A few years ago my wife and I did a mission trip to the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas 289 00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:35,320 and I know some of you will roll your eyes and say, yeah, some mission trip that probably 290 00:17:35,320 --> 00:17:36,880 was. 291 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:40,640 We were training pastors in the nighttime and the evening because they worked in the 292 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:41,640 day. 293 00:17:41,640 --> 00:17:47,080 So all day long, Kim and I had a chance to walk on those famous beaches of the Bahamas. 294 00:17:47,080 --> 00:17:54,520 Eleuthera is 110 miles long and about three miles wide, meaning that it was all beach. 295 00:17:54,520 --> 00:17:59,600 On one side the Atlantic, on the other side the Caribbean. 296 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:01,000 And it was gorgeous. 297 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:04,640 It was untouched because very few of the citizens went to the beach at all. 298 00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:07,400 It was just part of their backyard to them. 299 00:18:07,400 --> 00:18:09,080 They just weren't out there. 300 00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:12,940 And so I remember one day we walked on the beach and looked at all the glorious things 301 00:18:12,940 --> 00:18:18,560 in the ocean, on the beach for four solid hours and never saw another human being in 302 00:18:18,560 --> 00:18:20,640 four hours. 303 00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:26,560 Just one dog that came running up to us with a dog collar that said, great vine Texas. 304 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:30,740 That's all we saw, literally. 305 00:18:30,740 --> 00:18:33,120 We love that place. 306 00:18:33,120 --> 00:18:38,760 Can you imagine a whole earth, a whole world that God has created that is unlettered, unmarked 307 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:40,080 by humanity? 308 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:41,240 The new heavens and the new earth. 309 00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:45,920 You and I will experience that to live as Christ, to die as game. 310 00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:50,960 But Paul here is not talking about heaven as much as he's talking about what he's going 311 00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:52,760 to do while he stays. 312 00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:58,600 Paul realizes he's staying for a time so he's not just talking about heaven. 313 00:18:58,600 --> 00:19:03,920 But he is saying that if you die, that's not a bad thing. 314 00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:08,120 And let me just tell you something, as a believer in Jesus, facing death in any form, whether 315 00:19:08,120 --> 00:19:10,680 expected or unexpected. 316 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:17,120 It's not a bad thing to look ahead and say, if I die, Christ has me covered in His blood. 317 00:19:17,120 --> 00:19:21,280 If I die, I have a home in eternity that He has prepared for me. 318 00:19:21,280 --> 00:19:23,960 If I die, it'll all be good. 319 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:27,240 I want you to know that's real today. 320 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:28,240 It's real. 321 00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:33,240 And if you have a relationship with Jesus Christ, then it's real to you as well. 322 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:37,280 So first of all, Paul says, you have a future to anticipate. 323 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:41,560 And then he gets into the details of what it means to live here and now. 324 00:19:41,560 --> 00:19:43,840 Secondly, he said, you have a work to do. 325 00:19:43,840 --> 00:19:45,920 You have a work to do. 326 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:50,880 Notice what he says in verse 22, for if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean 327 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:53,400 fruitful labor for me. 328 00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:55,840 And I do not know which to choose. 329 00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:58,680 He said, I'm hard pressed from either direction. 330 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:03,640 Now Paul's actually rotting as though he gets to decide whether he stays or goes, but that's 331 00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:05,120 not actually the case. 332 00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:07,800 He's simply presenting it that way. 333 00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:09,840 He knows he's at a critical juncture in his life. 334 00:20:09,840 --> 00:20:12,840 He's actually in prison at this moment when he writes this letter. 335 00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:14,560 And he's been in prison many other times. 336 00:20:14,560 --> 00:20:21,000 As a matter of fact, once Paul was called to ministry, he did not have an easy life. 337 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:24,760 We're not talking about a guy that had the comforts of life that you and I have. 338 00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:27,960 We're not talking about somebody that always had food on the table. 339 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:30,480 Paul said, I know what it means to be hungry. 340 00:20:30,480 --> 00:20:32,040 I know what it means to be full. 341 00:20:32,040 --> 00:20:33,320 I know what it means to have much. 342 00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:35,600 And I know what it means to have nothing. 343 00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:41,400 In one particular chapter, he detailed all of the hardships he went through, beaten with 344 00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:46,600 numbers of times, beaten within an inch of his life, even left for dead, shipwrecked 345 00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:52,000 in the deep all by himself, bitten by poisonous snakes while on mission, all kinds of things 346 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:53,240 Paul went through. 347 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:55,120 Life was not easy for Paul. 348 00:20:55,120 --> 00:21:00,400 And he said, I'm hard pressed in either way. 349 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:06,120 On one hand, I could leave this hardship behind and go be with Jesus and I'll be just fine 350 00:21:06,120 --> 00:21:07,640 with that. 351 00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:14,880 But I know that if I remain, I have a purpose of why, a mission. 352 00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:18,000 And I believe that that's what I should do. 353 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:22,640 He says, basically, I've got a fruitful work ahead in my remaining days. 354 00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:28,640 Paul says, God is remaining me here for the purpose that he has for me. 355 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:32,080 And that's when I want to pose a question to you, what's your why? 356 00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:33,080 Why are you here? 357 00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:36,760 Why are you breathing air and taking up space? 358 00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:38,440 Why are you getting up every day? 359 00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:39,440 What drives you? 360 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:40,440 What motivates you? 361 00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:42,000 What is your why in life? 362 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:48,320 Paul says, my why for God leaving me on the planet is fruitful labor on your behalf. 363 00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:49,720 I'm going to help you grow in your faith. 364 00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:54,080 There are going to be a number of things that I do, but I'm here for fruitful labor. 365 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:55,080 What's your why? 366 00:21:55,080 --> 00:22:01,200 I read a very interesting story about a young woman by the name of Vanessa Chaput, 24 years 367 00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:07,000 old, was jogging recently on a paved path near Ontario, Canada. 368 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:13,320 And suddenly, outside the path where she was running, not one, not two, but three bears, 369 00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:16,040 three grizzly bears appeared in front of her. 370 00:22:16,040 --> 00:22:20,560 Of course, being from that part of the world, she knew that that was an extremely dangerous 371 00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:21,560 moment. 372 00:22:21,560 --> 00:22:24,960 So she did everything she could to protect herself, but it didn't work because the largest 373 00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:30,960 of the grizzly bear overtook her and literally gripped her head in his jaws. 374 00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:35,200 So here she is gripped in the jaws of this massive grizzly bear. 375 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:39,880 And all of a sudden she starts thinking about her purpose and her why. 376 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:42,200 And she said, you know, I'm not ready to leave my daughter behind. 377 00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:43,920 I'm not ready to leave my husband behind. 378 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:47,320 I believe that I have some other purpose in which to live. 379 00:22:47,320 --> 00:22:52,760 And somehow during that encounter, she was pushing back and the bear unexplainably let 380 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:56,600 go of her head and they ran off into the woods. 381 00:22:56,600 --> 00:23:01,720 She was left with numbers of lacerations, hospitalized for 10 days. 382 00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:05,720 She has 35 or 40 stitches on her head, a broken arm. 383 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:08,600 She said, I'm very shocked at how lucky I was that day. 384 00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:12,440 I'm thankful for God watching out for me for that day. 385 00:23:12,440 --> 00:23:16,120 She said, but I refuse to die because I have a purpose to live. 386 00:23:16,120 --> 00:23:19,160 I want to live for my family. 387 00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:22,880 She reminded me of Nietzsche's reflection over the years. 388 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:26,280 He who has a why to live can bear almost any how. 389 00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:29,240 I think that's a good statement. 390 00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:34,520 This guy was an atheistic philosopher who didn't have the benefit that we have of a 391 00:23:34,520 --> 00:23:35,880 purpose that God gives us. 392 00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:40,960 But he says, you can go through almost any how if you know why you're on the planet. 393 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:45,560 And I would say to you as a believer in Jesus Christ, you have the greatest why that any 394 00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:51,000 other people on the planet have for why you are here. 395 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:56,200 So Paul is saying you have a work to do and he saw himself as having a work to do. 396 00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:59,400 Now, you may not have a life death thing going on. 397 00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:04,160 You may not have a grizzly bear crushing your head at the moment, but something may be keeping 398 00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:08,560 you from knowing your why from God and you need to get around it. 399 00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:11,280 Maybe you need to push aside the sin in your life. 400 00:24:11,280 --> 00:24:13,320 Maybe you need to put away the temptation. 401 00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:17,400 Maybe you need to stop wasting the time that you've wasted in your life and find out what 402 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:18,400 the why is. 403 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:21,400 You are presently alive and you have a purpose. 404 00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:23,640 God has you here. 405 00:24:23,640 --> 00:24:25,360 You can know this every day you wake up. 406 00:24:25,360 --> 00:24:30,360 You can know this that you wake up because God has a purpose for your life and you should 407 00:24:30,360 --> 00:24:35,640 find out what it is and live in the fullness of that purpose. 408 00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:38,760 Purpose and why's are all the way through the book of Philippians. 409 00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:42,360 In Philippians chapter three verse 12, Paul said, not that I've already obtained it yet 410 00:24:42,360 --> 00:24:48,600 or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which 411 00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:51,920 also I was laid hold of by Jesus Christ. 412 00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:55,240 That's a gripping purpose. 413 00:24:55,240 --> 00:24:56,240 Christ gripped me. 414 00:24:56,240 --> 00:24:57,600 Why did he grip me? 415 00:24:57,600 --> 00:25:01,120 I want to lay hold of that because he gripped me for a reason. 416 00:25:01,120 --> 00:25:06,360 Robert Lewis used to say, this is what makes you slam your fist on the table and weep. 417 00:25:06,360 --> 00:25:09,600 In other words, the purpose for which you were called, the meaning that you have in 418 00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:13,080 life causes you to be moved more than anything else. 419 00:25:13,080 --> 00:25:14,160 So what's your purpose? 420 00:25:14,160 --> 00:25:17,680 What's your why when it comes to life? 421 00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:21,040 I would tell you this, some of you have had near-death experiences in your life. 422 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:22,880 How many of you have had near-death experiences? 423 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:23,880 Would you raise your hand? 424 00:25:23,880 --> 00:25:26,800 There's a number of you in the room. 425 00:25:26,800 --> 00:25:30,600 Some of you probably have had them without knowing that you had them, things that could 426 00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:33,000 have happened that didn't. 427 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:36,520 But if you've had a near-death experience, if you've had something like that happen to 428 00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:43,600 you, then you realize I've got to have a higher purpose for me being here. 429 00:25:43,600 --> 00:25:48,280 That higher purpose is something more than, oh good, I get to face rush hour traffic again 430 00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:53,360 in Dallas-Fort Worth, or oh boy, I get to enjoy another feudal cowboy football season. 431 00:25:53,360 --> 00:25:56,160 That's another thing to live for. 432 00:25:56,160 --> 00:25:58,480 Or I get to watch a few more sunsets. 433 00:25:58,480 --> 00:26:01,560 No, it's got to be higher than that. 434 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:05,560 It can't be about some activity that you do or don't do. 435 00:26:05,560 --> 00:26:07,360 It's got to be fruitful labor. 436 00:26:07,360 --> 00:26:12,720 That's the phrase he uses, fruitful labor, significant, meaningful labor. 437 00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:14,120 The emphasis is not on the work. 438 00:26:14,120 --> 00:26:15,480 It's not how hard it is. 439 00:26:15,480 --> 00:26:18,440 It's that it will make a difference in someone's life. 440 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:26,080 Fruitful labor that counts in the life of family or kingdom or friends or the world. 441 00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:30,520 And it will be somewhat different for every person in this room. 442 00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:35,960 One verse that came to me over and over as I was walking through those weeks from surgery 443 00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:39,400 onward was Psalm 90-12. 444 00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:43,160 Most of you know this verse pretty well, so teach us the number of our days so that we 445 00:26:43,160 --> 00:26:44,720 may present to you a heart of wisdom. 446 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:49,000 And David is simply saying, the psalmist is saying, look, Lord, teach us to use our time 447 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:50,000 wisely. 448 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:55,400 I know there's a million ways that we can evaluate our time and analyze our time, but 449 00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:59,880 the reality is we only have so much time, so how do we do it well? 450 00:26:59,880 --> 00:27:04,640 I'm encouraging you like Paul was to find your focus that you need to have while you're 451 00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:05,640 here. 452 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:07,920 God has not left you here just to take up His faith. 453 00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:12,800 Paul had one primary focus and who he was here for was the Church of Jesus. 454 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:14,680 And that's who he was writing to. 455 00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:18,520 That's who the fruitful labor was for. 456 00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:23,800 There are several groups of people that God began to speak to me about in this time period. 457 00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:26,840 The first was my biological family. 458 00:27:26,840 --> 00:27:32,440 The fact that I've got six adult kids now, one grandchild that you hear me talk about 459 00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:40,400 a lot and an amazing wife, and my responsibility and my opportunity to invest in their lives 460 00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:41,400 more. 461 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:46,980 That's a big important part of why I believe God has left me here, to invest in their life, 462 00:27:46,980 --> 00:27:50,920 to know that whatever God is doing, He's going to do something through whatever I've gone 463 00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:52,240 through in their lives. 464 00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:59,240 If you've got children, you know it's really important to you that children respond to 465 00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:04,600 God in a good way, that they are sensitive to God or they are open to God. 466 00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:07,840 And when they're not, you really pray for them to do that. 467 00:28:07,840 --> 00:28:13,240 I remember one of the responses that all six of my kids gave me were good responses. 468 00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:15,640 They were loving, they were encouraging. 469 00:28:15,640 --> 00:28:17,920 But one of my sons wrote me a text and he said this. 470 00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:20,200 He said, I don't know what to do. 471 00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:26,480 He said, referring to me as his dad, the man who fixes all my problems has a problem I 472 00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:28,280 can't fix. 473 00:28:28,280 --> 00:28:32,600 And all I know to do is get on my knees and pray. 474 00:28:32,600 --> 00:28:36,960 And little did he know that that's all I ever wanted my kids to do, get on their knees and 475 00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:41,960 pray, to trust God in a fresh way that maybe they didn't do last week or last month or 476 00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:44,800 last year, that God would use any of us. 477 00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:48,960 And I think most parents would say, God, do anything to me as long as my kids would find 478 00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:53,200 faith and be able to walk with you in the way I know they can. 479 00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:59,880 I felt an enormous responsibility to my biological family to love them well, to appreciate them 480 00:28:59,880 --> 00:29:00,880 well. 481 00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:06,720 I can't even begin to enumerate the ways in which my wife demonstrated such faithful support 482 00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:07,720 during that time. 483 00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:10,000 What an incredible woman my wife is. 484 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:12,880 And I want to love her well. 485 00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:16,040 When we talked about the cancer thing, she said, well, you're not supposed to go yet. 486 00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:17,360 We have some more things to do. 487 00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:19,320 I've got more things I want you to do for me. 488 00:29:19,320 --> 00:29:22,280 And I was like, okay, I'll live for that purpose. 489 00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:25,720 We've got some plans here. 490 00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:29,680 But Paul was referring not to his biological family, but to the church family, the faith 491 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:30,680 family. 492 00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:35,440 He said, I'm here to build your faith. 493 00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:40,200 I want to have fruitful labor with you. 494 00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:45,640 And what an incredible purpose to be about, to build the faith of different individuals 495 00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:50,680 or all individuals in the church so that we might all aspire to follow Jesus. 496 00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:52,520 Paul had that as a heart. 497 00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:53,800 That's what he wanted to do. 498 00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:58,560 And that's what God left him there on the planet to do in this most significant church 499 00:29:58,560 --> 00:29:59,560 at Philippi. 500 00:29:59,560 --> 00:30:03,840 And I will say to you, I feel a renewed sense of purpose as a pastor of this church. 501 00:30:03,840 --> 00:30:06,400 What a privilege to be a pastor of Cross City Church. 502 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:08,380 An incredible privilege for me. 503 00:30:08,380 --> 00:30:09,800 One that I do not take lightly. 504 00:30:09,800 --> 00:30:14,920 In any days that I have, I want to invest them well in the body of Christ here at Cross 505 00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:15,920 City Church. 506 00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:19,480 I'm extremely thankful for the opportunity to do that. 507 00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:21,160 And I see that in Paul's life as well. 508 00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:24,480 I'm here for that purpose, he said. 509 00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:27,720 Third statement would be, you have a blessing to impart. 510 00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:30,040 A blessing to impart. 511 00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:35,160 He said, convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for 512 00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:37,840 your progress and joy in the faith. 513 00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:41,920 That's his way of saying, I'm going to bless you in every way I know how. 514 00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:47,720 I'm going to serve you in every way I can so that your faith and joy grows. 515 00:30:47,720 --> 00:30:50,880 Paul said, that's why I'm on the planet. 516 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:56,320 I could be with Jesus, I would love to be there, but he's left me here for that purpose 517 00:30:56,320 --> 00:31:01,440 to help you, to bless you in your faith with Jesus Christ. 518 00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:05,140 Paul was basically saying, I've got more to impart to you, more to teach you, more to 519 00:31:05,140 --> 00:31:07,240 share with you, and I want to do that. 520 00:31:07,240 --> 00:31:10,000 And why shouldn't he say that? 521 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:14,640 You know, sometimes when you go through hardship, you have more to give than if you were just 522 00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:17,480 going through normal life. 523 00:31:17,480 --> 00:31:22,280 When I interviewed those women for that chapter of the book, God's Not Done With You, these 524 00:31:22,280 --> 00:31:28,760 four bosom buddies talked to me about the joy and the excitement of what God was going 525 00:31:28,760 --> 00:31:36,000 to do in spite of, and some of them had pretty drastic kind of prognosis. 526 00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:39,480 And they said, you know, through it all, God came to me and helped me and strengthened 527 00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:40,800 me and gave me grace. 528 00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:45,160 And through it all, I was able to help point my family to how to weather tough times in 529 00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:48,080 life by relying on Jesus Christ. 530 00:31:48,080 --> 00:31:52,520 So what God did with them in their season of life, and some of them have done that more 531 00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:57,240 than 20 years ago is when it took place for some of them, they saw that they could impart 532 00:31:57,240 --> 00:32:00,160 a blessing even in pain. 533 00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:02,880 And I want to challenge you on this. 534 00:32:02,880 --> 00:32:05,680 Even in pain, we're here to impart a blessing. 535 00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:12,120 We're like a messenger delivering the good news that God knows, God cares, God is able. 536 00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:15,840 The only time you can really say that knowingly is when you go through pain and suffering 537 00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:17,000 and hardship. 538 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:21,160 But in that pain and that suffering and that doubt and that uncertainty, you can come out 539 00:32:21,160 --> 00:32:25,680 of that time and look at others that may be going through it and say, trust me, I've been 540 00:32:25,680 --> 00:32:27,060 through that fire. 541 00:32:27,060 --> 00:32:28,060 God is real. 542 00:32:28,060 --> 00:32:29,600 He'll meet you right in the middle of it. 543 00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:30,920 He will not abandon you. 544 00:32:30,920 --> 00:32:32,880 He will not leave you alone. 545 00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:34,840 I am thankful we have a God like that. 546 00:32:34,840 --> 00:32:38,840 That real, that personal, that attendee to who we are. 547 00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:41,200 Thank God for that. 548 00:32:41,200 --> 00:32:42,200 Thank God for that. 549 00:32:42,200 --> 00:32:48,200 Paul is saying that to the people at Philippi. 550 00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:53,320 To impart a blessing means to exercise your gifts, to use your resources, to use your 551 00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:58,960 words, to aim your influence of helping people grow in their faith in Jesus Christ. 552 00:32:58,960 --> 00:33:04,320 That's a high calling, but it's also a whine calling. 553 00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:10,160 You can't do better than to point people in the direction of following Jesus. 554 00:33:10,160 --> 00:33:13,760 You can't be a better influence than that. 555 00:33:13,760 --> 00:33:14,760 Paul was doing that. 556 00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:21,480 He said this in 1 Corinthians 11, be imitators of me as I also am of Christ. 557 00:33:21,480 --> 00:33:25,120 And I can imagine that some of us in this room would say, well, I can't quite be like 558 00:33:25,120 --> 00:33:26,960 that, like Paul. 559 00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:31,560 I'm not sure others can say that about my life the way they could say it about Paul's 560 00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:32,560 life. 561 00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:34,520 But I can say, why not? 562 00:33:34,520 --> 00:33:38,200 You have obviously more time on the planet to live. 563 00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:42,400 Clearly you're still alive and breathing and taking up space right now. 564 00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:47,080 And so because of that, God's left you on the planet for a purpose. 565 00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:51,520 Think about the first line of this passage, for to me to live is Christ. 566 00:33:51,520 --> 00:33:53,000 What does that mean for you? 567 00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:56,400 How do you take steps to do that in a tangible way? 568 00:33:56,400 --> 00:34:02,200 And while you're pursuing that, teach and write and mentor and counsel and spend time 569 00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:08,360 and pray and influence and serve in every way you possibly can. 570 00:34:08,360 --> 00:34:13,840 Because when you do that, you're helping build the faith of other people. 571 00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:18,040 So we ought to be asking the question on a daily basis and sometimes only a kind of a 572 00:34:18,040 --> 00:34:21,600 close touch to death will get you thinking about it. 573 00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:25,080 We ought to be asking the question, how can I live in such a way, speak in such a way, 574 00:34:25,080 --> 00:34:30,520 interact in such a way as to impart a blessing to other people as a result of a gospel filled 575 00:34:30,520 --> 00:34:31,940 life? 576 00:34:31,940 --> 00:34:35,520 How do I help others find that life as well? 577 00:34:35,520 --> 00:34:39,640 I can say, he can say, it was a well-lived life of faith. 578 00:34:39,640 --> 00:34:40,640 That's what we want. 579 00:34:40,640 --> 00:34:45,280 And it's important that people say that about us. 580 00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:48,640 And then finally, you have a witness to leave. 581 00:34:48,640 --> 00:34:54,160 There's an interesting twist of words here, verse 26, that catches us off guard at first. 582 00:34:54,160 --> 00:34:59,640 He says, so that your proud confidence in me or your boasting in me may abound in Christ 583 00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:02,400 Jesus through my coming to you again. 584 00:35:02,400 --> 00:35:07,240 The proud confidence is sometimes rendered in translators, they use the word boast, but 585 00:35:07,240 --> 00:35:08,240 not in a prideful way. 586 00:35:08,240 --> 00:35:13,960 Paul said, I know you're not bragging on me, but you see the line after that, proud confidence 587 00:35:13,960 --> 00:35:16,280 in me may abound in Christ Jesus. 588 00:35:16,280 --> 00:35:20,640 In other words, if you're going to say any good thing about me, Paul said, about my life 589 00:35:20,640 --> 00:35:28,920 or my influence, you're going to attribute it to Jesus and his work in my life. 590 00:35:28,920 --> 00:35:36,400 Years ago, I attended a funeral in our chapel here and I was seated next to another pastor 591 00:35:36,400 --> 00:35:38,760 who served here years ago. 592 00:35:38,760 --> 00:35:44,000 And after the funeral, he turned to me and said, you know, a lot of good things were 593 00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:48,560 said about that person's life, but did you notice that nothing that was said was remotely 594 00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:50,560 connected to Christ? 595 00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:55,400 And I thought about it and I thought, wow, we did hear a list of all the things this 596 00:35:55,400 --> 00:36:01,440 fellow did and all the ways he was involved, but not one reference to doing anything in 597 00:36:01,440 --> 00:36:05,480 the power of Christ or the character of Christ or the gospel of Christ. 598 00:36:05,480 --> 00:36:09,400 And we both concluded that would be an empty life. 599 00:36:09,400 --> 00:36:13,240 That would be an empty remembrance of life. 600 00:36:13,240 --> 00:36:17,440 In other words, if you're living life apart from the power of Christ, it's not going to 601 00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:19,120 be a fulfilled life. 602 00:36:19,120 --> 00:36:21,240 It's not going to have in it what you want. 603 00:36:21,240 --> 00:36:25,680 Paul is saying in the end, I don't want my witness to disappoint you and I certainly don't 604 00:36:25,680 --> 00:36:27,760 want my witness to disappoint him. 605 00:36:27,760 --> 00:36:34,360 I want the witness I leave you to point to the greatness of the Savior that I serve. 606 00:36:34,360 --> 00:36:37,320 Let me ask you this question today. 607 00:36:37,320 --> 00:36:41,800 If your life were to end today, what would it point to? 608 00:36:41,800 --> 00:36:45,960 I've asked that question of myself in recent months. 609 00:36:45,960 --> 00:36:48,840 What witness would you leave behind? 610 00:36:48,840 --> 00:36:54,080 What one sentence epitaph would be on your gravestone? 611 00:36:54,080 --> 00:36:57,440 What would people say about your life before they moved on to other things? 612 00:36:57,440 --> 00:37:01,200 And they will move on to other things very quickly. 613 00:37:01,200 --> 00:37:07,440 I've actually thought of that to the degree of wanting my funeral to look a certain way 614 00:37:07,440 --> 00:37:11,080 at the point in a certain direction, as you should. 615 00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:17,720 Don't worry, I don't have a funeral date planned yet, just a funeral. 616 00:37:17,720 --> 00:37:21,360 I want my witness, Paul said. 617 00:37:21,360 --> 00:37:26,080 Any fragrance that still remains in my life, I want it to point to Christ. 618 00:37:26,080 --> 00:37:31,160 If I come back to you, if I'm spared of death and I come back to you, I want it to leave 619 00:37:31,160 --> 00:37:35,080 behind something that's worth leaving behind. 620 00:37:35,080 --> 00:37:38,880 And dear friend, I think that's what all of us just want. 621 00:37:38,880 --> 00:37:44,080 Paul says basically, make life count. 622 00:37:44,080 --> 00:37:49,440 Make it count with a purpose, make it count with a meaning that in eternity will still 623 00:37:49,440 --> 00:37:51,440 matter. 624 00:37:51,440 --> 00:37:55,760 Because as the old line says, soon one life will be passed. 625 00:37:55,760 --> 00:38:00,240 Only what's left, only what's done for Christ will last. 626 00:38:00,240 --> 00:38:05,040 Only what we do in serving Him, only what He does through us will last. 627 00:38:05,040 --> 00:38:09,720 Now there's some things I know now that I didn't know when I walked into that surgeon's 628 00:38:09,720 --> 00:38:10,720 office. 629 00:38:10,720 --> 00:38:15,760 Now I know that my thyroid cancer is often successfully treated. 630 00:38:15,760 --> 00:38:20,240 Now I know that the surgeons and the doctors in Canada just often have expertise in dealing 631 00:38:20,240 --> 00:38:21,240 with this. 632 00:38:21,240 --> 00:38:24,900 And now I have several friends that have come to me now and they're close friends now because 633 00:38:24,900 --> 00:38:29,960 they told me about their experiences and their encounters and some of them had this 20 years 634 00:38:29,960 --> 00:38:34,240 ago so I'm not worried about length of life as it pertains to this. 635 00:38:34,240 --> 00:38:37,000 God may take me tomorrow, I don't know. 636 00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:40,700 But up front, I'm glad I didn't know any of those things. 637 00:38:40,700 --> 00:38:48,480 Because I didn't want and I didn't need assurance of some medical ability, I needed to face 638 00:38:48,480 --> 00:38:53,640 the reality of life and death in a way that made me think more deeply about my life and 639 00:38:53,640 --> 00:38:55,040 my death. 640 00:38:55,040 --> 00:38:58,960 The threat of cancer seems less serious to me right now because of those things but it 641 00:38:58,960 --> 00:39:06,000 in no way diminished the encounter I have with Christ to make me think more deeply about 642 00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:07,960 my why. 643 00:39:07,960 --> 00:39:10,400 I know why I'm here. 644 00:39:10,400 --> 00:39:12,680 Why are you here? 645 00:39:12,680 --> 00:39:13,680 What's your purpose? 646 00:39:13,680 --> 00:39:19,960 And I assure you if it's not clear, there is one man that can make it clear and his name 647 00:39:19,960 --> 00:39:25,200 is Jesus and he will make it as clear as you'll let him make it. 648 00:39:25,200 --> 00:39:30,640 And you can live the rest of your days with that kind of focus, that kind of passion, 649 00:39:30,640 --> 00:39:31,640 that kind of why. 650 00:39:31,640 --> 00:39:33,600 That's what I want for you. 651 00:39:33,600 --> 00:39:34,880 That's what he wants for you. 652 00:39:34,880 --> 00:39:39,400 In just a moment I'm going to close this in prayer and there'll be three invitations 653 00:39:39,400 --> 00:39:40,400 that I make to you. 654 00:39:40,400 --> 00:39:45,600 One of them is that we have decision stations at every entrance as you leave today, one 655 00:39:45,600 --> 00:39:48,440 back to my right and one to my left. 656 00:39:48,440 --> 00:39:53,960 Decision stations are there to provide for you someone that can converse with you about 657 00:39:53,960 --> 00:39:56,200 spiritual decisions. 658 00:39:56,200 --> 00:39:59,600 For example, if you're in this room today and you don't have the confidence that when 659 00:39:59,600 --> 00:40:04,000 you die that you'll spend eternity with God in heaven, we want to talk to you about that 660 00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:07,760 and help you get the answer to that so we can have that conversation where you can place 661 00:40:07,760 --> 00:40:13,200 your trust and faith in Jesus and know that you've done that and know that he's responded. 662 00:40:13,200 --> 00:40:16,280 So we invite you to stop by the decision stations. 663 00:40:16,280 --> 00:40:20,840 I would also invite you to join us if you're a guest today in our guest reception room 664 00:40:20,840 --> 00:40:24,120 right outside the center exit doors across the hallway. 665 00:40:24,120 --> 00:40:25,120 It's a glass room. 666 00:40:25,120 --> 00:40:26,120 I'll be in there. 667 00:40:26,120 --> 00:40:30,240 You'll be able to see me there and I'd like to talk with you for just a few moments. 668 00:40:30,240 --> 00:40:32,920 And if you're a guest today we're going to invite you to eat with us free. 669 00:40:32,920 --> 00:40:37,200 We have a food truck out there and it's free to all guests and we want you to come in that 670 00:40:37,200 --> 00:40:40,720 room and I'll give you the way to get that food and we want to just visit with you and 671 00:40:40,720 --> 00:40:43,200 tell you about Cross City Church. 672 00:40:43,200 --> 00:40:44,700 Third invite is this. 673 00:40:44,700 --> 00:40:49,560 Come back next week because I'm going to answer the question, how can I live the Christian 674 00:40:49,560 --> 00:40:50,560 life? 675 00:40:50,560 --> 00:40:53,120 You talk about it all the time, but how can I do it? 676 00:40:53,120 --> 00:41:00,160 What means are available for me to actually live for Christ, to die to old things, to 677 00:41:00,160 --> 00:41:02,120 be alive to the new things that he wants. 678 00:41:02,120 --> 00:41:06,760 Give me the details about how do I do that specifically, practically, and you're going 679 00:41:06,760 --> 00:41:10,480 to get as practical as you can possibly imagine next Sunday morning. 680 00:41:10,480 --> 00:41:11,480 How can I live this life? 681 00:41:11,480 --> 00:41:19,040 Would you stand with me as we close in prayer today? 682 00:41:19,040 --> 00:41:21,240 Okay while they stand, you want to do that? 683 00:41:21,240 --> 00:41:22,240 Yes. 684 00:41:22,240 --> 00:41:23,640 Is that right? 685 00:41:23,640 --> 00:41:26,720 I'm just learning that we're going to have an impromptu baptisms in here. 686 00:41:26,720 --> 00:41:29,080 Someone's come to faith and they want to be baptized right now. 687 00:41:29,080 --> 00:41:32,080 I think we ought to let them do it. 688 00:41:32,080 --> 00:41:36,560 What do you think? 689 00:41:36,560 --> 00:41:39,560 Sometimes they put messages on the back of the screen, but I never look at them, so I 690 00:41:39,560 --> 00:41:40,560 don't know. 691 00:41:40,560 --> 00:41:41,560 So here we are. 692 00:41:41,560 --> 00:41:42,560 All right. 693 00:41:42,560 --> 00:41:45,560 We're all ready to go. 694 00:41:45,560 --> 00:41:46,560 Thank you, pastor. 695 00:41:46,560 --> 00:41:49,280 Ladies and gentlemen, we're so excited. 696 00:41:49,280 --> 00:41:50,280 This is Jonathan. 697 00:41:50,280 --> 00:41:52,560 Jonathan was setting exactly where you're setting. 698 00:41:52,560 --> 00:41:55,960 We're going to grab a seat right there, right where you were setting. 699 00:41:55,960 --> 00:42:00,800 And he watched the two baptisms take place and God just moved in his heart in that moment. 700 00:42:00,800 --> 00:42:05,240 Jonathan had already prayed to receive Christ, had gone down a road and kind of drifted a 701 00:42:05,240 --> 00:42:08,360 little bit as a lot of people do and said, you know what? 702 00:42:08,360 --> 00:42:10,600 Today, today I need to be baptized today. 703 00:42:10,600 --> 00:42:13,000 So he came out, met with Sharon for a little bit. 704 00:42:13,000 --> 00:42:16,800 I had an opportunity to visit with him and Jonathan's here today because he wants to 705 00:42:16,800 --> 00:42:19,480 follow Jesus Christ and being baptized. 706 00:42:19,480 --> 00:42:20,480 Jonathan, what is your testimony? 707 00:42:20,480 --> 00:42:22,160 My name is Jonathan. 708 00:42:22,160 --> 00:42:26,200 Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior and I am not ashamed. 709 00:42:26,200 --> 00:42:29,520 Amen, amen, amen. 710 00:42:29,520 --> 00:42:34,080 Jonathan, because you're a professor of faith, it is my great privilege to get to baptize 711 00:42:34,080 --> 00:42:37,320 you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 712 00:42:37,320 --> 00:42:39,960 Bear with Christ in baptism. 713 00:42:39,960 --> 00:42:46,360 Raise to walk in a new way of life. 714 00:42:46,360 --> 00:42:47,360 You are dismissed. 715 00:42:47,360 --> 00:43:04,600 Have a wonderful Lourdes Day.