A (0:00)

Let's take our Bibles and go to Philippians Chapter one. If you're new to Cornerstone, we just go straight through the Bible from COVID to cover. And we are here in the book of Philippians. We started it a couple of weeks ago, and we are still in chapter one. So as you're finding your way there, here's a little background on what we're about to read. We've been doing a series here through the book of Philippians entitled Reasons to Rejoice. And the reason that I picked that title for this series is because Paul talks about rejoicing, or he uses the word joy 14 times in this little letter of just four chapters. That is proportionally more references to joy and rejoicing than any other book of the Bible. And what is so amazing about Paul writing to the church of Philippi, which was in Greece, is that he is in Rome, Italy, and he's in prison when he's writing with such joy to the believers in Philippi that he loves so much. And the reason he's in prison in Rome is for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And so the emperor at that time, Caesar Nero, is now the one to whom Paul has appealed for his conviction of preaching the Gospel. And he is there in prison awaiting trial. And this is roughly 62 A.D. the great persecution of Christians breaks out in 64 A.D. when Rome burns and Nero blames the Christians, and he rounds up Christians by the tens of thousands and murders them, martyrs them for their faith in Jesus Christ. And so this is a couple years before that great persecution breaks out. But there are isolated pockets of persecution against Christians, and Paul gets swept up in one of those isolated persecutions. And so he's awaiting trial here before Caesar Nero. Now, history tells us that he will get through this and he will get out of jail, although we have no record of how the trial went. And Paul will later get arrested again, and the next time he gets arrested, Nero will have him beheaded. This first pass, he comes through unscathed. But while he's in prison, he writes four different letters, one of which is the letter here of Philippians. His time in prison is not in vain, though, by the way, because he tells us in this letter that he has been able to share the Gospel with some of Caesar's own household. And that at the end of this letter, he remarks how there are some who have actually gotten saved. They've believed in the Lord Jesus. And this is remarkable because you have to remember this is first century. This is Roman Empire. There's no mass Communication like we have now. The only way people would hear the gospel is if someone actually on foot got to where you lived and proclaimed the good news of Jesus. And God had it in his heart, wasn't necessarily in Paul's heart. God had it in his heart that the people, even in Caesar's palace, needed to hear the good news of Jesus. So this is really a divine appointment where Paul is imprisoned by God's assignment so that people who otherwise would never have heard the gospel have heard the gospel there in Rome, in Caesar's palace, and actually gotten saved. And so that's what's so remarkable. Now, Acts, the book of Acts, Chapter 23, tells us that God had it in mind and appeared to Paul two years before Paul ends up here in Rome and says to Paul that as you have testified of me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify of me in Rome. The part that God left out was that it will involve prison time. And we talked about this how God does not always tell us everything in advance. He knows what we need to know in the moment, and that's all he gives us. If you're a parent, you know how this is when your kids want all the information. You're like, you don't need to know. Like, you tell your kids what they need to know when the time is appropriate. And that's the way God often deals with us. He doesn't give us the whole picture all the time. He tells us little incremental things, and we just need to be obedient and follow him. And God will give us grace when we get into the moment that is pressing for Paul. And what is pressing for him is he is here in prison now. He writes here in chapter one with gratitude toward his fellow believers in Philippi, thanking them for their prayers. We find out that they've been praying for Paul while he's in prison here. And I want you to pick up now in Philippians, chapter 1, verse 19, because Paul is going to say to these folks that he's writing to, he says, you have great reason to rejoice, okay? This is all consistent with our theme. He goes, I want to tell you why you have good reason to rejoice, he says, because it's all going to work out okay, whether I live or whether I die. He says, it's all going to be okay. This is verse 19 of chapter one. For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Underline that in your Bibles or highlight that. That's a great verse. We'll talk more about it today. He says in verse 22 but if I live on in the flesh, like if I stay, if I remain here alive, this will mean fruit from my labor. Yet what I shall choose I cannot tell, for I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless, to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith, that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again. So we'll pause there. I've entitled Today's teaching Torn Between Two Worlds. Torn between Between Two Worlds. Let's have a word of prayer, Father in heaven. We just thank youk for being here with us today, Lord, and how we have the opportunity to open up our Bibles and to read and to study what yout would have to say to us today. Thank youk, Lord, on this very cold day that yout have allowed us to be here to worship youp. Thank youk for the heat. Thank youk for the things we take for granted. Often we just want to glorify youy name in this place. And I pray, Lord, that you would speak to our hearts today, that you would draw men and women and young people to yourself, especially those who don't have a relationship with you, that they would come to know you today. And that for those of us who already know you, we would just continue to rejoice in what we're about to read here and study. And we just thank you for your grace in our lives. Thank you Lord, for your goodness. Thank you for your love. We give you praise and thanks together in Jesus name. And everybody said Amen. Well, so far through our series here of Philippians, just into chapter one, we've seen two reasons to rejoice. Paul tells us, number one, that God will finish what he started concerning us. That's verse six, being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. A reminder that God is for us. And when we get saved, he doesn't just say, good luck getting to heaven. He comes alongside of us by his spirit, he helps us, he guides us, he equips us, he empowers us, because he will complete what he began. Then also we looked at number two, that God will use our chains for his divine purposes. Now I put it in quotes as it relates to us. They were literal chains that Paul was in, in prison he refers to his chains several times, but he writes in the context of his chains represent his circumstances that were not desirable. And yet he realized that God was using his undesirable circumstances for God's benefit, for God's glory, because people were getting saved while he's there in prison hearing the gospel. It is a reminder to us that in our unpleasant circumstances God is still at work, like don't be discouraged, that God is still doing things that we cannot always see or appreciate at the time. And so even our chains, so to speak, will be used for his divine purposes. And then we see another reason to rejoice here in the passage we're studying this morning and it's straight out of verse 21. Number three. To live is Christ and to die is gain. To live is Christ and to die is gain. Now this raises for me two questions. Number one, and you might be wondering, why is that reason to rejoice? What Paul writes there in verse 21, for me to live as Christ, to die is gain. Why is that reason to rejoice? And question number two for me is, is this a death wish on Paul's part when he says there for me to live is Christ, but to die is. Is even better. Is this some kind of a death wish? And I want to answer the second question first. When Paul writes there to die is gain. And when he writes further, if you look in your bibles at verse 23 again the last part of verse 23, he says having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. So when he says these things, does he have a death wish? And the answer is no. And how do we know he doesn't have a death wish per se? The answer is because he goes on to explain that he knows his work is not finished and thus he must remain still there in that passage. Look at your Bibles. Verse 23 he says, For I am hard pressed between the two meaning between the two worlds living here on earth and my desire to be with Christ in heaven. He says, I'm torn, he says, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Verse 24. Nevertheless, nevertheless he says to remain in the flesh, like to be still physically present here on Earth is more needful for you. So he. He. He's writing to the Philippian Church, and he's like, you know what? One of the reasons God's not done with me is because he still has me on assignment. To be of benefit to you, to be your mentor, to be your spiritual father to help you grow in your faith. Keep reading verse 25 and being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith, that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again. So please note, Paul has every hope and desire to revisit the church at Philippi. He doesn't know how, he doesn't know when, but he's still clinging to the hope that he's going to get through this trial, he's going to get through the imprisonment because he has a real desire to visit them again. So he's not checking out. He's not like, oh, I just have this death wish. I just went out. He. He realizes that God is not finished with him, so he. He. He doesn't have a death wish here, but what he does have is what I've coined a heaven wish. That's what he has. Now, let me explain the difference. A death wish are dark thoughts that sometimes people think when they have suicidal ideations or reckless behavior because they just don't really care whether they live or die. That's a death wish. But a heaven wish is the idea that you desire to finish well. You desire to live this life and finish well, but because life itself can be weary at times, you welcome the idea of heaven whenever God says, it's your time. You welcome the. The idea of heaven whenever God says, okay, your time is done. Now, if you've never had a heaven wish, you've not lived long enough. Because if you've lived long enough, you know exactly what Paul's writing about here. You're like, hey, you know, okay, God, you have me here on earth and, you know, love my family and love this and love that. But whenever you're done, I'm happy to get out of here. All right? If you've never thought that, you're just too young. You just haven't lived long enough. Because I guarantee you, at some point in your life, when life becomes crushing enough, sorrowful enough, heavy enough, disappointing enough, you will at times have a heaven wish, be like God. You know, I'm not. I'm not saying hasten it, but I'm just saying whenever you're Ready for me to go I'm ready for heaven Phil Wickham wrote about this very kind of sentiment in his song that he recently came out with called Homesick for Heaven. How many of you have heard that song, Homesick for Heaven? I'm going to read you the lyrics because it's. It's a very well written song that expresses this very idea of, look, I'm not. I don't have a death wish, but man, I still long for heaven. This is what he wrote, Homesick for Heaven My heart belongs to a country and a king Of a land I've always known but I've never seen Some call it paradise or the land of the living well, I call it home and I'm homesick for heaven I want to walk with Moses on streets of gold and dance with David before your throne to thank you face to face for the grace you've given I want to see my children run into your arms and worship the Savior who wears my scars there's an ache in my heart I'm homesick for heaven in my Father's house there are many rooms Enough for everyone Enough for you I know it takes some faith but today you can know without question Believe in the power of Jesus name and you're going to heaven oh, oh, hallelujah In Jesus name we're going to heaven I want to walk with Moses on streets of gold and dance with David before your throne to thank you face to face for the grace you've given I want to see my children run into your arms and worship the Savior who wears my scars there's an ache in my heart I'm homesick for heaven no more fear, no more pain Every tear wiped away Crying holy, holy Every knee on the floor Every voice evermore Crying Holy, holy yeah oh, I want to go home oh, I want to go home to see the ones I love who've gone before when death is a memory and tears are no more to hear the angels praise can you even imagine I'll run as fast as I can into your arms Because I was created to be where you are there's an ache in my heart I'm homesick for heaven there's an ache in my heart I'm homesick for heaven See, that's what Paul is talking about when he says, to die is gain. To die is gain. Because he longs for a place that the Bible describes in Revelation chapter 21 as a place of no mores. No more crying. No more pain. No more sorrow. No more death. You see, crying Pain and sorrow and death are all things this side of heaven, not there, this side of heaven. Eternity in heaven will be absolutely amazing. So let me talk a little bit about heaven this morning, and I'm reminded of the words of the great preacher from the 1800s, Charles Spurgeon, who said to his students, he said, now listen, when you talk about heaven, let your face light up. And when you talk about hell, just your everyday face will do. So let me try to light up my face talking about heaven a little bit because there are 255 references to heaven in the New Testament and more than 400 references to heaven in the Old Testament. The Bible has a lot to say on the topic of heaven. And seeing as how if you know Christ as your Savior, it's going to be your ultimate reward, it's good for you to get tuned into what heaven's going to be like. And if you don't know Christ as your Savior, I pray that by the end of the study you're going to want to go there because you're going to want to know for sure that heaven is your ultimate reward because of what Christ has done for us. So here are some things. I got five quick things about heaven. Number one for you. Note takers. Heaven is the dwelling place of God and the eternal home promised to believers in Jesus Christ who will go there immediately upon death. Now I've given you some scripture references there for you, and I'll just read these. 1 Kings, chapter 8, verse 30. This is Solomon when he is praying to the Lord after dedicating the temple to God. This is what he says. And may you hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place, meaning the temple. He says, here in heaven your dwelling place. And when you hear, forgive. And then in Psalm 103:19 it says, the Lord has established his throne in heaven and his kingdom rules over all. In Revelation 21:27 it says, but there shall by no means enter in it anything that defiles or causes an abomination or a lie. But only those here are the only ones who can get into heaven, only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Your name must be in the Lamb's Book of Life for you to gain access into heaven. How do you get your name in the Lamb's Book of Life? I'll share that at the very end. But then also listen to this. 2nd Corinthians 5, 6, 8. Paul writes, Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. Now, let me tell you why that passage is very important, because you're going to hear some different doctrinal positions on the idea of what happens upon death. And what we need to really look at is what the Bible says happens upon death. Those of you with Catholic backgrounds, you know that there's this doctrine of purgatory. The idea that when somebody dies, they don't go straight to heaven, they go to purgatory, and then you gotta get prayed out of purgatory in order to go to heaven. That is just simply not in the Bible. That is just simply not anywhere in the Bible. Paul makes it clear there in 2nd Corinthians 5. I just read it. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord that at the moment we die. If you know Jesus, your spirit separates from your body and goes to heaven to be with Jesus. He has opened heaven. Now it is accessible to all who would believe because of the cross. Since the cross, heaven has been directly accessed. Now, before the cross, there was a holding place called paradise for those who had trusted in God by the sacrificial system. But Jesus emptied that paradise side of Sheol or Hades and led the captives free. So that now, since the cross, everybody who dies believing in Jesus Christ goes immediately to be with the Lord. There's no purgatory. Friends, I would also take issue with Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh Day Adventists who will teach you something called the doctrine of soul sleep. What they believe is that when a person dies, you go into the grave and your soul is just asleep. You're in a state of unconsciousness and you'll disintegrate and worms eat you. And then when Jesus returns, then you come up out of the grave. Okay, that's just not in the Bible either. What's in the Bible is Jesus died on a cross for all who would believe and receive him as Lord and Savior. He opened access to heaven because of faith in what he did on that cross. So that for everyone who believes in the moment of their death, your spirit goes to be with the Lord in heaven. Can I hear an amen on that? That's a glorious truth. So this is what he's telling us here in this passage. You go immediately to heaven through faith in Jesus Christ. Now, listen. It is God's dwelling place. It doesn't mean he's restricted to heaven. He's omnipresent. He can be anywhere at all times. But it is the place of his throne. It is the place of his dwelling, though he is not limited to heaven. Number two, heaven is located somewhere above the earth, beyond outer space. Listen to what Paul wrote in 2nd Corinthians 12:1 2. He says, I must go on boasting, although there is nothing to be gained. I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. I know a man in Christ who 14 years ago was caught up to the third heaven, where he says, whether it was in the body or out of the body, I do not know. God knows. Now he's being like humble here. He's talking about himself, but he's writing in the third person. I know a man, he doesn't really want to talk about himself, but the fact is that we know he was stoned. I don't mean the kind that some of you were in the 70s. I mean he was stoned, like literally. People threw rocks at him and he basically died in the city of Lystra. And God revived him. But he goes on to write about his out of body experience, how he was taken up to the third heaven. Now what does he mean by the third heaven? Are there three heavens? No, this is first century language to describe the difference between the first heavens, which, which is the earth's atmosphere, the second heavens, which is outer space. The third heaven is where the Lord is beyond outer space. So he writes about this experience he has when he was caught up to the presence of the Lord. He just says it's the third heaven, cause it's beyond outer space. And then he gets revived and he comes back to talk about it. But heaven is this place where beyond outer space, where God dwells and where he is enthroned. Number three. Also we learn from the Bible that heaven has streets of gold and gates of pearl and walls of Jasper and foundations of precious stones and a crystal clear river running through it. The Bible doesn't give us all the description of heaven, but gives us enough that we can only imagine how spectacular and beautiful this place is. Listen to Revelation 21:18. It says the construction of its wall was of Jasper and, and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. Also in verse 21 it says the 12 gates. There are 12 gates leading into this great city. There were 12 pearls. Each individual gate was one pearl. That's a big pearl, everybody. Ladies, that's some bling right there. One big pearl per gate. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. And Revelation 22, verse 1 says, and he showed me a pure river of water, of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. So spectacular. And try to imagine the colors I was googling the other day, like, researching, thinking about colors. You know, there are three primary colors from which we get all the other shades of colors. The human eye can basically detect about a million different shades of colors. And if just one more color were added to the three primary colors, if you had four, it would open up not just 1 million different shades of colors, but 100 million. Like, just imagine if there's one other color that we don't even know that heaven will be brilliant with colors we've not even be able to have been able to see this side of heaven. So wonderful, beautiful, spectacular place. Number four. Here's something interesting. The Bible says heaven is illuminated solely by the glory of God and the presence of Jesus. This is Revelation 21:23. It says the city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. So no need for a sun, no need for the moon to reflect the sun. God's glory and the presence of Jesus illuminate all of heaven. And finally, number five, heaven is a place of reunions with loved ones and friends who knew Christ as Savior. This is probably, to me, one of the most important parts of why I want to go to heaven. Because I want to see my friends and loved ones again who have gone on before me, who know the Lord. And the Bible assures us of this. Now, I gave you two references there, Matthew 17 and John 21. In Matthew 17, it's the story of when Jesus was transfigured, meaning just the glory of God just completely illuminated the Lord. And Jesus just emanated the Shekinah glory of God. And he had taken with him up on a high mountain, three of his 12 disciples, Peter, James, and John. And the Bible says that appearing there with Jesus when he was transfigured before them was Moses and Elijah. Now, Peter recognizes Moses and Elijah and immediately offers to build three little tents or tabernacles, because he wants to preserve the moment. He wants Jesus, Moses, and Elijah to just have a little hut to hang out while they just enjoy the moment. And it doesn't happen because they vanish before Peter has a chance to do such a thing. But he just wanted to preserve the moment. And the question is, how would Peter even recognize Moses and Elijah, they died centuries before Peter. The fact is that he was able to recognize them because there becomes a recognizability and there becomes this conscious awareness of who people are even after they have died and gone to heaven. And John, chapter 21 is the other reference where Jesus, after he rose from the dead, has a glorified body. He still retains his appearance so that he's recognizable. His disciples recognize him after he rose from the dead. So listen, everybody. When we get to heaven, we will recognize our loved ones. We will bear the resemblance only a whole lot better than who we currently are. Okay? Everything's only better in heaven, everybody. All right? So those of you who have been like, you know, I don't know if I. If I will recognize my loved ones, you know, because maybe they've changed or maybe they're different, you know? Look, it doesn't. It doesn't matter how much work you've had done on you, how old somebody was, even how young someone was. There will probably be a universal age in heaven, and it will all be better than the way it is now. And we will all retain some resemblance so that we'll all be recognizable. Plus. Plus remember what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13. He says, now, like on earth now, I know in part, but then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. So we will know much more than we know now. Things will be revealed to us in ways that we only have limited understanding here. When we get to heaven, it'll be opened up to us with greater understanding. You'll recognize your loved ones. And I. And I hope that you look forward to a glorious reunion with people that you know and love who have gone on before you. Eternity in heaven will be amazing, because for the Christian, death is not defeat. It is graduation to glory. But the question becomes, are you ready for heaven? Because please hear me on this. You cannot say as Paul did. To die is gain until you are first able to say, to live is Christ. If you cannot say, to live is Christ, you will not be able to know the heaven wish. You will not be able to know for sure that you're going to heaven unless you can first say, I live for Christ. What are you living for? A lot of people live for a lot of things in this world. A lot of people live for money. They live for fame. They live for recognition. They live for success. They live for all kinds of things. And those things by themselves are not wrong. But if those are the things you're living for, that's where the problem lies. Do you live for Christ? Solomon, one of the kings of Israel, the son of David, would have many regrets of his life. And he had great reason to have regrets. He would get to the end of his life and write the book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes is the journal of an old king. And when he looks back in the rearview mirror, he realizes he. He pursued a lot of personal things. He pursued material success, he pursued pleasures, he pursued wine and women. He gets to the end of his life and he looks back at all the different pursuits, career and success and building projects and women and fine wine and all this stuff. And he says, at the end of the day, what I've realized is it's all meaningless without God. It's all meaningless without God. To live for Christ means that you've surrendered your life to Jesus Christ, that you invite him into your life to be Lord and Savior. You yield yourself to him, and he now becomes your Lord, your Savior, and he leads your life and he is in control of your life. And his truth becomes the truth for your life. What he hates, you hate. What he loves you love what he says you do. Because now he's your Lord and he's your Savior. And when you trust Jesus Christ by faith, what he did on that cross for your sins, for the forgiveness of your sins is sufficient for you, then your name is added to that Lamb's book of life. And when that book is opened, when you stand at one of those great pearly gates. Yes, that isn't just, you know, Hollywood talk. That is what the Bible describes having. When you stand at that pearly gate and that book is opened, will your name be there? Because the only way you can say as Paul did, to die as gain, is to say, now for me to live as Christ. And if you don't know him today, I invite you to open your life to him, to trust him as your Lord and Savior so that you can say the whole thing for me to live as Christ and to die, whatever day that is, whenever God calls me home, it'll be even better than here for sure. Would you bow your heads with me as we pray? Father in heaven, I thank you for this time in your word today and thank you for the glimpse of heaven that you give us. Thank you, Lord, for your great promise. For those who know you as Lord and Savior, I pray right now for those who are here or those watching online who don't know you as Lord and Savior, that they would open their hearts to you and trust you. Today, I'M going to pause in my prayer right now. Just still with your heads bowed. If you want to trust Christ as your Savior, then just pray this prayer with me. Just open your heart to him and say, lord, I know I'm a sinner like everybody else, but I confess my sins to you today and I ask you to forgive me. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus, take over my life. I surrender to your lordship and I trust you as my Lord and Savior. So that one day, whenever that day comes and you call me home, I will spend eternity in heaven. Not because of what I've done, but because of what you've done for me on that cross. So save me today, Jesus, I want to trust you as my Lord and Savior. In Jesus name I pray. Now listen before you leave, if you prayed that prayer with me and you want to get a Bible just to remember today's decision, come down front. I'm going to dismiss in just a minute. There'll be a pastor down front. They'll give you a Bible to remember today's decision. If you prayed that prayer online, we'll mail you a Bible anywhere around the world. Just text to the church. I have decided 703-844-9969 we'll send it to you anywhere you live. Go in the grace of the Lord. Everybody to live as Christ to die is gain. God bless you.