The central claim in the passage is that for a believer, 'to live is Christ' and 'to die is gain,' reflecting a life fully surrendered to Christ and an eager anticipation of eternal life. The sermon explores this theme by contrasting the believer's perspective with the world's, highlighting the future hope of a new heaven and new earth where there will be no more tears, death, or pain, as described in Revelation 21. It emphasizes that while earthly life involves suffering and sorrow, the ultimate destiny for believers is eternal joy and presence with Christ. The message concludes by urging listeners to live a life purified by the anticipation of Christ's return, ensuring they are prepared for the joy of His presence.
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Could we turn this morning to the book of Philippians? Philippians chapter one. And verse twenty one. We all know this verse, I'm sure. And I would like to add my hearty thanks to each one, Brother Harold, and all the others that have been involved in making the camp what it has been and what we've enjoyed the last several days.
This is a little bit of heaven and earth for me. I enjoy it. And it's been a real joy to meet so many new friends. And like Brother Wilson said, if it's an acre for each friend, well, we've got a lot of acres this past weekend. And we do thank you, dear folks, for your graciousness in coming out to hear the ministry. and in praying for us and we pray that you'll continue to do so we need your prayers very much but we do thank the staff and each one that volunteered to come down and make this a real time of blessing Philippians chapter one and verse twenty one for me to live is Christ and to die is being my dear brother this morning when our dear brother when he got up to sing that song And the tune that he used, amazingly, was my son that passed away with his favorite little part.
He loved that above everything else. And it was sang at the graveside. I've got a mansion over the hilltop. And our dear brother added a beautiful close to that. He's coming back. And we'll see him again. Oh, how precious that the Lord is coming back. And so it seems strange to the world when we say, for me to live, and to live is in the emphatic in the Greek, for me to live. And that beloved should be the very essence of our life, not just the object. It should be the very essence, the very outworking of the Spirit of God in our lives as believers, those who have tasted and seen that the Lord is good.
for me to live now. Present perfect tense. Oh, that we might take that into perspective and into reality. Myself included. And realize that our moment by moment objective, no matter what it is doing, should be to do it as nothing but more. To do it by the Spirit's power to the best of our ability. It matters not who's looking on, the Lord is looking on. And so Paul says, for me to live, that was life's purpose for Paul.
For me to live is Christ. That's for now. And to die is gain. Now, it seems cynical to say that, doesn't it? To die is gain. But it is, you know, from the believer. The worst thing that can happen is we can die and go to be with the Lord. That's the best thing that can happen. It's the best thing that can happen. It's wonderful. That's why we can say, I shall not care what man shall do unto me. We're going home to go home. Now there are negatives there, but even the negatives in the Christian life are blessings.
If we look over at Revelation chapter twenty-one, Revelation twenty-one. We'd just like to bring a few words of encouragement to our hearts this morning to encourage us to go on to the Lord in Revelation twenty-one-one. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea. No longer any sea. The Gentile nations are over. And I, John, saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. It is not every wedding an absolute time of total enjoyment, anticipation, and just the fulfillment of that waiting.
Are we waiting? Are we anticipating? Are we preparing? As a bride prepares for her bridegroom? but the Lord had prepared. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and you live well with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And then we have the negatives, and God shall wipe away all here. There are not one single one of us here today that have not known tears from the time we were a wee lad or a wee lassie to what we are today.
We've known tears, haven't we? We have tears when we separate from those we love. We have tears when we bid goodbye to some of the saints of God that are going to another area. We have tears when we come to the graveside. We have tears as we think of those of our loved ones who reject the offer of salvation. tears. And we even have tears, and I have many of them, as we get before it, God in our faith. And we realize His holiness and who He is. And we come to Him in prayer.
Oh, how can we help but have tears as we remember Calvary? Tears of joy. in anticipation of what's before us. But they are tears. And the doctors can't even tell us really what causes tears to fall. How they come about. But here we have that blessed negative. There will be no more tears. Oh, what a volume that tells us. There will be no more of those things that separate. There will be no more saying goodbye. There will be no more standing at the graveside.
There will be no more tears over some of our loved ones that have disappointed us. Some of our loved ones that have done those things displeasing to the Lord and they break our hearts. No more tears over a brother or sister that has become hardened in heart and turned away from the Lord. And if we're really shepherds, how many tears we have. Oh, those that have cared for God's people know what cares are. Oh, dear ones, when those who are concerned about the sheep and they come and they take the word of God and they seek to instruct and they seek to correct and they seek to encourage.
Realize it's done with a heart of love. Particularly when it comes to those difficult times of correction or discipline. I don't believe there's any true servant of God that's a faithful shepherd that ever does any correction with any joy. There's joy when the correction has produced fruit of righteousness. But in the meantime, there's a broken heart. and the true servants whether it be a man or a woman who cares and loves about that person shed tears but beloved there'll be no more tears we're going to see him and we're going to be like him and there'll be no more tears a blessed negative no more goodbye I can remember as a lad up in Maine there at the Thompson farm.
We used to up there every summer. And so many of the Lord's people came through, or they'd come to the house, our own home at home. Our mother and dad kept all the Lord's servants. And you know, it used to always shake me as a young man, as a teenage, as a younger child. The Christians would gather and they'd sing, God be with you till we meet again. Man, that was always the saddest thing in the world for me to see. The saints of God standing around singing, God be with you. So we meet again. Surely we want God to be with each one. But boy, that's sad to say goodbye to God's people. But up there, we'll all be together and we'll never say goodbye.
There'll be no more here. There'll be no more sick men. There'll be no more carnage. No more tears. Can we not say, be with Christ's hands? No more tears. And then we find also that there will be no more death. While it's a joy to stand at the great height of our dearly beloved brother or sister in Christ, it's gone and let the testimonies of the glory of God So let us see their time. We'll never see that individual on this earth again.
All those memories, all that love that's been shared, all the preciousness of knowing that individual is white beside, gone. All there's left is memory. Because death is man. And then there's other times we stand at the grave side, And as far as we know, that dear person, whether it be a dear relative, or just someone we've had acquaintance with. Perhaps they have loved ones in the assembly of God's people. And when we say the assembly, the word in the word of God, I might express that in case there's some that are not familiar with that. That is not an ecclesiastical term as used by the world.
Assembly simply means a gathering of the people. The same word was used of the mob that was around Paul. It's the same word, assembly. It was a group of people. And when we say, when we use the word assembly from the platform here, we're saying just those who are gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christians gather together. So that's what we mean. It's not an ecclesiastical name as we have those that take the assembly of God. That's an ecclesiastical title of a group of people. Or the assembly of Christ. Those are ecclesiastical names given to groups. So when we use the term, beloved, we're simply speaking of God's people. Gathered together in a local testimony, a representation of a universal testimony.
So if you've misunderstood that in any way, please don't. And so we find then that there may be those that are in the family of God, in the local testimony, in a local assembly, and they have loved ones. And all the saints of God have been praying for them, and praying for them. that they get saved. But because of their willful hard-heartedness and pride, as far as we know sometimes, they never come to the Lord Jesus Christ. And then we stand at their grave side in their God. And as far as we know, they're gone into a lost eternity. Oh, that causes tears.
Tears of real heartache. Because someone is now beyond the reach of God. They've gone into the eternity. They've gone into a lost eternity, separated forever, not only from their loved ones, but separated from God into a place of torment. And they're here. There shall be no more death. Why? Because each one present with God has life eternal. And will be with the giver of life, who is life. And there'll be no more. Yeah.
And we thank God for that. And then, neither shall there be any more pain. We've all known pain, heaven. From headaches on down to the... And especially as we get older, the arthritis and the... We've broken legs and this and that. If you've been like me. We've broken this and broken that. And there's been pain, hasn't there? And then there's the worst pain of all. pain of heartache. Oh, that's the worst thing. To know individuals. I remember my sister brought up in a Christian home, a godly home as I was, as my brothers were. You know, she was twenty-eight years of age before she came to know the Lord Jesus Christ.
I thank God he saved me at age. But she was brought up in her same home and don't you think he had heartache? Oh, I can remember to this day my father and my mother on their knees in their bedroom. And I could hear them praying for us children. Revive us. And oh, whenever they came, my sister Jack. There was always fear. Why? Because there was a heartache. She was rebellious. and rejecting the Christ of God.
Carnage. Oh, that's the worst thing in the world. There's no pain in all the world like carnage. And we could go on and give example after example. But we read here that neither shall there be any more pain. And why? For the former things are passed away. Oh, to die. is absolutely me. That's why Paul could say, I'd rather go and be with Christ, which is very far back. It's ease for the believer. But while we remain here, we have to remember those who have never tasted and seen that the Lord is good.
They've never come to that place as we reminded this morning. Who is your beloved? What is he more than all others? Oh, he's the cheapest among ten thousand. He's above all the others, but they've never seen that. And beloved, it's our privilege and our responsibility, and it should be our heart's desire to go into the uttermost parts of the earth and to tell others of our blessed Lord Jesus. That they too, not only can have eternal life, but that they might know the joy of the Lord, they might know the joy of salvation. And do we know the joy? of salvation. It's so easy to have all the form of godliness, but tonight the power thereof.
We need to know that we're in Christ now. We're in the heavenly, in the person of Lord Jesus. And these other dear saints of God are enjoying the Lord. But then there are those that are outside of Christ. And oh, I realize more and more every day as I go into homes where there's brokenness, where sin has come in, particularly with young people. And parents say, what can I do now? Well, the problem is the child's sixteen or seventeen or eighteen years old. It's sixteen or seventeen or eighteen years too late. I thank God I cut my teeth.
My very first hearing was him and the Word of God. Before I could even speak. Mother quoted them on her knees. And we need to reach that. And give them the joy of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ. Adding another family by the Spirit of God to the family of God. The Lord added daily such as should be saved. And that gives us another one to fellowship. That doesn't mean we gain too. as well as that individual. The whole Church of God gained, but best of all, the Lord Jesus Christ gained and gone to ponder.
So we have the negative gain, but then there are positive gains. Let's turn over to the twenty-third verse of Philippians chapter one. The Apostle Paul expresses perhaps the very desires of our own hearts at times. Philippians chapter one and verse twenty-three. The Apostle Paul says by the Spirit of God, for I am in a strait between two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is very far better. Nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. Oh, the Apostle Paul, who had gone through so much, who was in prison, oh, he says, I'd love to just depart and be with Christ.
That's my heart's yearning and my heart's desire. You know, and that should be our desire. And it really is, if we stop and think about it. If our eyes are on the warden, it has to be. Told you about having an ulcer. And I didn't finish. When the doctor came in a couple of days later, and he said, Bob, everything's fine. You find out you had a swab and an ulcer. You don't have cancer at all. We thought you had cancer. I said, I know, Doc, I found out about it. And he came, when I went back to visit him at the office, he said, Bob, you know, I... I looked at you when I told you that, and you really looked absolutely disappointed. I said, disappointed. That's putting it mildly.
I was prepared to go home with the Lord, and you told me I had a say in his miserable earth. Wouldn't I be disappointed? Of course, it was a great time to give him the gospel. But the dear man, as far as I know to this day, has never come to know the Lord Jesus Christ. But certainly, we long to be with the Lord Jesus Christ. But on the other hand, it's needful for us to remain. Because He's got us here, it wouldn't be needful. Isn't that true? For each one of us, we're here because it's needful. That's not pride. That's submission. It's needful for us to remain. It's needful for us to remain. It's needful for us to remain.
It's needful for us to remain. Because if it wasn't needful, he'd have taken us home already. Now we have to know what is. Why is it needful for us to remain? Not for each one of us before the Lord. And it was our brother Wilson was just saying a few minutes ago. You know, I was just in an assembly. Dear saints of God, I had a wonderful time. And without even knowing about it, I ministered on Christians not speaking to one another. And you know what I found out afterwards? That there were three sisters in that meeting. Can you imagine that?
Who had been the best of friends, but because of a silly childish misunderstanding, they weren't speaking to each other. There may be someone here this morning and you feel like I'm justified. I was wrong. Maybe you were. Are you going to stand before the Lord Jesus Christ when he said, why weren't you speaking to your brother? Why weren't you speaking to your sister? Why did you hold yourself aloof? You're only a sinner saved by grace, just like the other person. What are we going to have? What can we say? There we stand before His holiness and righteousness and in His presence.
I didn't like the way she parted her hair, or I didn't like the way He spoke to me, or He wronged me, or she wronged me. Can we not commit it to the law? Who is wrong more than the Lord? Who is reviled more than the Lord Jesus Christ? Who is murdered by man? Oh, Lord God, delivered himself. Let's make that straight. Just passing by that, you know, whenever man speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ's death, he says, crucifixion. But you'll never find God the Father ever saying crucifixion by the Lord Jesus.
that he died. You see, crucifixion intimates a criminal. Crucifixion indicates wrongdoing. Crucifixion indicates a breaking of the law. And thus, the Lord Jesus died. He dismissed his spirit, not for wrongdoing, but for my redemption. Because he's a son of God. But we thank God That on the cross, what did he say? Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. Same book we're in, Philippians chapter three in verse ten.
We signed the little course yesterday that I may know him. Oh, it's wonderful to know him, isn't it? Oh, it's just wonderful. The power of his resurrection, wonderful to know the power of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it gets a little rough, doesn't it? For a long time I couldn't pray that. Fellowship of his suffering. What's the fellowship of his suffering? He was despised and rejected. A man of sorrow is going to call you this, right? Are we ready to be despised? Are we ready to be maltreated? He was treated that way when he was righteous. And we're not righteous. Sometimes we deserve it because we brought it on ourselves.
Sometimes we're just being made conformable to his death. Oh, that's the hard one, isn't it? What is being conformed to is death? Well, part of it, just part of it, is not my will, but I need us. And if we're honest, that's hard, isn't it? Oh, it's hard. When something is so dear to us, and we want it, we believe it's the best and we want it so bad. But we have to pray, and then we have to say, Father, I will. So we come to the positive gain.
And he says, I desire to depart. Why do I desire to depart? Well, I'll be with Christ. Is there anything better than gain with Christ? Looking on him who was past? Looking into the radiant face of the man in glory. We have a man in the glory. Not a ghost. Not a euphorism. But a man. A physical man. who has marks in his hands and his feet and his thigh. Oh, the blessed man of Calvary, our mediators. And he's with us all the way. Paul says, I'll be with Christ.
What does the Lord say? He says, Behold, I come quickly and my reward is with me for every man. He's coming quickly, beloved. His reward is with him, to give every man according to his works. We need to walk daily. And that's what we've been speaking about here, our walk daily. We need to walk daily with the coming of the Lord Jesus before us. Because that purifies, doesn't it? Oh, for the believers, it doesn't anticipate and expect and look for the coming of the Lord. I feel sorry for a believer that lives in that.
And there are those that are indifferent to it. We were reminded that the Lord brought that through men of God in the last two or three hundred years back into reality. It was lost. It was lost. And you remember Paul had to remind the Thessalonians, he is coming. But because he is coming, don't sit down and say, the Lord's coming, so I'll just sit. That's not what we're here for, aren't we? We're here to glorify Him. And if we know He's coming and we believe He's coming, it's going to purify us because we're going to realize there's a judgment seat of Christ before us. And we're going to walk circumspectness.
But not only so, it's going to give us haste to go out and preach the unsearchable riches of Christ and to profess the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. Because the day of rewards is coming. But not only so, it's going to hasten our desire to see the Lord Jesus come. And we should be anticipating that. You know, I wake up every morning and the first thing I say when I wake up is, Lord Jesus, maybe today. And I hope so. And I pray at night, Lord Jesus, come tonight. Come tonight. Oh, to see him, to be with him. What a day that's going to be when the church of God all of us are taken up.
And every clown's in heaven all right, but I don't think it's going to be the clowns that are up there that we look at. It's going to be the clowns of saints. Call to meet him and forever to be with the Lord. And we're going to be rewarded. And I'm afraid we're going to be ashamed to stand before. The wasted hours, the wasted minutes, the indifferent, the lack of dazefulness, and the lack even in what we do, because we've done it for ourselves, rather than to please Him. You know, it's so good, and the Lord's people are so gracious.
The dear sisters, you know why they make such good apple pies when they have a preacher over? Because they're doing it for the Lord. That's why they're the best. They're doing it for the Lord. Oh, let's learn to do what we do as unto the Lord. And I really do appreciate God's wonderful people for doing so much of that. They make me feel ashamed. Then we shall enjoy bliss. What does he say? Enter into the joy of the Lord. We're going to enter into all the joy. of the Lord Jesus. Happening causes happiness.
But we can lose happiness so quick. But we can rejoice and have joy in the middle of the deepest trouble. Why? Because joy comes from the Lord. And we're going to enter into the joy of our rest. What is the joy of our rest? Boy, the person of the Lord Jesus. Think of it. It's going to take all eternity for our blessed Lord Jesus to reveal himself to us. And we can't understand eternity. I like to sing when we sing that hymn, Amazing Grace, I'll sweet the sound that saved the rest like me. When I've been there ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten million years. Ten million. Can't understand ten thousand, I can't understand ten million years.
But just think of it, beloved. Forever and ever and ever and ever and ever. The things we've been enjoying together at this conference don't even show us anymore. We've just rejoiced. That's a blessed ministry we've heard from our brother-in-law. We've rejoiced at the things we've shared together. We've rejoiced at the fellowship. Just think about the fellowship. It's been wonderful. And in heaven, it's a fellowship we've enjoyed here. It doesn't even scratch the surface, beloved. And for all eternity, that's going to be our portion. Enter into the joy of my Lord. Oh, the joy of the Lord. He shall see of the travel of the soul and shall be satisfied.
And that joy that is his. is going to be ours. That's immeasurable. Not only is it going to share the throne, it's going to share the choice. Surely we can say, for me to live is Christ? Is that how you see? Living for Christ is running the race. As our brother Wilson says, you know, you could walk into so many things here, we could be there all day. It would be so easy, wouldn't it? As we get into the Word of God, there's no end. Oh, I just think if we started I would say to my brother, brother, what do you get to add to it? And he would suddenly say, bro, what do you get to add to it? Why, we could just go on and on and on and on. Just rejoice in the joy of our Lord.
And that joy is proven out in the simple thing of our fellowship today. That joy is proven out as we gather this morning and remembers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Who else celebrates a death and rejoices at the same time but believers? Why? We have arisen Christ. Then we're going to enter into the joy of that. For me to live is Christ and to die is game. All the positives are super positive, aren't they? The negatives are positive. Not a very good battery, is it, to have two positives. You know, down in Miami, there's an area there in the lightning that sits so many times that the ground has picked up a positive charge.
It's about a four mile square area. And both the power company and the telephone company have to bring a great big copper ground in from across the street into that area. Oh, we pick up all kinds of side tones. You see, it's been so charged that it's become positive. Well, that's the way the Christians are. Even the negative is the positive. We don't have any negative. We have the Lord Jesus Christ. And he's all together lovely. But we can live as Christ and to die and gain. Oh, we ought to be hungry. and thirsty to see the bright morning star. Oh, thank God for the bright morning star. And he's in our heart. And he's on the horizon.
And I just, as Brother Wilson mentioned, the sun comes right up behind us. Son of God. The Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, O it. And we're going to see him. And beloved, I tell the saints of God, his footsteps not on the door anymore. The door is wide open. And he's... He's cutting! Momentarily. Thank God. Then, beloved, for that in view, we need to purify our life in confession before God. Is there any of us sitting here at this moment that if the Lord Jesus Christ come, He'd find us with us between us and our brethren?
Oh, God forbid! He loved me and gave himself for me. And he loved you and he gave himself for you. And we both stand in the same plane, sinners saved by the grace of God and only that should we have anything between us that would cause the Lord Jesus sorrow when he comes. Oh, we should meet him with nothing in between. We need to examine ourselves and purify ourselves in the light of his return. so that we can say as the Apostle Paul, the reason that is Christ the dying king. Now very quickly, this human slept.
What's the condition of this king? There are conditions. And we want to just recall Luke chapter sixteen and verse nineteen. You remember the rich man and Lazarus? Each made a choice. The one was taken to Abraham's bosom. The other lifted his eyes in hell. There's a choice to be made. Again, if there would be one gathered with us, that you're not sure of your salvation. You're not sure of your position before the Lord Jesus Christ this morning. You have doubts. You look around and you see, boy, these other believers, they're really enjoying this.
Oh, it's okay, but You know, my heart doesn't get on fire. Maybe. Maybe you're not a child of the king at all. Maybe you've got a profession, but not possession. It's the joy of the Lord in your heart. Can you say for me to live is Christ? Oh, and to deny his gain? To be with him is very far better. And if you can't say that, if you're just saying, Lord Jesus, stay away. It's just a little bit longer. Then there needs to be an inward look. There needs to be an inspection before God, who knows the hearts of all men.
And be sure. Oh, let us be sure that we're covered by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you have a salvation, there's a bloodless salvation, you don't have Christ. Oh, without the shedding of blood, there is no remission. stand. You've got to have the blood and you've got to have repentance and you've got to come to the cross of Christ and say, Lord Jesus, I am worthless. I am a sinner and I'm guilty and I need you and I take you. So that's the first step for the conditions of gain.
Now, the next step is Right living, let's turn over quickly, very quickly, to Colossians chapter three and verse thirteen. Colossians chapter three and verse thirteen, fifteen, I mean, sorry. Oh, correction. First Corinthians, I want, first Corinthians, that's another verse I had in my mind. First Corinthians chapter three. and verse thirteen. Tri-focus are not always the most efficient. And we read, Every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed through fire, and the fire shall try each one's work of what sort it is.
So we come right back to right living. As a believer, then this should produce in our life the right living. This is a condition for us, if we're to be able to say, for me to live is Christ, then we can say to die is gain. But if our life is not right before the Lord and if the Spirit of God is not controlling our life, we wouldn't want to go before the Lord that way, would we? That wouldn't be profitable for us or glorifying to Him. And so there's a need for the condition of right living. And then there needs to be the right preparation. Except the man be born again.
He cannot see the kingdom of God. Except the man be born from above. Must be born from above. Must be a new creature in Christ Jesus. We want to emphasize that. That is an absolute must condition. The rich man lived for the world and he had his purple and his silver and all the rest of us. But he wasn't prepared. and he didn't live a life for the Lord Jesus because he's dead and trespassing in sin. Now the believer can be saved so is by fire and has nothing. So there has to be the right preparation and there has to be the right living and we have to make the right choice as believers.
Are we willing to say not my will But thine be done. And if we do that, then we come to that wonderful portion that we've heard so often throughout the conference, and I'll close in reading that with little comment, John chapter fourteen. And that is the conclusion of the whole matter. We were reminded about Peter this morning. Peter has just got done saying, I lay down my life for you. And the Lord has said, no, dear Peter, oh, dear Peter, you're going to fail so fast because you're standing in the strength of the flesh.
And you say to yourself, boy, I've been just like Peter. And I have to say that. So you're confident in the flesh and the next thing you got a bloody nose because you felt flat on it. But the Lord Jesus comes along and he says, oh, he continues. He says, Peter, Nevertheless, let not your heart be troubled. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many of those. And if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And since I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again.
and receive ye unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know whither thou goest, and how can we know the way. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the light. We have everything in that little verse. I am the way, and the truth, so you can go. And I am the way, the Father, And I'm a light to empower you to do both. And beloved, he's promised that since I've gone away, I will come again.