We shall now turn to the chapter which we read together, Philippians chapter 1 and our text for tonight is verse 21. Philippians 1 verse 21. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. To me, to live is Christ, to die is gain. Here Paul gives us his own personal testimony. In one sentence, he sums up his life. To me, he said, to live is Christ, to die is gain. My life, what's it all about? It's about Christ. That's all. That's the one I live for. That's the one I care for. That's the one I devote myself to. He is my master. He is my leader. He is my guide. He is the one I serve. He is the one I love. And when the time comes for me to die, it will begin because then I'll have Christ forever. I wonder, could you say that? Every true Christian can. To me, to live is Christ, to die is gain. It wasn't always that way with Paul. You remember, indeed, there was a time when Paul hated Christ. He passionately hated him. There was a time when Paul didn't need Christ. He was a good living person. He thought of himself as good enough just as good as anyone else, indeed a whole lot better than others, and Paul thought he was on the way to heaven. Everything was fine, he thought. He didn't know that he needed a saviour. And you remember how he went around persecuting Christians. When the first Christian martyr died, Stephen, Paul was there holding the jackets of those who stoned Stephen to death. And you remember how following that, he was the leader in a campaign to destroy Christians. He beat up Christians, he imprisoned them, he witnessed against them when they were put to death. Paul hated Christians and he hated Christ. and indeed he was on the road to a foreign city, Damascus, when he himself was arrested, arrested by Jesus. You remember how there was a bright light shone, and how a voice from heaven spoke, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? It is hard for thee to kick against the bricks. Who art thou, Lord? he said. I am Jesus whom you persecute. What wilt thou have me to do? Go into Damascus, and it shall be shown thee what thou must do. They went to Damascus. For several days he was blind. He couldn't see. He was there praying and fasting. And then God sent to him a Christian, a disciple, Ananias. And Ananias laid his hand on him and said, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. He received his sight, and he arose and was baptized by Ananias. From now on, Paul was the great preacher, the great labourer for Christ, the great Christ-centred individual. From now on, it could be said of Paul, to me to live is Christ. So what about you? Has this change taken place in your life? or are you still living for the world and its pleasures? What the world can offer you, or are you living for Christ? I want to ask that question first of all in looking at this verse together. I want to ask first of all, what do you live for? What do people in our society live for? What do the people around us live for? Many people live for pleasure, don't they? And they work all week, looking forward to their weekend. How many there are like that? Maybe their job is boring, but in a sense they don't mind. They're looking forward to this weekend. The weekend to go out drinking with their friends, perhaps. To go to clubs, nightclubs. They're looking forward to a good time on Friday night, on Saturday night. How many there are, and they're looking forward to holidays. Holiday in Tenerife, or in Spain, or Greece, or maybe Florida. This fantastic holiday, and looking forward to it, it's so exciting. And then the holiday comes, and is it really all that great? And it's over, and you're waiting for next year's holiday. The fantastic weekend, You're back at work on Monday morning and it's just as much drudgery as it was before. Such an empty existence. Maybe a sore head on a Monday morning. There's others and they live for football. They're perhaps in their 50,000 or 60,000 at Ibrox or Parkhead. Will Rangers beat Fiorentina? Will they win the UEFA Cup? Will Celtic manage to get the league this year? They're so concerned about these things. They're so excited about it. It seems to be everything to them. And then the year is over, and the various clubs have their trophies, or they've missed them, and another season begins, and it's just the same routine, year after year. Some years Celtic do better, some years Rangers do better, some years this team, some years that team. What difference does it make at the end of the day? It's just a game. And then there's some people and for them to live it's their studies. They work so hard. They want to pass. They want to get a good degree. They want to do well to get a good job. I remember wondering would I ever get my degree when I was studying at university and looking forward to it. Then when I got my degree I thought it would be a fantastic feeling It wasn't really all that great. You got your degree and you moved on and that was it. And you think, wouldn't it be wonderful when you get a job and you'll get a good salary in and you can buy a car and a house. These things happen and they pass. What's in it? Your first car. Remember the thrill I had when I got my first car, well it was just a van actually, but it was exciting being able to drive around in it and go anywhere I wanted. But how quickly these things peel away and become nothing. How many there are in there living for money? For me to live is money. They work so hard and they work long hours and they do overtime and they maybe do two or three jobs to try and get money or they've got a business and they're so devoted to trying to make money. And yet, what's money? Can money make one happy? So many of those who win the lottery end up so miserable. You see them so wealthy, perhaps, and yet, what's money? One day you die. You can't take your money with you. And after your short life in this world, you go into eternity. to hell or to heaven. You leave all your money behind. As they say, a shroud has no pockets. It can't take anything with you. And then there's others and they live for their boyfriend or their girlfriend. This is what means so much to them. It fills their thoughts, fills their heart, fills their life. They're so excited about it. All they can think of is this boyfriend or this girlfriend. And then maybe the boyfriend or girlfriend ditches them. Or maybe they come together and start living together. Then somebody else comes along and the relationship breaks down. Maybe they get married. It seems that one and every second marriage breaks down in divorce. So sad, so painful, so miserable. Others it's music and it's art and it's drama and they love watching, they love listening to their music, watching their films and these things are so exciting or maybe it's even participation in music, playing in a band and they're all excited about it. And yet even if you, if you do get on so well, think of somebody like Amy Winehouse. So successful, it seems. She's earned ten million pounds. She's what, just about twenty years of age. Yet you look at her life. Last week in a prison cell. You think, what a miserable existence. What a pathetic way to live. What a mixed-up kid she is. For all her success, for all her wealth, others it's drink and it's drugs and they're looking forward to getting drunk and they think it's so exciting you lose all your inhibitions and you feel great but then it's over and then you're looking forward to the next experience and then that's over and there's the sore head And then maybe there's the addiction. What a horrible thing alcohol addiction is. How it destroys people's lives. Or there's the experience with drugs. And again, it's one high. And you're longing for the next high. And then addiction. Where's the money going to come from? You've got to steal to feed the habit. so horrible, so miserable. Others, they live for their family, and it seems so sensible, and it seems so good. And yet, it's so easy to spoil your family. Maybe they grow up and rebel, and they make a mess of their lives, and they turn against you, and they get into bad company, and they end up in prison, or they end up on drugs, or whatever. Or maybe, this family that you're so devoted to, something happens and they die, this loved one, and your whole world comes to an end. And so I could go on and on. For me to live is what? For me to live is pleasure, isn't it? For me to live is football or sport, whatever kind. for me to live as studies, promotion, for me to live as money, for me to live as music or art or drama, for me to live as drink or drugs, for me to live as my family, my home. Are any of these things worth devoting your whole life to? One day you're going to die. One day it all comes to an end. What then of your dreams? What then of your excitement? Remember, death is before us all. It's never far away. We don't know when the call will come. And remember, after death, the judgment. And there's a hell as well as a heaven. And if we end up in hell, what will be the profit? What shall it profit a man though he gain the whole world and lose his soul? What will a person give in exchange for their soul? Think about it. What is the thing you want above everything else? What would you give your soul for? What would you sell your soul for? What is the most important thing to you? Is it something trivial? Something passing? Something belonging to this world? Something that will die? Or is it something that will last forever? But secondly we notice here what Paul says, to me to live is Christ. And there are others here tonight and they would say the same. And I believe I can honestly say to you tonight that to me to live is Christ. I would give up everything else for Christ. I'd give up my family, those nearest and dearest to me. They mean more to me than anything else in this world. I'd even give up them for Christ. Christ is first place. He is my Lord, my Master, my Saviour, my Beloved. He's my all. Can you say that tonight? Is Christ everything to you? Does He have first place in your heart and in your life? To me, to me to live is Christ. He's the one I live by. It's because of His death that I've got eternal life. It's because He died for my sins that I've got hope, I've got salvation. To me, to live is Christ. He died for me on the cross and He gives to me eternal life. He took my sins and what a heap of sins He had to take. Oh, if only you could see the blackness of my heart. And he took that, he took it upon himself, and he suffered as a substitute in my place. In my room condemned he stood. He was battered and bruised for me. He was nailed to the cross for me. He suffered hell for me, real hell. and now through him I'm converted. I'm a new person. I'm born again. He earned it for me. He paid, atoned for my sins. He saved me for me to live as Christ, my Saviour. My Saviour! I couldn't save myself. Nobody in the world could save me. I was on the road to hell. Christ saved How wonderful is he, your Saviour, to me, to live as Christ. He's the one I live for. He's the one I want to please. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? I wish to serve him. I wish to honour him. I wish to glorify him. I wish to do his will. I wish to be obedient to him. Yes, I wish even to be a fool for Christ's sake. I want to be nothing, but He will be everything. To me, to live is Christ. He's my guide, He's my master, He's my Lord. See your guide, your master, your Lord. Are you saying, Lord, what do you want me to do? Whatever you want, I will do. Wherever you want me to go, I will go. Whatever sacrifice you wish me to make, I will make. I give up everything for you. He's the one I live by, and he's the one I live for. and He is the One I live with. He came into my heart and He lives in me. Christianity is not beliefs, mere beliefs. And Christianity is not ritual and mere practices and doing certain things. Christianity is our relationship. It is our loving relationship with Christ. It is having Christ in you, living in your heart. God dwelling in you. To me, to live is Christ. Without Christ, I'm dead. He is in me and He gives me life. And it's a life in relationship to Him. That's what I've got. And that's what thrills me. And that's the most important thing of all. And if any man have not the Spirit of Christ living in his heart, he's not a Christian. He's none of this. I live in union with Christ, united to Him. And that's how I can live a different life to the life I once lived. People wonder, how can you possibly live a Christian life? How can you keep up the standard? How can you keep these commandments? How can you do it? How can you keep going year after year? How can you? It's because you've got a new power in you. You've got Christ in you. And the power of Christ transforms you. A Christian is born again. A Christian is resurrected from the dead. Look around you in Glasgow and you see hundreds of thousands of dead people walking the streets, dead in sin. But a Christian is somebody who has risen with Christ, resurrected. They've come to life. They're spiritually alive, alive on a spiritual plane. To me, to live is Christ. He lives in me and He gives me life. And also, he's the one that I live to. I live to praise him, to glorify him, to be with him. I live to enjoy him in this life and in the next life. And I do enjoy him here. And there's nothing I enjoy more than Christ. Sometimes, occasionally, I feel Christ drawing very close. I feel his presence very powerfully. I have a moment of fellowship with him. I'm sure you have the same, fellow Christian. Perhaps you're reading your Bible and Christ draws near. Maybe you're praying and you suddenly feel you're in the presence of Christ. God is hearing your prayer. Maybe you're in church. and your heart is warm, strangely warmed. And it's such a sweet experience. And if moments of his fellowship in this world are so sweet, how wonderful it would be in heaven to be with him forever. Without Christ, my life is empty, because He's my love, the very centre of my love. I love the Lord with all my heart and soul and strength and mind. By grace, I seek to love Him more than I do. But He is first. He has first place in my love. He's my ambition to please Him, to honour Him, to serve Him. I wish I could do more for Him. Whatever He wants me to do, by grace I will do it. I want to be with Him in this life and I want to be with Him in the next life. And without him my life is empty and pointless and meaningless. He's my joy and he's my pleasure. I look back at the joys and pleasures of the world, how empty they are. The things that once used to be so pleasing, so delightful, so exciting, so enjoyable. what are they now but empty shells trivial beats in comparison to the diamond which is Christ to me to live is Christ and then the apostle goes on and he says thirdly to die is gain For those who are living for pleasure, to die is loss because they lose their pleasure and they go to hell where it's weeping and wailing and gnashing their teeth forever. Those who live for sport, well, you die and you leave it all behind. Those who live for studies, promotion, job, you leave it behind. Those who live for money, you leave it behind. Those who live for boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, wives, family, they die, you die. Partings come. But for the Christian who lives for Christ, to die is gain. Because through death you gain Christ. You come closer. You come to dwell with Him. In a sense, it's like your wedding day. You're in love with Him here. and then you're married to him forever, the enjoyment of Christ forevermore. To die is gain. For all others, to die is loss, but for the Christian, to die is gain. You gain him, you gain his love, you gain his enjoyment, you gain his presence. In this world, we're troubled by sin. We're tempted, and it bothers us and makes us miserable. And we hate when we do things wrong. But then, when you get to heaven, you'll never sin again. You'll never be tempted. In some ways, that's the most wonderful thing about heaven. Never tempted in any way again. Nothing unclean will enter heaven. There'll be no Satan, no devil in heaven. There'll be nothing wicked there. It'll be holy and beautiful and pure. Heaven will be peace and love and joy. Heaven will be rest from weariness and trouble and pain and suffering. This world is full of pain and misery, but heaven, there's no pain, there's no suffering. Troubles are gone forever, and you will be made perfectly blessed in the falling joy of God to all eternity. For me to live is Christ, to die is gain, because I'll go to be with Christ in heaven. and I'll leave all that's sinful and miserable and horrible behind and I will go to that blessed place some people want to get to heaven and yet to live in this world in sin and wickedness remember the false prophet Balaam he was like that He longed for the death of the righteous. Let me die the death of the righteous. Let my latter end be like his. But he lived a wicked life. And there's lots of people and they think you can live a wicked life going on in sin and wickedness and then go to heaven. But no. The only people who go to heaven are those who can see in truth to need to live as Christ. Unless we live for Christ and live with Christ and live for Christ and live in obedience to Christ and live to the glory of Christ in this world, unless Christ is everything to us here, there is no place for us in heaven. Heaven is for those who love Christ and have given their hearts and their life to Him. Nobody gets to heaven but Christ's people. Are you one of Christ's people? Devoted to Christ? Has he come to live in your heart? And does he have first place in your life? Maybe you're saying no. Well, if you are saying no, tonight is the time to begin. Because the Bible says, repent and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out. The Bible says, turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why will you die? Turn to Christ. Ask him into your heart. Take him into your life. Ask him to be your saviour. And he will. For he says, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Whosoever shall pray to him shall be saved. Whosoever shall trust in him shall be saved. Him that cometh unto me I will not cast out. Who comes in prayer, in trust and faith. Turn from your sins. Come to Christ. Ask him into your life. He says, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. In a sense, he's knocking at the door of your heart and life. Can you hear that knocking? He's showing you the emptiness of a life lived for this world and its pleasures. The emptiness of a life of drinking and partying. The emptiness of a life of money-making, of work. He's asking Consider your ways. Think about it. Face up to the reality. You need Christ. Ask and you shall receive. Ask Him into your heart and He will come into your heart. Ask Him to come and be your Saviour and your Lord, your Redeemer and your Master. Lord, come into my life. Lord, help me to give my life to you. Fellow Christian, you're saying to me to live as Christ. Well, we have got to remind ourselves of this over and over again because it's so easy to backslide, so easy to forget, so easy to slip and to go astray, so easy to forget the place Christ should have in our lives. Rededicate yourself to Him. Give yourself again to Him. Hold nothing back. He's worthy of your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole strength, your whole time, your whole life. Give Him yourself and your all. And do it again and again and again. Increasingly, may it be true to me to live as Christ, and then to die will begin.