 Philippians chapter one we're going to be looking this evening at verses 12 through 26 You know for me, it's been so long since I've been able to do Sunday night services I actually look forward to to being here I'm so happy to be able to come in to teach you tonight and and it just blesses me so much and So I'm so happy. I'm going to do my very best to make you miserable tonight as we look at this passage But as we look at it what we see here is the Apostle Paul who basically is making it very clear that the chains that he is wearing Well the chains that he has are in Christ and we'll be seeing that today as we look through this passage We'll begin reading at verse 12 or read verse 18 and we'll get into our study Beginning at verse 12 Philippians chapter one Paul writes But I want you to know brethren that the things which happened to me Have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel So that it has become evident to the whole palace guard and to all the rest that my chains are in Christ and Most of the brethren in the Lord having become confident by my chains Are much more bold to speak the word without fear now some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife Some also from goodwill the former preach Christ from selfish ambition not sincerely Supposing to add affliction to my chains But the latter out of love knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel what then Only that in every way whether in pretense or in truth Christ is preached and in this I rejoice. Yes, and We'll rejoice Now I want you to notice as we begin at verse 12 He says I want you to know brethren the things which happened to me now What is he speaking about when he says the things which happened to me? What is he referring to he's referring to or speaking about his arrest and his imprisonment and so right from the beginning? Paul begins to make it very clear that the circumstances he finds himself in Will not control his response and that's something we can begin with by way of application We need to remember that we are not victims of circumstance We have to realize that the Lord is sovereign over everything in the universe and that includes our lives Psalm 37 23 says the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord Now when the psalmist said are ordered that word ordered means established or fixed it speaks of that which is prepared or appointed and So when things are not going exactly as we would desire we need to remember that God is in control And God uses the circumstances that we find ourselves in In order that he might do a work in our life the things that I go through are intended by God To perform a work by God. I need to understand that especially when i'm going through something very difficult I need to have that eternal framework. I can't be seeing things as as just the right now There are a lot of people who live their lives in the right now. It has to be good for me right now It'll never be good later on. I have to enjoy my life right now I've discovered as some of you have that some things that I go through at that moment are the worst things that I could imagine going through But God does something through those things that I would have never had any other way God has a way of working through Circumstances and paul is saying that the things that have occurred to me these things this these chains this imprisonment I've actually worked out for some good for the furtherance of the gospel of jesus christ The things that i've gone through though. They may not have been my choice They aren't the things that I necessarily would have said I want these things to happen so that I might end up in jail Well, the bottom line is is as I see them through an eternal framework I see that god is doing something through them and god is working something through them paul when he was writing to the romans in chapter 8 we all know this scripture. It's found in verses 28 and 29 Said this he said we know that in all things god works for the good of those who love him Who have been called according to his purpose For those god foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his son That he might be the firstborn among many brothers And so the bottom line is is what he was going through was conforming him into the image of the lord jesus christ The things that he went through were actually going to work for the good over time And it would be as he says here for the furtherance notice of the gospel that word furtherance It speaks of that which advances over obstacles and goes through opposition. It speaks of a pathfinder It speaks of pushing through undergrowth. He's saying I view these obstacles as divine opportunities I see god working through them Now paul had wanted to go to rome He finally got his wish. He got a chance to go to rome He had written in the book of romans chapter 15 verse 23 that that he had a great desire For many years to come to the romans Well through his trial and his imprisonment he got his opportunity to be in rome Now why would being in jail in rome be something that he would rejoice in? Well because he was arrested on a charge related to his faith And that became well known to all notice verse 13 It has become evident to the whole palace guard And to all the rest That my chains he says are in christ It's become evident the word evident means to be manifest to be plainly recognized to be seen clearly It has become plainly recognized that i'm in jail for the cause of jesus christ paul's greatest desire as we see it Was to take the name of jesus christ throughout the entire world He wanted to take the message of the gospel even as jesus had said in matthew 28 19 and 20 To the four corners of the earth He wanted people to know who jesus christ was he wanted people to know that jesus christ could save them He wanted them to know this powerful gospel And so he wanted to go throughout the world again to the romans in chapter 15 verse 20 He said i've made it my aim to preach the gospel not where christ was named lest i should build on another man's foundation I want to take the name of jesus And i want to spread it to places that people haven't heard and that was his desire So being in jail Didn't quench his desire to share the gospel actually gave to him a a door of opportunity And it gave to him a new field to minister to the palace guard and others Because notice how it says in verse 13 it has become evident to the whole palace guard and to all the rest that my chains are in christ the palace guard Now They put him in a cell But that didn't mean he had no opportunity to share In second timothy chapter 2 verses 8 and 9 he said remember jesus christ raised from the dead descended from david This he says is my gospel for which i am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal But he goes on to say but god's word is not chained And so i have an opportunity here i'm being guarded 24 hours a day by a hand-picked elite soldier In in the service of the emperor The praetorian guard the praetorian guard where the emperor's personal body guard So he had an opportunity to speak to these men now at that time There were about 10 000 who are members of the praetorian guard And these guards would actually be rotated every four hours So one man would be chained to the apostle paul for four hours Then a second man would come in and take his opportunity to be chained to paul for another four hours Can you imagine what that would have been like to be chained to the apostle paul? That was what you really call a captive audience. I mean there's no way that they were going to get away And paul would be there and the guy would be speaking to him and if at all I mean at first because he's a prisoner they probably didn't really want to speak to him too much But it became evident he said that my chains are in christ. What does that mean? That means he had an opportunity to share with them that i'm not an evil doer I didn't break the law what I have been imprisoned for is my message of the gospel So you can almost imagine the conversation that would be held where somebody says to mo case. So why are you in? And paul says well for the message What message would you like to know what the message is? Absolutely. Well, we got a few hours. Let me share with you And he would do that now. Can you imagine that it's hard to imagine to be honest with you I mean if you locked me up, I'm not quite sure that I'd say oh boy. What an opportunity You know, I'd be looking at those bars wishing I had some kind of file to get out I mean it would be an entirely different experience. I know but not paul paul looked at that as an opportunity And as each one of these guards was rotated over that four-hour shift Each one of them had an opportunity of hearing the gospel which guaranteed the advancement of the gospel through the entire Praetorian guard So there they are with this unique opportunity of being evangelized They would hear the apostle paul as he would pray They would listen they could help but listen to the conversations that he had As he was dictating these letters They would be overhearing the things that he was saying And so it became evident as he says in verse 13 that his chains were in christ He's saying my imprisonment is connected to my faith in jesus Not that I am a criminal And not only are the guards listening But anyone else who has business in rome who has heard of me is hearing that i am in jail Because of my witness for jesus christ my chains are in christ He says in verse 14 and most of the brethren in the lord Having become confident by my chains Are much more bold to speak the word Without fear Now his imprisonment actually encourages believers to become bolder In their witness We need to understand that the christians in rome were undergoing persecution And so as they hear that the mighty apostle paul is chained for the gospel of jesus christ Rather than discouraging them They see what kind of price he's paying for his faith in christ And it actually serves as an encouragement to them And so As this is taking place they're they're beginning to understand the things that jesus said remember matthew chapter 10 for example in verse 28 How jesus said do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul Rather be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell And they're seeing that they have no reason to be afraid of rome Because god is on their side has greater power And the apostle paul is enduring great affliction and persecution And as he does so he's becoming a strong witness have an opportunity to speak to the entire guard And so they're now becoming emboldened to preach the word without fear Now what's sad about this is verse 15 notice some indeed preach christ even from envian strife And some also from goodwill preaching christ from envian strife think about that for a moment Preaching the gospel out of envian strife their motives envy strife It may be that They think that paul was not preaching a message that they really agreed with It's possible that they thought that he was not giving the kind of message that ought to be given And they go out and give the message knowing that he says it can add affliction to my chains The word affliction there affliction to my chains It's like the chain is rubbing his skin and it's causing it to have a rash and irritation And so their motives are to cause more pain is what he's saying Their motives are not pure because they may not agree with the things he has to say they may have their own version These may be house church leaders who have been busy building their own empires paul has never been to rome It may be that they're the kinds of people who say listen, we've been here all this time. He's never been here now He's here. He's some big deal And there are people who think that way And so their house church leaders more than likely who are speaking forth the message They may be bold, but they do so in order to cause more problems for paul It may be that they're jealous over his ministry impact. It may be that they're envious of him It reminds me of if you take notes third john versus nine and ten There's an individual that's spoken of in that passage by the name of diatrophies And john said i wrote to the church, but diatrophies who was a leader and elder in the church But diatrophies who loves to be first will have nothing to do with us So if i come i will call attention to what he is doing Gossiping maliciously about us and not satisfied with that. He refuses to welcome the brothers He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church You see there existed some whose greatest desire in the church in the early days was self promotion Yeah, they preached But not with the desire to see people say they preached with a desire to injure paul Well others verse 17 Preached god's word with a heart of love for jesus and for paul Because they knew that paul was appointed for the defense of the gospel Now when he says i've been appointed for the defense of the gospel, it's like the gospel is on trial And i have been strategically set to defend it In my testimony and in my activity and indeed the gospel is on trial It was on trial then it's on trial now Anytime you are bold enough to tell somebody about jesus You and your message Are on trial you know that don't you that's why a lot of people don't talk about jesus So well i just don't want to make the gospel look bad in other words I don't feel like living a better life. So i don't want the gospel to look bad Well, the bottom line is when you have sincere and pure motives and you want to live for jesus christ There's no doubt you will fail I don't know anybody Who lives a perfect life outside of me? No, I don't know you're there good. I was wondering if you're still with me I don't know anybody who lives a perfect life outside of jesus christ He's the only one who perfectly lived out his message You know even the apostle paul as great as he was was the first to say i haven't arrived I haven't arrived yet. I'm on the on the road, but I haven't arrived yet None of the apostles in any way shape or form could have said i've arrived as great as we see them for what they are We do see them as great We see the apostle peter what a man what a man's man the apostle was And he was the same one who who denied knowing jesus christ three times As great as he was he still had areas of his life that he needed god's help in we all do Not a single individual that i've ever seen in scripture Is perfect the bible makes it very clear all have sin and fall short of the glory of god Not a single individual is perfect at all the only one who is is jesus christ and yet We have the opportunity to take this gospel and to preach it to share this message And to live in such a way that that our lives give credence to the words that we speak You see sometimes people will say well don't look at me, you know, i'm imperfect Actually as a as an attitude of of making excuse for continuing in sin. That's never right either The bottom line is is uh as long as i'm alive i'm gonna sin I'll sin in word i'll sin in thought i'll sin in action I just do because no matter how hard i i try and how greatly i desire not to bottom line is as i'm a person of flesh And i will fail there's no doubt about that that's not some great confession in front of you You all know that you're the same way You may want to do the best that you can but are you perfect? Well, no, of course not But at the same time I believe that we need to live up to the message that we're giving I give a message of grace because i need god's grace I speak of the grace of god because i thrive on the grace of god But grace is not something that is extended to me to continue in sin Grace has been given to me to set me free from its bondage. So it's not an excuse But it is a reality Paul saw the gospel as being on trial And he saw himself as being placed strategically by god as a defense To be a witness to what that gospel really is And so when you see yourself as being strategically placed in the position that you're in To be one who represents clearly the the the gospel and its claims Then you understand what the apostle paul is speaking about You have been placed strategically wherever it is that you find yourself on your job site in your neighborhood In school in your family You have strategically been placed there as a defense of the gospel Your friends your neighbors your schoolmates your family Know that you have given your heart to jesus christ They know that if you've opened your mouth and told them And now you're on trial the gospel is on trial because they watch you paul speaks of us being living letters known and read by all men We are the living gospel We live it out in front of people When you have in your mind this attitude This attitude of faithfulness to the message i guarantee you it transforms your life guaranteed guaranteed When you actually grow to the point in your mind that you really believe That this message is the only message whereby a man must embrace to be saved and go to heaven when you really believe that When you actually get to the point in your life When you believe your grandmother without jesus is actually going to perish When you actually believe that When you actually believe that mom and dad without jesus are going to perish when you honestly believe that That's where the source of boldness is You love them enough to tell the truth You have to love them enough to tell the truth What is the truth well grandma? You're a great gal and I think that god grades on the curve And because you've been so good and you've made such good meals for me all my life You got to get into heaven. Is that the truth? No, the truth is grandma You need jesus christ Because jesus christ loves you He died for you And grandma i love you too And i want to be in heaven with you And you've been good to me, but i want to be good to you and i want to tell you the truth grandma You need the lord is this something hard about doing that for a lot of people it is why because that's grandma You don't understand She got out her slipper and hit me in the head and then what? But you got to tell him the truth Love them enough and that's what paul said. I have been strategically set in defense of the gospel I am a living testimony of the evidence of the power of a saving graceful god Why because I was breathing out Threat means against this way I was taking people and putting them in chains bringing them back to jerusalem and trying them as heretics And I witnessed to their death I persecuted this way to the death But when jesus christ grabbed hold of my life He transformed me and i paul who at one time was the chief opponent of the gospel became the chief witness of the gospel Because of the power of god and that's your testimony And that's what you share and so he says i have been placed here strategically to defend the gospel He says in verse 18. Well, what then? Only that in every way whether in pretense or in truth Christ is preached and then this I rejoice. Yes, and will rejoice God is the judge of men's hearts The thing that matters to me is the name of jesus is going forth And according to romans 216 god shall judge the secrets of men by jesus christ according to my gospel So the impure motives of others are going to be dealt with by god And so I rejoice that the name of jesus goes forth let god deal with their motives He says in verse 19 For I know That this will turn out for my salvation 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 that 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 and so My circumstances that I find myself are leading up to my ultimate salvation All of this is going to turn out for my well-being This may turn out for my vindication before men But the bottom line is no matter what god is using this to prepare me for heaven So whatever I go through I want it to exalt and magnify the name of the lord jesus christ And god is going to hear your prayers and god will strengthen and direct me by the spirit of jesus christ and in that I can rejoice Now notice verse 20 how he says according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed Here's something for you. What is he saying? Jesus won't let me down Jesus never lets me down The gospel will be vindicated and the gospel will be proven trustworthy He said in second timothy chapter 1 verse 12 That is why i'm suffering as I am Yet he said I am not ashamed Because I know whom I have believed and am convinced that he's able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day I know whom I have believed not only do I know what I believe I know the one I believe And uh in some ways there's a degree a dimension will say that is a bit different A lot of people may know what they believe they they're able in other words to talk about jesus christ are able to point you to scriptures And they're able to to give you a defense an adequate defense and apologetic things that they believe And therefore they know a lot of scripture. They can talk to you about the hebrew They can talk to you about the greek they can speak to you about church tradition They can give you an awful lot of information about what they believe and I think that's very important by the way I think that every every Student of the word of god should be eventually qualified to be able to give that kind of information That's a good thing to have information is great. I like information, but information without transformation is nothing It doesn't mean anything Information is great, but I have to act on it And so not only should we know what we believe, of course, that's why we studied the bible So we know what we believe So we can say I most surely believe this well, why do you believe that? Well, because god's word says so Well, why do you believe that and then you can give an explanation of what you believe? I think that's a good thing and it's not something that only certain individuals who have the ministry of apologetics should be able to do I think every bible student ought to be able to give a concise Informative approach to the things that they most surely hold faster. I mean after all That's what helps us to understand how to get to heaven, but I don't want to just have information I want to know him I want to know the lord jesus christ And notice how he says in verse 21 for to me To live is christ And to die is gain I have a relationship with jesus christ and I know him. I know that I know That I know him I have a relationship with him And that's the most important thing is to know him not just what I believe But to know whom I have believed and how can I know whom I have believed by spending time with him Marie and I were dating my wife Marie and I were dating and We'd already been going out for some time When I decided that it was important for me to take a trip So I took a trip down wittier boulevard. No, I I don't know where that came from. I All of a sudden in the back of my head. I heard the song. Let's take a trip down wittier boulevard It has nothing to do with this bible study. It's just an old mind that's kind of out of control I had a friend named nick and nick and I Had made a decision Prior to Marie and I becoming serious To go to europe And so for about a year we saved To go to europe And so I took A year saved up all of my money And took off with my friend nick and off we went to europe And while there I was still getting to know Marie so I would write her letters And we still have those letters that I would write her And they were basically we're in you know, we're in Rome today and we saw this and that you know, we're in Wherever, you know, we went to nine different countries. We spent three months They're backpacking and using the url and the brit rail So we went we went all over the place for for three solid months spent a an entire month in greece and Just had a great time, but the letters I would send to her and then she would send me letters back So in her letters, I would read about what she's been doing and and I was learning more about this girl that I was growing to love And all of that See it's one thing to be able to read the letter and to get information It's another thing to be with that person in a personal relationship Where I'm hearing it from her mouth and not just from a pen And a lot of people have information about god that they basically get from a pen And what I want is something that goes deeper than that I want to know not only what god does I also want to know Why god does what he does and and and that's the difference between knowing the acts of god And the ways of god You can know the acts of god god showed his acts to the children of israel But he showed his ways to moses the children of israel knew what god did Moses would tell the children of israel why god did that I was talking to a young man today who's been married a couple of years and And I said, you know over time You get to know your wife pretty well, you know or better than anybody else already He's been married a couple years. You know are better than anybody anybody else already But over time you get to learn your wife just by studying her Now I've known this young man for a long long. I've known him since the day he was born I've known his mama when she was pregnant with him. I mean, I've known this young man for 27 years And so, uh, he knows us. Well, he's come to our house. He's very dear to me He's like a son to me in many ways. He's very dear to me. And so he understands us and I said, so, you know I said He's been with me. I said notice the way I look at marie I said marie will be talking to me and I'll be looking at her and there's two things going on One is I'm hearing her words and two I'm watching her face Because her face is telling me which her words aren't you know, and and I know and I said now Let me let me give you an example and it's just illustrating knowing something and it's knowing somebody When marie and I first got together Something hurt her And we've been dating for a few months And she started to get upset even tearful And so I I put my arms around her to pat her on the back to to try and comfort her and marie pushed me She pushed me away and she said I don't like people to hold me when I'm upset And I said so I learned something about marie that day about how she feels when someone's trying to comfort her I said I must tell you that I said I really don't care how you feel about it I grabbed her again and held her because I'm somebody who holds you and you're going to learn that about me And that was weightless. I said so I said what you do is you learn each other. I said so if you notice I'll be looking at her when she walks in and I'm reading her. I'm reading the way she's acting I'm hearing the way she's speaking I'm watching the way she's standing because I said the apostle peter taught us Husbands are supposed to dwell with their wives according to knowledge And and and that's what he's talking about It's knowing her moods knowing her ways knowing the things that please her knowing the things that don't please her Knowing how to irritate her for fun and knowing when you ought not to do that It's those kinds of things that you'll learn in relationship now That's true with the human relationship It is also true in your walk with god through his word And the time you spend with jesus christ you actually learn the ways of the lord and how god works in a human life That's why paul says i know whom i have believed now wait a minute paul You didn't walk with jesus christ Jesus had already been dead buried resurrecting and ascended before you got saved So how do you know whom you have believed? Because the lord through his spirit Have been communicating to him who he is He had a personal visitation when the lord jesus christ there on the road to demastas said why are you persecuting me? And he had a relationship with jesus christ that was more than just reading it in a book or listening to somebody else's testimony He had a relationship with god that was deep and personal Which is what i want It's one thing to be able to say oh, you know i in the name of god whom paul preaches That's one thing But it's another thing to say i know my god. I know what my god does I have a relationship with my god. See that's the difference between religion and what we have Because it's not just a sunday only or a wednesday or whatever. It's an everyday relationship with him So i know whom i've believed paul said and i have a relationship with him Now as we look at this Notice how he says again in verse 21 For to me to live is christ and to die is gain But if i live on in the flesh This will mean fruit from my labor yet What i shall choose i cannot tell for i'm 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 Being confident of this i know that i shall remain and continue with you with you all for your progress and joy of faith and That you're rejoicing for me Maybe more abundant in jesus christ by my coming to you again now i want to give to you a study that i Could have given to just this bit and really developed it But i want to give to you a study that relates to living for christ and dying being gain That's his singular passion to live is christ That's his chief aim But what do you mean when you say to die is gain? For me to live is christ And to die is gain What do you mean to die is gain? He's saying death Just makes it possible for me to go home Death makes it possible for me to go home. I'm going to talk to you a little bit about death right now Oh boy In job 19 verses 25 and 26 we read i know that my redeemer lives And that in the end he will stand upon the earth And after my skin has been destroyed Yet in my flesh I will see god Death will send me home Notice how he had said Having a desire in verse 23 to depart and be with christ. He says is far better Death held no terror for the apostle paul Because paul knew that that his eternity was in the hands of jesus christ. He was secure To be absent from the body is to be present with the lord now concerning death There are various as we know Beliefs related to death atheists Believe at death nothing happens It's a well known phrase. We simply become food for worms Others believe that souls remain with the body in the grave And continue to fellowship with the living exercising influence on them And appearing to them There are there are various religious groups that believe that they believe that when they go to cemeteries And they'll actually bring food for the spirits of their relatives We see that in various cultures Because they believe that they're still being exercised that that's still influenced being exercised on them. It's a form of ancestor worship There are others who think that souls become ghosts. They live in a shadowy world And are simply waiting for somebody to seek them out And so you have these shows with these psychics Who have this, you know, i'm contacting your uncle jim, you know, oh really? Yes, he's saying something to you right now What's he's saying? He's saying to give me some money. No, I mean That's pretty much it right. I mean it's just so phony Does he still have a limp? Uh, yeah Psychics, you know, and they come up and they say the most nonsensical thing and they play on people's hearts And it's terrible and tragic, but that's what they teach Then a lot of Americans who think that that there are ghosts out there waiting to be contacted. We know that Some believe that souls seek out a new habitation So they may climb into a human or a rock. They may inhabit an animal or a tree Some believe that souls go to a place called purgatory junior high ministry some believe That soul the soul will sleep it they call it soul sleep obviously awaiting judgment Some believe that it's annihilated if it isn't worthy to enter into heaven Others believe that every soul enters heaven Because everyone is good No matter what their lives have been on earth and therefore everybody goes to heaven This is something I've heard many times You have to I've heard many say death is a friend It's a transitional stage that draws me to final peace and rest Death is a friend. Let me ask you a question. Is death your friend? That's something to think about for a moment. Is death your friend? People call it their friend You may find it interesting some of you perhaps already know this most of you would already know this But does the bible call death a friend? No The bible does not call death a friend. The bible says in 1 Corinthians 1526 the last enemy The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death The bible doesn't present death as a friend It's an enemy That's why when jesus was there at the tomb of lazarus. That's why he wept Because he saw it for what it is You see the bible is plain The righteous enjoy everlasting life Unrighteous everlasting punishment There are only two places waiting for you when you die There's either heaven or there is hell I already mentioned Matthew 10 28 fear not those who kill the body but are able but are not able to kill the soul rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell So you have heaven or you have hell There's no in-between place It's one or the other And when you read the bible and you look at the descriptions of this place that it's called that we just generally call hell Hell is described in various ways It's called separation from god In luke 13 25 in 2nd thessalonians 1 It's called outer darkness in matthew 22 13 It's spoken of as eternal It's spoken of as eternal or unquenchable fire In matthew 18 verse 8 Daniel 12 2 speaks of it as everlasting contempt Revelation 14 10 and 11 speaks of it as being everlasting torment Matthew 25 46 calls it eternal punishment 2nd thessalonians 1 8 and 9 refers to it as everlasting destruction or ruin Jesus in mark 944 said it's a place where the worm dies not and the fire is not quenched Romans chapter 2 verse 5 speaks of it as being the wrath of god 2nd Corinthians 11 14 and 15 speaks of it as being retribution Punishment that's proportionate to the evil that has been done And revelation 20 verse 14 speaks of it as being the second death I've shared this with you before because it's true Someone was once saying they were going to go to hell because that's where all their friends were And they were going to party with them all through eternity in hell But when you read the bible the bible does not say that at all as a matter of fact You might find this interesting the bible actually speaks especially in the new testament revelation The bible actually speaks and jesus spoke more of hell than he did about heaven He speaks more about hell than he did about heaven. He describes it. He warns me why Why because he wants them not to go there He wants them to be with him Jesus said in john 14 I go and prepare a place for you And if I go and prepare a place for you I'll come and receive you unto myself that where I am there you may be also Jesus wants us to be with him. That's why the apostle paul could say That it's actually gain for him to die is gain Why because 2nd corinthians 5 8 says absent from the body present with the lord See your whole existence on earth guys as believers is Daily getting to know him better A daily getting to know him better again to make it a Maybe corny to some practical to others illustration The day I got married I was in love with marie There's no comparison The amount of love that I have for that woman now No comparison The amount of love I had for then Why is that? It grows every day Every day You love her more every day Something else you learn about her that infuriates you but you love her more Every day my son joseph gets married on the 2nd of august He's been he's an old timer now, you know, it's been married several days And I guarantee you he loves his corina more today than he did august 2nd I guarantee they've already Experienced all these days together new experiences together that has made them love one another more. That's how it works guys when you're in love When you're in love It just grows and grows and grows For us with the lord Why would it be gain well look around you What do you have here that you'd rather not go to heaven because of Oh, man I'm gonna have to leave my house I'm gonna have to leave my car I'm gonna have to Isn't that a great idea and that good. Oh, it is it's good I don't have to weed anymore bless you Jesus I don't have to put gas in that car anymore. Oh praise the lord. Are you kidding me? What do we have here that is so good that I would miss heaven for What do you have? What do you have that is so wonderful? That you would just as soon look at jesus and say, you know, to be honest with you I like my job so much more I it doesn't make sense to me it can't even Even the most intimate loving Relationship that I have which is with my wife and my children Pails in comparison to my desire to be with jesus christ Pails because he's your first love He's the love that makes all other love possible You know marino's this we were just talking about this yesterday She said, you know, you really ought to share these things with the people Because we talk about this What has kept her faithful to me? And what has kept me faithful to her? A greater love A greater love Yeah, she loves me. She better I love her But does that keep me faithful to her? Listen, we're talking about this today If it was just the amount of love that a person can have for another person Then it is possible for somebody else to come along that you could even care for more That is possible Somebody comes along and has that missing ingredient because when you're together with somebody long enough You start seeing the good and the bad you make adjustments But what happens when you meet somebody who doesn't have those areas of bad that you're so frustrated with And has all the other good things You can start getting attracted to that Especially when you go to work you go to work And and that pretty little thing there, you know, her hair is all combed. She's got perfume on she brushed her teeth And when you kiss your wife goodbye, whoa, you know Didn't look anything like a pretty pretty young thing there There's no comparison, you know So you can be attracted You can There's just this attraction She's pretty She laughs at my stupid jokes. She seems to care about me My wife has been busy with the kids lately. She's not interested in me But this gal on the job she is And she's got everything my wife has But she's 10 years younger And 20 years lighter And you know what? That's that's a man for you Women aren't any different. He's got all his hair. Men aren't women aren't much different You see something you fantasize about it. You start proceeding after it and you end up taking it And when you get it, you realize it wasn't everything it was supposed to be But when you're in love with Jesus There's nobody else That is more special than him and he gives you More love for that one because I have a fear of God And a love for him that motivates my behavior And makes me want to remain faithful to my wife Because I believe that God deals with sin And so I'm not going to enter into sin and lose everything For something that really doesn't matter So it starts not in my relationship with my wife It starts in my relationship with my god The one I want to be with for eternity Who has given me love for strangers Love for my wife Love for my children Love for my grandchildren Family That's how it works And so to know him They have fellowship with him Motivates everything else so to live Is Christ But to die Is gain Why? Because I'm going to finally be with the one that I'm in love with And that's why Paul could say that Now I want to depart But it is better for me to remain with you Why? I can continue ministering to you You see that's the heart of a shepherd My desire would be to be with Jesus But my priority is to care for you Now he was certain he would not be executed And he would remain for a period of time He knew that he'd continue ministering to them And he ultimately expected to see them after his release from prison That's what he's saying when he says, verse 25, 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 I know that I'm not going to be executed I know that God is going to release me I know that I'll have an opportunity to come and minister to you Though I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better Yet it is necessary that I remain with you Because the Lord has an unfinished work that I'm supposed to be doing with you And therefore I expect to remain with you and continue that work until it's completed And that's the love of a shepherd His great desire is to be with Jesus But his ministry is to remain with them