I invite you to turn with me this morning to Acts chapter 2, as well as once again to Philippians chapter 1. In Acts 2, we will read together the familiar story of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. And then we will turn over to Philippians, where we will read together, beginning at the second half of verse 18, where we left off last Sunday, through verse 26, and our text for consideration this morning is verse 21. Actually, the first half of verse 21, then considering the context of verses 18b through 26 with regard to this particular statement, and the Lord willing, considering the second half of verse 21 next Sunday morning. Acts chapter 2, beginning at verse 1 through verse 13, as we hear now the Word of God. When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked, Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? How then is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues. Amazed and perplexed, they ask one another, what does this mean? Some, however, made fun of them and said they have had too much wine. Right away we see the boldness of the apostles emboldened by the Holy Spirit to preach the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I'm struck in chapter 4 as Peter and John are before the Sanhedrin. And before the Sanhedrin, Peter gives what we might call a mini-sermon and he preaches of Christ and he says in verse 12, Salvation is found in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. And then verse 13, when they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled ordinary men, they were astonished. And they took note that these men had been with Jesus. And this idea of the courage that the Holy Spirit gives is especially applicable to our consideration of the Apostle Paul. Again, as I said at the beginning of the service, we celebrate that great event in redemptive history that happened on Pentecost. That pouring out of the promised Holy Spirit who gives new birth, who applies the saving grace of God and gives courage to live and speak boldly for Christ. Paul is a clear demonstration of all of this. In the text that we are about to read, he speaks of the help that he trusts will be given to him by the Spirit of Christ. And we need to understand that a more accurate way to understand that or to translate that would be the supply of the Holy Spirit. It's not just help that the Holy Spirit gives, but what Paul is saying there is that the Holy Spirit Himself is the supply, is supplied to Him that He trusts. He is what is supplied. The Holy Spirit does not simply touch God's people from a distance. He lives in God's people. And then, of course, through that, he helps and guards and guides and directs God's people. And as we have already begun to see, the Holy Spirit empowers the Apostle Paul so that Paul is able to take his eyes off of his self and off of his circumstances. And instead, the Holy Spirit gives him a firm confidence in Christ for life. and for death. So Philippians 2, beginning at the last phrase of verse 18, as Paul has talked about the advance of the Gospel through his chains and how he rejoices in that. Then he goes on, Yes, and I will continue to rejoice. For I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, or the supply of the Spirit of Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now, as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know. I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far. But it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain. And I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith so that through my being with you again, your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me. Well, beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, what is your greatest passion in life? What is it that you are the most passionate about? Boys and girls, that you can't get your mind off. That you dream about. That you daydream about it as you're sitting in class. You're passionate about it. You desire it more than anything. You are devoted to it. Is it sports? Is it music? Is it your family? Is it work? Of course, it could be any number of things as we think about it, but for the Christian, there can be and there is to be only one great passion. A passion that gives meaning to absolutely everything else. And that passion is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. You see, Paul's passion, as we have already seen already in this chapter, was Christ and Christ preached under the salvation of mankind. That was more important, he knew, than Paul's own comfort, than his physical freedom, than his earthly life. And even though it appears from what he writes here, that which we read, it appears that he expected a favorable outcome from his trial. He expected, it seems, that he would be released, that he would be able to go on and live this life. Yet, for Paul, his greater hope, his greater desire, his greatest expectation was that Jesus Christ be exalted. Was that Jesus Christ be held up in all of His glory for all to see and hear of His saving love. This was Paul's greatest desire and expectation whether Paul lived or died. Whether he was set free and was allowed to continue living in the flesh or whether he would be condemned and executed. And this great desire, this expectation, then moves Paul, in a sense, it's almost like an interlude in this portion that we read. It moves him to think, to consider life and death. And to make a very bold declaration in verse 21. Really, this declaration that we find in verse 21 is a definition of true Christianity. if someone were to ask you, well, what is true Christianity? What does it mean? What does Christianity mean? You could reasonably quote this verse. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. And with this declaration, you see, it points to Paul's unshakable confidence that he had in the living God. In God, who through Jesus Christ has brought eternal salvation. in this God who through the Holy Spirit would indeed glorify His Son through Paul. And in this unshakable confidence, Paul considers then the benefits of both living and dying. Now this would seem strange to the world. What benefits in dying? I don't see any benefits in dying, the world would say. But Paul considers the benefits of living or dying. He has his preference. We read that. Paul's preference would be to die. To go to be with the Lord. But he knew that ultimately it was not his choice. Ultimately, it was not his decision. But notice as he considers these things, there are no negatives. Only benefits. There are benefits for them if he lives. There are benefits for him if he dies. Jesus Christ is the benefit either way. And what is striking to me is that Paul is not content. As we think about Paul's life and all that he had endured, suffered for the faith as God said he would. As we consider all of these things, Paul is not content to take the easy road out, namely death. He's not content to take that easy road to escape the physical persecution and the suffering that he is called upon to endure in this life. It's striking to me that these things are not even a part of his equation. He doesn't mention them. He doesn't care about his suffering and the persecution. That really has nothing to do with it. For Paul, the dilemma here is not between Christ and no Christ. But as someone has said, for Paul, the dilemma is between Christ much in this life and Christ more in the life to come. The dilemma is between Christ by faith here and Christ by sight that we look forward to. Paul could say with full confidence, I gain if I live. I gain if I die. That's a statement I learned from one of our elderly ladies who went to be with the Lord a few years ago and toward the end of her life, especially the last few months, as she could not get out of bed, She was so tiny and so frail and wasting away, yet every time I had the privilege to visit her, she would look up at me and smile. She said, remember, I gain if I live and I gain if I die. For the believer, it's a win-win situation. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. This is the test of true Christianity. Beloved, is this your sincere confession? Can you make this confession in all honesty and sincerity today? This is the very test that the Lord's table confronts us with. A test that is passed only by the power of the Holy Spirit living in me. Again, this morning we consider the first part of the text. For to me, to live is Christ. And next week, the Lord willing, we'll consider together the death benefits that the believer has from Christ. But this morning, a confident confession for life. This is Paul's confident confession for life, and his confession is that life is centered in the first place. It is centered on Christ. Jesus Christ is the foundation. He is the center of life. And we can maybe understand that even a little more clearly if we stop and consider man's view of life and living. There are many views that man has and has held over the centuries, And we might even be able to identify a little bit with some of man's views for life and living. One of them we can call the thoughtless view of life and living. In which those who have this view simply exist. Kind of like plants and animals. Day by day, they eat and drink. They never stop to think about what life and living truly means. Que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be. Thoughtless view of life. In the world of philosophy, there is what is called the Epicurean view of life, which simply focuses on living, eating, and drinking, and being merry, for tomorrow we die. You only go around once in life, you see, so go for the gusto. And with this view, life is characterized by what's going on around you, by what you experience. Life is defined by your experience. Maybe you have said or heard someone say, as you're sitting out on the beach on a nice summer day with the sun shining down and your favorite beverage in your hand and wow, this is life. This is living. It doesn't get any better than this. This is life. In this view, life is defined by the experiences that you enjoy. Kind of opposite to that is the stoic view of life and that the stoic view understands that the world is filled with tears and troubles and torments. They're there. You can't do anything about it. You can't escape them. So put up with it. Endure it. Just get through it. Can't change it anyway. And there's also what is called the average man's view of life, which most people consider life to be all about. For the average man, life is all about family. And it's about home, and it's about work, and it's about activities. These are the things that define life. And I think that maybe in some respects we can identify with that, right? Well, that's life. I shuttle the kids here and there. I go to work from 8 to 5. We participate in these activities. That's life. Life is defined by these things. And indeed, beloved, these things are precious to us, yet often when these things are taken away, the one who lost them for that one, their world collapses. They have no hope. And they feel like they have nothing left to live for. Because these things were life. And there's one more that I'll mention. That is the humanist view of life. And that says that living is simply the opportunity to do good. To improve the world. To build up society. In fact, I happened to catch a commercial this past week. I believe a current basketball player, I don't know his name, it was an automobile commercial and this guy is donating all these things here and there. And of course the vehicle holds everything. He wants to donate. That's what the commercial was about. But in this commercial, this basketball player says, my goal is to leave the world better than I found it. That's the humanist view of life. And again, that's not a bad thing, is it? These are just some of the views, and there are many more. And we can identify with some of these things. Yet, beloved, if these things, any of them, and any other man's view of life, if these things are what life and living is all about, then I trust you see how hopeless it is because there's nothing lasting. And it's all centered on me and what I do with life and what I make of life. But in contrast to that, only the Christian's view of life and living gives true comfort and true confidence because it alone is centered on Christ. For to me to live is Christ. Notice, Paul doesn't even say God. For to me to live is God because he knew too that any false religion, Muslims, for example, and others who have some sort of a God, they can say in truth and in sincerity, they can say, for to me to live is God. They're God. Paul doesn't say that. For to me to live is Christ. Only true Christianity has the distinguishing mark of the Christian and that's Christ Jesus. For Paul, Jesus Christ was the supreme thing in life by which and for which he lives. Because without Jesus Christ, life is pointless. It is meaningless. The Christian's view of life is that life is centered on Christ and that means that one has faith in Jesus Christ. And we understand that, don't we? Faith is confessing and admitting all that the Bible says that it's true, that I cannot save myself, that I am completely unable, incapable of saving myself or doing anything good in the sight of God. True faith is confessing and admitting that I deserve hell from God and not heaven. And that He provided full and complete salvation through His Son Jesus Christ who lived righteously for me and died in my place for all of my sins that I might be forgiven. Faith in Jesus Christ is then trusting in Him alone as the only Savior. There is no other. And as the Lord of my life, not only has He saved me, but He is my Master. He is the One for whom I am to live. The One I desire to obey. Jesus Himself taught that whoever believed in Him has true life, has eternal life already now. Apart from Him, beloved, we are only dead men walking. We are spiritually dead. We have no true life. So many are deceived by the fact that they are actually standing upright and their heart is beating, that they're breathing air. But they're dead men walking. They do not have the true life of Christ. John, at the close of his Gospel in chapter 20, verse 31, talks about all the things that have been written about Jesus, that much more could have been written, but the books could not contain them. But these things have been written so that you may believe, and that by believing you may have life in His name. Life through faith in Christ Jesus. But a life centered on Christ includes more than faith in Christ. Faith in Christ desires fellowship with Christ. And Paul himself expresses his great desire for fellowship in chapter 3, verse 10. I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death. I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection. I want to fellowship with Christ. You remember those wonderful sisters, Mary and Martha, sisters of Lazarus. They were two true believers, godly women. The Bible makes that clear. Yet on that one occasion when Mary sat at the feet of Jesus while Martha was busy serving Him, doing all the household chores and making sure they were comfortable and she complains about it, Jesus makes it clear to her that service for Him must be nourished by fellowship with Him. In Luke 10, He says, Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her. That one thing is fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. And that fellowship we know is only by the power of the Holy Spirit through reading Scripture, through meditating on Scripture, through prayer, through the means of grace, sitting under the true preaching of the Word of God and participating by faith in the sacraments. Through these things, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are brought to know Christ better. and the power of His resurrection. But there's one more thing. Life centered on Christ. Faith in Christ. Fellowship with Christ. And then following after Christ. You remember that when Jesus was calling His disciples, gathering them around Him, what did He say to them? Two words. Follow Me. Follow Me. And in John 15, verse 16, Jesus says, If you love Me, you will obey what I command. You will follow Me. Samuel made it clear to King Saul that to obey is better than sacrifice because to truly obey, beloved, is from the heart. But to sacrifice can only be outwardly from the hands. Paul loved the Lord Jesus Christ who loved him first. And that love for Christ dominated and controlled Paul's life and everything he did. Even his attitude. In chapter 2, verse 5, he says, your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. Follow Christ even in your attitude. Life and living, we know, includes my thoughts and my motives and desires and actions. It's lived out, as it were, through these things. And that means that Jesus Christ is to be the center of all of these things. These things are to be focused on Him. You see, beloved, He and obedience to Him determines how I think about others. He, in obedience to Him, determines how I spend my spare time. It determines the kinds of literature I read, the kinds of activities I participate in, the kinds of clothing I wear. He, in obedience to Him, transforms my eating and my drinking and my language. He, in obedience to Him, transforms the tears and the trouble and the torment that I might be called upon to face in my life. He, and obedience to Him, gives new meaning to the experiences that you and I will have in life. You see, when living is Christ, that means loving Him above all else and therefore considers Him in all of life. As Jesus said in Matthew 6, verse 21, where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. If your treasure is the Lord Jesus Christ, your heart is going to be with Him, following Him. Paul's confident confession for life included a life centered on Christ, but also a natural flowing from that. In the second place, a life lived for Christ. It flows naturally from a life centered on Christ, a life lived for Christ. We've already talked about obeying, following Him, but we might push that a little bit further and say, to obey with a purpose. a life pointing to Jesus Christ for all to see and that life lived for Christ is to be lived with an unwavering focus not looking to the left not looking to the right but instead as Hebrews 12 says looking only to Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith who's at the finish line He's already gone before us our eyes fixed on Him and when you have an unwavering focus beloved, that means then that there is no division for you between the sacred and the secular. So many try to separate the two. Some, even meaningful Christians, treat the sacred as what I do on Sunday. Or praying. Or reading the Bible. Or witnessing. Or simply anything that is church and Bible and spiritually related. And then everything else is secular. Work, recreation, life, family, sports, as if there's no connection. But for Paul, there was no division, there was no separation between the sacred and the secular because, again, simply everything centered on Christ. There was nothing more important than Him. And Jesus Himself said in Matthew 10, anyone who loves his father, mother, son, or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. I think even well-meaning Christians at times have trouble with that verse. You mean I'm not supposed to love my father and mother, my husband or wife, or my children? No, that's not what Jesus says. He says you're not supposed to love them more than Him. They are to never take priority over Him and His worship. Never, ever. But instead, when Christ is number one, then everything else receives a higher standing. That means that my spouse will be more loved. That I will exercise more patience and love for my children. They might not always think so, but hopefully that's true. That I will carry out my job more faithfully. That the difficulties that we face in life are not so hopeless. And the temptations that Satan confronts us with are not unconquerable. An unwavering focus is what the believer is to have as he lives for Christ. no division between sacred and secular, but also not overcome by circumstances. Paul's chains, even the death that he faced, did not take his focus off of Christ. He trusted that the Holy Spirit would give him sufficient courage. And that word courage there is wonderful. The idea is of a free man, a free man speaking up boldly, without hindrance, without fear of punishment, even in a hostile situation. Saying what he wants without any threat. Well, number one, Paul was not a free man, not by any stretch of the imagination. Paul was in the most hostile of situations, even possibly facing death. Yet he had the confidence that the Holy Spirit would give him courage to speak as a free man. He had been delivered by the power of the Holy Spirit from worrying about what might happen to Him. And instead, he trusted the Holy Spirit to keep him focused on the magnificence of the Lord Jesus Christ and not be distracted by the troubles of this temporary life. He had the confidence the Holy Spirit would give him sufficient courage to speak the truth of Jesus Christ without compromise and instead to tell it like it is. And that's because his desire as one who lived for Christ was to testify without compromise, without watering down the truth. You see, if Paul was to be released, he knew that he would be active in fruitful labor for the Philippian believers' progress and joy in the faith, as we read. His ministerial goal for the Philippian believers was to be used of God to help them grow in the faith, to help them to grow in their love for Jesus Christ and not to remain the same spiritually. Not to be content with that. And as well, to experience the joy of that growth and to experience the joy of confessing for to me to live as Christ. But Paul also had a ministerial goal, we might say, for others. Not just the Philippian believers, but for all believers. And in essence, he says, if I live, I will continue to preach Christ wherever I go. I won't stop. I will continue to tell people about Him. I will continue to try to get them to believe in Him. I will continue to do all that I can in the strength of the Holy Spirit to make His name great and grand and glorious. And that's because for Paul, as he lived for Christ, that meant to live for Christ's exaltation. In verse 20 he said, I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now, as always, Christ will be exalted in my body whether by life or by death. Whether by life or by death. Even in death, Paul trusted that his death would point others not to himself, not to his own faith, but to the Lord Jesus Christ and the comfort that Paul had in him. But as far as life, he's teaching us here that when living is Christ, then all of life, every detail of life, has the ultimate goal of exalting Christ. Of magnifying Him, as the word is also translated. And that means, beloved, that in all of life, whatever situation we face, whatever decision is before us, we are not to ask, what would Jesus do? But better yet, we are to ask, what would praise Him? What would magnify Him? What would honor the work that He has accomplished for me? What would show my thankfulness to Him? The word magnify has the idea to unleash something, not keep it boxed up, to set it free that it might grow, to make it large. Now boys and girls, maybe you've used a magnifying lens and you've looked at words on a piece of paper and that magnifying lens makes those words jump off the page as it were. They become big, they become large. Now, we can't make Christ bigger than what he is. That's not the point. But Paul's point is that he would in no way hinder the glory of Christ before the eyes of men. But instead, that the Holy Spirit would use Paul, whether by life or by death, so that Jesus Christ would be proclaimed and seen in all of his greatness and all of his truth for who he is and what he has done, that he would be clearly seen as the only Savior. that all eyes would see the truth and the glory of Jesus Christ through Paul. And Paul trusted that he would not be disappointed. Again, in verse 20, I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed. That word ashamed there doesn't mean what we take it to mean in our time, but it has the idea of being disappointed. Paul trusted he would not be disappointed that God would indeed use him by life or by death to exalt Christ. Paul himself had never been disappointed in Christ. He had never been disappointed by Christ. And he knew that none who turns to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith will ever be disappointed. But instead, all who turn to Him will find that His grace is amazing. That His salvation is perfect. That His love is never ending. For all who turn to Him in repentance and faith. How could Paul be so confident? Because he had seen Christ's glory on the road to Damascus. He had seen a glimpse of the glory of Christ in that bright light. And once he had seen that glory of Christ, then nothing on this earth could compare. And people of God, when you have seen, truly seen Christ's glory, the glory of His person, that He is God, the glory of His work, His saving work, when you have truly seen Christ's glory by faith, then nothing in this life measures up. Nothing in this life means more. Nothing in this life has value apart from Him. But instead, in Him, you have confidence for life. Have you seen, truly seen, the glory of Christ? I must confess, and maybe some of you along with me, but I must confess that as I examine myself, I am so very selfish. That if I'm honest, that my life often revolves around me, myself, and I. And I must be reminded again and again and again that I have no life without Him. Him who was selfless. His selflessness was demonstrated on the cross. His selflessness is placed before us at the Lord's table. But praise God, His selflessness is our comfort. Because you and I do not put Christ at the center of our lives as we ought to. We do not try to exalt Him in all that we do. But our comfort is that His selflessness has paid for our selfishness. And we have hope in Him. And by the grace of God, we are able to trust with confidence in the Holy Spirit who will continue that work that He has begun in us. All who turn to Him in faith no longer live the old life. But as Paul says, they have Christ living in them through the Holy Spirit. They have eternal life. The Lord's table is the table of life in Christ. And that table, as we look at it this morning, I want you to remember it for next Sunday morning also, please. Because that table points to the believer's benefits in death, which we'll consider then the Lord willing. But also those who partake in true faith. As you come and partake in true faith, you make a confident confession and that is that for you to live is Christ. And therefore, beloved, may Christ be our only true passion. And may our greatest desire be to exalt Him in all things because He gave His life that we might have life abundantly. Amen. Let's bow together in prayer. O merciful God and Father, we thank You with all our hearts that in Your boundless grace You have given us Your only begotten Son as a mediator and a sacrifice for our sins and as our food and drink unto life eternal. We thank You, too, that You give us a true faith whereby we become partakers of these Your benefits. And since You have, through Your Son Jesus Christ, ordained the Holy Supper for the strengthening of that faith, we beseech You, O faithful Father, that through your Holy Spirit this remembrance of our Lord and proclamation of his death may truly increase our faith and enrich our fellowship with Christ. May this proclamation of our Lord's death also be used by you to bring others into this blessed fellowship so that all your children may be gathered in to share with us the joy of your salvation. Hear us, Heavenly Father, in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Thank you.