To Live is Christ
John 16:33
Jesus said that in this world we would have tribulation, but we are to have courage and faith, as He has overcome the world.
Jesus has already told us, that in this world there will be and we will have tribulations = suffering, trials, troubles, pains, difficulties. All these things are true. But Jesus wanted us to realize that we do not have to dwell in, inhabit, spend all our energy, in these things because He has overcome the world.
Philippians 1:21
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
For the person that I am, in my inner most self
To Live : as I am alive; as I walk my daily path; as I wake and sleep; for every breath I breathe, for each moment of every day, my purpose in all that I do,
IS CHRIST
1.Christ is my Salvation, my Victory, my Deliverance
Isaiah 12:2
2. Christ is my Strength, my Might, my Power, my Boldness,
Psalms 118:14
3. Christ is my Refuge, my Fortress- my retreat, my escape, my stronghold, a shelter from the storm.
Jeremiah 16:19
Jesus is our safety and our protection. In Christ Jesus we have all that we ever need to live our lives. We have all the good things the Father has given to us. We lack nothing. Even in the hardest of times we can live in contentment and peace and joy.
What was Jesus’ warning to us?
How does knowing this help us?
What did He tell us that He has done that will give us the courage and strength to keep pressing on in our faith?
Oh, the Wonder of my Savior. Oh how great is His love for me. When I think that He left Heaven and humble Himself to come to earth. To take on Himself the flesh and bone of humanity. To live in this house of flesh and face every trial and temptation of all the human race in order to overcome them all, for our sakes. Just to think of His willingness to take on Himself our sins and to die on the cross in our place that we might be made free. Just to know that He rose again from the dead to give us eternal life. For me to live is Christ.
When I think that He calls me redeemed. He sees me clothed in spotless white. He calls me His own. A child of God. When I recall His great unending reckless love for me. For me to live is Christ.
In all my life, in all my situations, in my daily work, in my relationships with colleagues, friends and family Jesus takes 1st place. When my relationship with Him is in proper order, all my other relationships will be in proper order.
Everyday, we all have to live in this world. Everyday we face situations. Whether driving down the highway, at work with coworkers, shopping at a store, there are people and things that have to be faced or confronted. Where our heart is, where our mindset is will make all the difference as to how these situations will turn out. Will I have a great day or will I have a bad day? Where will my focus be? If our focus is on Jesus and doing all to please Him, the day will be different. We will see situations differently. We will react differently than if we simply go through the day without the thought of where our true hope and true life is.
How does having the mind set that “For me to live is Christ” change how we live our daily life?
What can we do to assure that our thoughts are covered in this hope daily?
Our inward man, the person we really are inside can be renewed day by day:
2Cor 4:16 -17
Whatever trials, temptations or struggles we are going through, our “inward man” can be renewed. The Spirit of Christ living within us renews our courage, our faith, our hope, our joy, daily. The walk we live in Christ is a daily walk, sometimes moment by moment. But “In Christ” we have the ability to go on. We find peace and contentment in Him.
Daily, Christ is our:
- Breath -God breathed into us life and we became living souls. His breath gives us life every moment.
- Living Water – every cell of our being requires water to survive.
- Living bread – the sustenance required for strength to keep going, for renewal of the very fiber of our being.
- Our never failing joy – beyond emotions, lifting us above all that is earthy to that which is Heavenly
- Our delight and our pleasure – that which we enjoy above all else, that which fulfills us and fills us up
The hope we have in Christ transcends all our circumstances. We can know today, each and every moment of our day, that we are not alone. We can have assurance that the Lord of Host, the God of Angle armies is always with me. We can have confidence that He loves me and He knows me better that I do myself. I can trust in the fact that He always has my best at heart.
There is an old chorus that says ”He’s all I need, He’s all I need, Jesus is all I need”!!
Let Him be your life, recline, rest on Him. Let Him carry your burdens.
Philippians 3:14
Paul tells us that he was pressing toward the prize. So must we press on toward the prize of the high invitation of God in Christ. We must keep our focus on the prize and press on as a runner presses on to the end of the race with the goal of the crown to be won ever before their eyes.
Isaiah 64:4
1Corinthians_2:9
So great is the wonder of all that God has prepared for us that we cannot even imagine in our wildest dreams. The glory and brightness of His very presence fills all of Heaven. This is the place to which we are journeying. A place He has gone to prepare for us. So far above all human comprehension is the beauty, joy and peace of this place that authors have had to use words like the likeness of or the similitude of because we do not have either the words to describe or the essence of what is there to compare it with.
Why would Isaiah and Paul tell us what God has prepared for us if we love Him is beyond our ability to imagine?
Does this knowledge cause us to think about what awaits us?
What do these verses tell us about our own journey?
How do we press on toward the prize?
Does keeping our eye on the goal help us to press on?
How does this relate to “For me to live is Christ”?
Revelation 1:12 – 16
Here in Revelation John does his best to describe the glorified Lord Jesus Christ. In words as close as he can find he tells us what he saw. Beauty and splendor so great. He is clothed in a princely and priestly robe, His robe of righteousness, wrapped with the golden breastplate of His righteousness. I can only imagine the glistening whiteness and shine and reflection of the purest gold. His hair glistening white like snow showing his eternalness as the Ancient of Days. His eyes as though they were flames of fire, piercing and penetrating into the very souls of man. Even His feet glistened and shone like the purest brass. Showing His strength and power to tread down all His enemies. His voice like flowing waters, denoting His voice being heard by all as a mighty roaring river. Speaking of His gospel going out to all mankind.
How does this description of Jesus effect the way you think about meeting Him face to face?
So often we are presented with the image of Him as a man here on earth or the babe born in Bethlehem. Does reading this description of Jesus change the way you think of Him?
How does reading this description of Jesus effect our mindset of “For me to live is Christ”?
Mark 4:39 -41
Here in these verses, we see Jesus as someone much, much more than a historical figure. We see someone with the authority to simply speak, say to a raging storm, “peace” “be still” and the storm obeys His command. What kind of person can do such a thing? This was the question His disciples asked each other after the storm ceased. Who is He? No one can do that. They became fearful, knowing that they were in the presence of Someone with great power and authority. Someone far more than a mere mortal man.
His power and authority is beyond our comprehension. Yet today, He can speak and control the elements. You cannot tell me that He does not have the same power and authority today as He did then. This also tells me that He is someone who lives beyond the boundaries of time and space as we know them. “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever”. Hebrews 13:8
What was so miraculous that caused even his close followers to be amazed?
How does Jesus controlling the elements, the storms, encourage our faith in Him in our everyday life?
When we read these verses, how does this reinforce our purpose that “For me to live is Christ?”
Psalms 37:4 – 6
Isaiah 58:14
Each day as we awake, we have been given a new day to have fellowship with the Lord. We have a new day to follow in His steps. We can wake with an attitude of delight. We can look forward to what the day will bring because we know that Jesus has our best at heart. He desires to give us His best and to teach us of His love for us. The road we are traveling may have chuck holes and be rough, but we can go on knowing we have delight in the Lord and we are journeying on toward our goal.
Why would David tell us to “delight” ourselves in the Lord?
How does committing our way to the Lord give us delight?
What did Isaiah mean that God would cause us to “ride upon the high places of the earth”?
What about these scriptures reinforce our commitment to “For me to live is Christ?”
Paul finishes up Philippians 1:21 with the words “and to die is gain”. I want to look at this portion of the scripture in a bit more detail also. Paul is encouraging the Philippians and us to know that “For us to live is Christ”, but he also wants us to know that part of the encouragement in knowing that Christ is our total life. He is our desire. He is our Delight. He is our Hope. He is our Peace. He is our Joy. All that fills us to the full and overflowing is Christ. But even beyond this wonder, is that fact that even to die is gain. God has prepared for us a place with Him forever and ever.
John 14:3
Beyond a life here with Jesus. We have the blessed hope of eternal life with Christ. For all eternity, “For me to live is Christ”. It doesn’t end when we leave this world, whether by the grave or in the rapture We can still say “For me to live is Christ”. For even to die is great gain. We will be given a new body and a new full blessed life.
1Corinthians 15:42 – 44
Paul wants us to know that this old fleshly body that we are living in, is not our eternal body. We have a spiritual body that will live forever. It will be like Jesus. There will be no more pain, suffering or aging. Like Jesus, this new body will live forever.
1 John 3:2
“We shall be like him – For our vile bodies shall be made like unto his glorious body; we shall see him as he is, in all the glory and majesty both of the Divine and human nature. John had seen his glory on the mount when he was transfigured; and this we find was inexpressibly grand; but even this must have been partially obscured, in order to enable the disciples to bear the sight, for they were not then like him. But when they shall be like him, they shall see him as he is – in all the splendor of his infinite majesty.” Adam Clarke
“Little does the world know of the happiness of the real followers of Christ. Little does the world think that these poor, humble, despised ones, are favourites of God, and will dwell in heaven. Let the followers of Christ be content with hard fare here, since they are in a land of strangers, where their Lord was so badly treated before them. The sons of God must walk by faith, and live by hope. They may well wait in faith, hope, and earnest desire, for the revelation of the Lord Jesus. The sons of God will be known, and be made manifest by likeness to their Head. They shall be transformed into the same image, by their view of him.” Matthew Henry
Here John reminds us that death is not the end. We will bee like Jesus. We shall see Him as He is. Every day we can say “For me to live is Christ”. Christ fills my life. He gives me His Joy and His peace. He is my hope. He guides me and He keeps me. I can rest in Him.
I can commune with Him in prayer and meditating on His word. I see Him now only with my spiritual eyes. But one day I will see Him face to face. In all His splendor and majesty and glory.
Colossians_3:4
“When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
Paul here tells us that Christ is our life. He also tells us that when Jesus appears in the clouds we will be changed into our new eternal bodies as we meet Him in the air. We shall see Him as He is. And we will be like Him. This also encourages us that what Paul said is so true, “to die is gain” for we will be with Him and we will be like Him. We will see Him in all His beauty, majesty and splendor forever and ever.
This also reenforces our hope. This is another promise that gives us courage in our day to day life. We can truly say with all our heart, “For me to live is Christ”.
What does the statement “For me to live is Christ” say to you?
How does the phrase “and to die is gain” give you more desire to live every day with Jesus?
What does that phrase mean to you?
In what way does the phrase “and to die is gain” focus on having a wonderful and delightful life here and now?
How will applying Philippians 1:21 to your daily life change how you think, react and feel?