SPEAKER_01
0:20 All right. 0:21 Last day of the week, day five, we have made it to almost verse 19. 0:25 I'm going to pick it up at the end of verse 18. 0:27 It says this, yes, and I will rejoice. 0:28 He's talking about rejoicing the people, even though they are preaching with ill intent to try to get Paul even punished more, but the gospel is going out, and he would say that's worth it. 0:37 He says, Yes, and I will rejoice. 0:40 For I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, this will turn out for my deliverance. 0:47 As it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage, now as always, Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 1:02 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 1:06 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. 1:10 Yet which I shall choose, I cannot tell. 1:13 I am hard pressed between the two. 1:15 My desire is to depart and be with Christ. 1:19 For that is far better. 1:21 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 1:25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus because of my coming to you again. 1:40 Now you want to talk about total freedom. 1:42 The Apostle Paul is the freest man that's ever lived. 1:46 The way it works in my mind, I don't know if this illustration ever makes sense, but I share it all the time. 1:49 You ever seen the The Walking Dead? 1:51 You know how The Walking Dead walk around and they're like all these zombies trying to grab on the people? 1:55 It's almost like every single one of us have been born with all these handles all over us. 2:00 Some of our handles are lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life. 2:04 Some of our handles are ego or insecurity or, you know, whatever these handles are. 2:10 And we all don't have the same handles, but the enemy can reach out and grab onto those handles and grab onto us. 2:16 The Apostle Paul, it's almost like all of his handles fell off and they don't have anything to grab onto. 2:22 I mean, he has the kind of freedom where he says, to live is Christ, to die is gain. 2:27 Now, there have been some very influential pastors in my life, some of which have become very dear friends, and I can't read that verse, that quote from the Apostle Paul, without thinking about Matt Chandler talking about this, that the Apostle Paul is the freest man who's ever lived, man. 2:43 Can you imagine being in a dungeon, in a prison, and having the kind of freedom where you could say, Hey, what are you gonna do to me? 2:52 It doesn't matter what you do to me, Christ will be glorified in my body, whether by death or by life. 2:59 And so if you're a if you're a prison guard, what do you do to a guy like the Apostle Ball? 3:04 Hey, Paul, we're gonna kill you. 3:06 Great. 3:06 To die is gain. 3:08 Actually, my preference would be, why don't you go ahead and just run me through right here so that I can see the glory of Jesus face to face, and I will not have to live in this corruptible world anymore, and I can take off this body of corruption and put on a body of incorruptible glory and be with him. 3:24 And they're like, okay, well then we'll let you live. 3:26 And Paul's like, Great, well then give me a hymn book, and why don't you come and sit down and let me share the gospel with you because I got a lot of good gospel work to do. 3:35 This is a free man. 3:37 And the gospel is to give us freedom. 3:40 Jesus set us free for freedom's sake. 3:43 And the reason that he can do this is because eternity is real for him. 3:49 That the reality of eternity is not just a theological idea that he ascends to, that eternity, life forever, face to face in the throne room of God Himself is more real than the circumstances that he's sitting in. 4:03 Let me ask you, is eternity this real for you? 4:06 That you would prefer to be face to face with him? 4:10 For the Apostle Paul, the Great Commission is so compelling that he rejoices to stay in this broken world, to be about the Father's business. 4:19 Paul understood his purpose. 4:22 Do you? 4:23 Do you? 4:24 Because you have the same purpose as the Apostle Paul. 4:26 Maybe not the same platform, maybe not the exact same circumstances, but we have the same purpose is to help others progress and grow in joy and in faith. 4:36 Very few of us live in this sort of calling and urgency. 4:40 Because unlike Paul, we are more focused on this world as the prize. 4:45 We want fame, we want popularity, we want money, we want comfort instead of being focused on Christ as the prize. 4:57 May we dive so headlong into our relationship with Jesus that may we be able to say with our lives to live is Christ, to die is gay.