Earlier this week I sat down in my office to come up with an opening illustration about staying focused, single-minded, on task. I was just about to grasp it, when one of my boys came into the office and wanted to sit with me on the chair. It got away. I felt like I was getting close again, then a notification popped up on my screen. Finally, the church line rang. At that point I gave up, and thought “I’ll try again tomorrow.”
I am not the only one this happens to. Our best intentions are no match for the alluring “ding” of a notification. True focus is hard to come by and even harder to maintain. And Life in Christ is no different. I’ll sit down, Bible in hand, ready to discover something that is more precious than pure gold, and suddenly find my thoughts have drifted miles away because I just remembered a list of things I need to do today. So much is vying for my attention, that a lot of the time Christ is pushed to the side. Imagine that. In the chorus of our opening song we sang: “You are our one desire, You alone are holy, only you are worthy”, and I believe it, and I’ll sing it, but too often I don’t live it. Not today at least; I’ll try again tomorrow.
But here’s the thing: I have seen other people who do live that way, and I’ve been there enough myself to know that it is both possible, and worthwhile. And every time I open up the letter to the Philippians I’m reminded of this. Time and again this letter reminds us that Life in Christ is focused on Christ. Regardless of our circumstances. Paul was well acquainted with this truth. Sitting in a prison cell, knowing that he had no control over whether he would live or die, he wrote:
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice because I know this will lead to my salvation through your prayers and help from the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
Hear the conviction in Paul’s words. He’s waiting for a hearing with Caesar, the most powerful person in the world, who will determine his fate. At least, that’s what Caesar thinks. But Paul knows better. He knows that there is one true Judge that will hear his case; there is one true King that will decide his fate. And his throne isn’t in Rome. Paul is not wavering. He is not distracted. He’s focused. He’s single-minded in his conviction that Christ is over all, and in all, and is only one who will decide his future. And you know what he’s focusing on in these possibly last days? Vs. 20 says:
My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all courage, Christ will be highly honoured in my body, whether by life or by death.
His focus is on Christ, and whether Christ will be honoured by Paul’s conduct as he waits in prison. The thing that he is most looking forward to is being able to see Christ glorified by his life. He has no other ambition. He’s not looking for a way out of his circumstances; he’s asking for courage to stay in. Paul’s locked in, because he’s moved on from worrying about his own life, and cares only about Life in Christ. In verse 21 we even get a glimpse into the conviction that drove his faith.
For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Memorize that. It’s not that Paul wanted to die. But he sure wasn’t afraid of it. Death had no sting for Paul, so why should we fear it? At this point Paul had spent close to 30 years following Jesus, focused on Jesus, and he had learned a simple truth we would all do well to hear. Nothing else compares. When Christ is your last thought as you go to bed and your first thought as you rise, nothing can shake that focus. He had tasted and seen that the Lord was good, and the best this life had to offer wouldn’t even come close. Paul wasn’t building his own kingdom. He wasn’t chasing the good life, because he’d already found it. But his focus on the future never once distracted him from his present work, as he says in vs. 22:
Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ — which is far better — but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.
Paul knew that a better existence was waiting for him when he died; he would depart and be with Christ. What could be better than that? That’s the best thing that could happen to him. But Paul wasn’t after the best thing for him, was he? He was focused on Christ. He was locked in on the thing that brought Christ honour. And that meant staying here a little longer to finish the work God had started through him. As he continues in vs 25:
Since I am persuaded of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that, because of my coming to you again, your boasting in Christ Jesus may abound.
The word “persuaded” is little weak to express what Paul means. He is utterly convinced that his trial will end with release from his chains so that these Christians in Philippi will see him one more time. We actually don’t know if this happened. The book of Acts ends before Paul went before Caesar, so we don’t know the verdict. But Paul would say it doesn’t really matter; what happened to him in the end is irrelevant, as long as Christ was glorified by his conduct. And then he turns it back to the Philippians. After demonstrating his own focus on Christ, he challenges them, as a community, to do the same.
Just one thing: As citizens of heaven, live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or am absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, in one accord, contending together for the faith of the gospel, not being frightened in any way by your opponents. This is a sign of destruction for them, but of your salvation — and this is from God.
Last week I mentioned that Philippi was obsessed with status, and honour is completely wrapped up in that. They had a strong military culture, which shines through here. Rank was everything. This is a glimpse of Paul’s pastoral heart. He knew that their focus was on status and it needed to shift to Christ. So he reminded them that they are first and foremost citizens of heaven. They need to be less worried about where they rank among their friends. What really matters is whether they’re actually worthy of the name that they carry. The name that is above every name.
Then, if they actually live worthy of the gospel, it will result in a unity that advances the gospel, despite the opposition they will face. We’ll pick this up more next week. For now I want you to hear the military metaphor. Paul says they will be like the Roman legions they prize so highly. They will stand side by side, acting with one mind, moving as one unit. And they’ll be unstoppable. The strength of the Roman army came from their unity, and Paul says the same strength, and success, will be present in the church as they stay focused on Christ. But it won’t be easy.
For it has been granted to you on Christ’s behalf not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you are engaged in the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I have.
Living a life solely focused on Christ means you are going to experience suffering. You are going to miss out on the pursuit of pleasure that others around you are enjoying. You may be singled out because you refuse to bow to cultural views that are contrary to Scripture. You are going to love people that don’t deserve it, and they’re going to betray you, just like they betrayed him. But this suffering is going to prove that you actually are worthy of the gospel of Christ. It’s going to prove that your focus isn’t on this life, but on the life to come. And once you’ve suffered enough, you too will say with Paul, “For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Hope Hills, we are also called to stay focused on Christ. We face a lot of distractions as we build God’s kingdom here in Symons Valley. For us to do the work God has called us to, we need to be focused first as individuals, and then as a community. We’ll do that by being a word-soaked community. To explain this I need a volunteer. [Call up volunteer]
This is a dry sponge. It’s as far from being soaked as it can be. This is a life that is void of the word of God. This is someone who doesn’t gather together with other Christians for worship, study, prayer, or even spend their own time in the word of God. When we add a little water, nothing changes. If you only add a little bit of the word of God to your routine, you shouldn’t expect much difference. You’ll still look and act the same as someone without it. Occasional church attendance and a 20-second Tik-Tok thought about Jesus isn’t enough to keep you focused. It will get lost in the noise of everyday life. Let’s add a little more water. This is when you have more frequent gatherings with other Christians, giving you exposure to the word of God, but you aren’t yet diving in yourself. It’s wet, and I can even wring some out to give to others. This is where most Christians stay. On the outside you look like you’re following Jesus. You’re checking the right boxes, but you’re still a ways away from being focused on Christ. That’s because you’re still adding Christ to your life, instead of pursuing Life in Christ. Let’s stop adding water to the sponge, and instead, let’s add the sponge to the water. This is a life immersed in the word of God, through routine gathering with other Christians, and a healthy practice of personal prayer, Bible reading, and even memorization. This person is pursing Life in Christ, not just simply adding Christ to their life. And look, they are soaked in the word, meaning it overflows from them without even trying! If you hang around people that are word-soaked, you’re gonna get wet. They can’t help it. When you get a bunch of these together, then you have a word-soaked community, focused on Christ, who with one voice stand up and say “For us, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” And that’s when God will move like we couldn’t believe.
I challenge you to take a concrete step towards a word-soaked life. Start like this: pick an amount of time you can spend with the Lord daily in the Bible and in prayer. Pick that number now. 5, 10, 15, 20 minutes? More if you think you can manage that. Got it? Okay, that’s your number for today. Take time after church today to be with your creator. Parents, you may need to support each other to make this happen. Then tomorrow add 5 minutes to that number. The next day add another 5. Increase each day until next Sunday. You’ll notice that at the start of the week you can just add Christ in where you have time. But at some point this week you’ll have to rearrange your schedule to make it work. That’s when you’ll be tempted to quit this practice. Don’t. Stay focused. Push through. Because that’s when you’ll start to see results. Don’t just add Christ to your life, pursue life in Christ!
As I close, I want to show you a painting that I love. It was inspired by a letter to one of the seven churches in the book of Revelation, Laodicea. The church had lost focus. Instead of pursuing Life in Christ, they were enjoying the good life that their wealth could afford. So this letter was a warning. Jesus told them “See! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come to him and eat with him, and he with me.” The same invitation is extended to all of us today. Whether your focus has shifted and needs to be reset, or you want to know more about this Jesus, either way look at the door. There’s something peculiar about it. There’s no door handle. Jesus will not be opening that door. If we want Life in Christ, then we have to let him in.
We’re moving into communion, or as I like to call it, the Lord’s Table. A table is a meeting place, and we’re here to meet with God. We can only do that because the body of Jesus was broken for us, and the blood of Jesus that was shed for us. So after I pray please, grab the elements from the table, and reflect on what God is calling you to do now.