“Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 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. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:18-21 ESV).
The apostle Paul was being held in prison for many years for teaching the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And, if that wasn’t enough, he had people on the outside who were coming against him, who were trying to discredit him, and who were trying to overtake his ministry and to teach what he was teaching to the people out of envy and rivalry and out of selfish ambition, and for the full purpose to afflict Paul in his imprisonment. But he rejoiced that the truth of the gospel was being preached, even if for wrong motives.
For his hope and his trust were in Jesus Christ and in God’s sovereignty over his life, so he believed that everything that was happening in his life was happening for a purpose and that God was going to work it all out for good. He believed that, even if he was being falsely accused of wrongdoing, and even if others were trying to discredit him and his ministry, or to overtake it, that Christ would still be honored in his body, whether by life or by death. For he lived for Christ, and when he died, he would then be with Christ.
“If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 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” (Philippians 1:22-26 ESV).
Now I sympathize with Paul in his words here. I am near to being 74 years old, and I have had many hardships and persecutions in my lifetime, and so I am ready to go be with Jesus whenever he is ready to take me home to be with him, by his choosing, not mine. For we live in a time in history that is so evil, and so many professing Christians have deserted the true faith to run after the idols of this world and to walk in the ways of the flesh, and not in the ways of God, and it is disheartening to see all this taking place.
But the Lord Jesus is still using me, so I still have a purpose on this earth. So, even though it is through tears sometimes, I press on in my walk of faith in the Lord and in serving him in the area to which he has called me, even when I come up against opposition and rejection and harsh treatment. For I know the Lord has a purpose in it all and that he is using my faithfulness to him to touch the hearts and lives of people throughout the world. And so I will persevere in obeying his will until he chooses to take me home.
“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have” (Philippians 1:27-30 ESV).
And this really is the purpose of the ministry God has given to me, to press upon those who profess faith in Jesus Christ of the necessity of us walking with Christ in a manner of life worthy (fitting to) the gospel of Christ. And that gospel teaches us that we must die with Christ to sin and live to him and to his righteousness in obedience to his commands. This is the reason that Jesus Christ gave his life up for us on that cross that we might deny self, die to sin daily, and follow our Lord in obedience to his commands.
And why is this critically important? Well, the Scriptures teach us that genuine faith in Jesus Christ results in us leaving our lives of sin behind us to now follow our Lord in obedience and in holy living. And, if we choose to disobey the Lord and to not walk in holiness, but to continue living in deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord, then we do not have salvation from sin, and we do not know God, and we do not have the hope of eternal life with God, regardless of what we have professed with our lips.
[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
But it isn’t just that. It is that if we want to have Christian lives pleasing to God, and to be at peace with God, and to be fulfilled spiritually in our walks of faith and in our witness for the Lord to other people, we need to be the people of God who are following our Lord in obedience and in holy living, and who are not walking in sin. For our salvation from sin is not just about what Jesus Christ did for us and what God will do for us, but it is about what we are to do for him in appreciation for what he did for us.
Also, if we are to endure the onslaught of what is presently coming against us who profess faith in Jesus Christ, and what is yet to come, most certainly, we have to be strong in our walks of faith or we will not endure. For all hell is certainly to break loose against us not too far off in the future, at least it certainly appears that way from the signs of the times, and it is inevitable. So we must be those who are walking in holiness and not in sin and who make it our practice to resist the enemy and to remain steadfast in our walks of faith despite all opposition against us.
‘Til The Storm Passes By
By Thomas Mosie Lister
In the dark of the midnight have I oft hid my face
While the storm howls above me, and there's no hiding place
'Mid the crash of the thunder, Precious Lord, hear my cry
Keep me safe till the storm passes by
Many times Satan whispered
There is no use to try
For there's no end of sorrow, there's no hope by and by
But I know Thou art with me, and tomorrow I'll rise
Where the storms never darken the skies
Till the storm passes over, till the thunder sounds no more
Till the clouds roll forever from the sky
Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand
Keep me safe till the storm passes by
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_obOSQoOpQ
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