Living Between Two Worlds - Part A

How do you strike the balance between being a citizen of heaven.

That's were going to end up Philippians 320, our citizenship is in heaven will at the same time being responsible as a citizen of this earth. How do we live in between these worlds moving to heaven but were on the earth gives us real good structure on how to do that well or just about at the end of our series from the edge of eternity explored a lot of issues about death and the afterlife, but a skip. Isaac starts to bring the series will close today hearing correctly Skip weekend division were going to examine a couple of important issues that we need to make sure we deal with right now. For we visit the hereafter. The first we want to let you in on this much correctly Skip resource offer times you hear a sermon that really speaks to you. It's almost as if the pastor knows what you personally going through and he teaches a message like you're the only one listening. Well it's not that the pastor knows you personally that God knows you personally here. Skip, I think in nearly 40 years of expository teaching.

I still love hearing that one of my messages spoke to someone personal that it earned them on to know God better or more like but that's not because of me that's just the power of the word of God doing the work of God in the hearts of the people get to know the God who knows you pastor Skip six collection of some of pastor skip's most memorable teachings, including the rapture. Real and overcoming an anxious mind this for DVD collection is our thanks for your gift of $25 or more to help keep this ministry connecting more people to Jesus. Call now to request a copy of pastor Skip specs 892 1888 working online securely connectwithskip.com/offer from the edge of eternity is our series about the afterlife as you open your Bibles to Philippians chapter 1 will join Skip as he explains what we need to do to get to heaven to get to heaven you have to have the right approach To say why does decided I want to go there. That's a good decision but you gotta make sure that you come to the right channel just like if you were to go to a foreign country, you could just decide to buy a plane ticket you can get into a country unless you have one of these I brought mine this morning because there was a time when I forgot my at the airport in Los Angeles. I had flown from Albuquerque to LAX. I've been doing domestic travel and I just didn't think about putting the passport and so I got to my connecting flight at LAX. They asked for this and my heart sunk as I know I didn't packet. Try to stay overnight in LA airport. While this was being overnighted to me.

The passport allows you entrance into a foreign country and so to to get into heaven you have to come with the right documentation not because you have a big Bible or a bumper sticker on your car or because you attend a certain church, but you've come the way of Jesus Christ alone.

So I want to sum up all that we have studied with today's message there's two things you need to be sure of. You need to be ready to die and you need to be ready to live until you die first, you need to be ready to die because that moment could come at any moment I heard a story of a bank in Binghamton New York that wanted to send flowers to a competitor bank that had moved to a new location so they sent the flowers with the flower shop got the card mixed up so you imagine their surprise when this new bank at their new location saw a card on the flowers that read with deepest sympathy is when the right message.

The flower company was embarrassed but there even more embarrassed because he realized at that moment.

There's a funeral home in that town in a flower bouquet in front of a casket with a card that said congratulations on your new location which is pretty accurate. Actually, if you think about it, that person in the casket is no longer there there at a new location question is where are they may or may not be a cause for congratulations so you want to make sure that you're ready to die. But are you ready to live until you die. This is where we now come to Philippians how do you strike the balance between being a citizen of heaven. That's were going to end up Philippians 320, our citizenship is in heaven. While at the same time being responsible as a citizen of this earth. How do we live in between these world were were moving to heaven but were on the earth. Philippians gives us a real good structure on how to do that.

Take either chapter 1 and read a section of verses together, to give you four words that will describe how Paul strikes the balance between the present and the future.

Those words are simple and there in your outline. Rustling wanting, willing and waiting and will see how that impacts as we go together. Let's read the entire section beginning in chapter 1 verse 19 for I know that this will turn out for my salvation through your prayer and the supply of the spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that nothing I shall be ashamed that with all boldness, as always. So now also Christ will be magnified in my body whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.

But if I live on in the flesh. This will mean fruit from my labor yet what I shall choose I cannot tell I'm hard-pressed between the two having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless, to remain in the flesh is more needful for you and being confident of this.

I know that I shall remain and continue with you for your progress and joy of faith that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again, it's pretty obvious from this paragraph that the Paul is wrestling with something he struggling with how he feels about what the future might bring you see he's in prison is been arrested and he doesn't know how the trials going to go if he's going to get a death sentence or if he's gonna be released. He may live you may die no so he's very honest emotionally about how he takes the situation and Matteo when I first read this paragraph what they will came to my mind immediately. Member fiddler on the roof. Remember, the patriarch of the family name 10 via his three daughters are getting married this guy thinks out loud. He processes out loud in one of his daughters wanting to marry this guy didn't really approve of the guidance. Ottavio says on one hand he's not the one I would've chosen but on the other hand, she loves him. And on one hand he goes back and forth deliberating with this choice let's what Paul is doing here. He's thinking about the possibility of living and continuing his ministry or dying and going to heaven. Notice verse 23. I'm hard-pressed between the two we'd say I'm in between a rock and a hard place effects the idea the picture behind the language that Paul uses is the picture of a traveler on a narrow road with a canyon walls on either side. And as he travels there pressing in further and further in constricting his travel more and more so think of it this way. On one side is the wall of what Paul wants for himself in the light of his situation. I'd rather just be in heaven on the other side is the wall of what they, the Philippian church need for Paul, the continuing to minister to them and to live as an example, let's apply that sometimes our lives become confined things narrow our options are less today than they were yesterday.

We feel like life is closing in on us at those times could be an illness that we face loss of a loved one loss of a job, career change, death of a vision breakup of a relationship. We feel like our life is being constricted those moments, our choices are very critical and and we as Christians are faced with the choice Mike and Mike in a land on choosing to live for God's glory, or for my personal comfort. Typically, when we go through a hard time. Our first responses. How can I get out of this.

It should be. What can I get out of this for the glory of God not tell you why that's a critical choice because in those times, if our motivation is for personal comfort rather than God's glory. We can end up in one of two different camps number one.

Some become fatalistic that is. This is hard.

Heaven is better to be better fighters die. I know people who live their whole life that way and never happy as always is a bummer to drag like horrible we get to heaven soon to be better did I know, those people can develop suicidal tendencies. It can be a very dangerous way to think others rather than becoming fatalistic become totally materialistic Life is hard is a drag. I know I'm going to heaven. But till I get there I'm gonna make it all about me and have as much fun and spend as much money as I can on my own personal comfort become materialistic, I know that she didn't really completely understand what she was saying.

But I'm a tell you story about a girl that I met years ago we were all talking about. She was a believer. We all talking about the Lord coming soon and she was just getting engaged to a young fella, never, never forget what she said was to get Jesus could come at any moment and she said will I hope you didn't come right away because there are still a few things I haven't done yet. There's a few experiences I haven't made it through a like marriage and children and I like to buy a house and she had a little list of things she wanted before the Lord can now I understand that kind of emotion, but she really sold the Lord sure on that. Not understanding what eternity had in store for her as a believer, sir. Reminds me of Mark Twain when he was told about heaven. He said you can have heaven.

You just give me Bermuda in a for him the temporal role was more important than the eternal.

So here's Paul. He's in a predicament he's in prison. He doesn't know which way the vertex going to fall and so he's wrestling and he tells us also in the same paragraph what he wants.

Personally, he's wrestling with a predicament he's wanting to push off and I'll tell you why use that language in a moment, look at look at verse 23 he said I'm hard-pressed between the two constricting walls of my emotion having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. So what is he want what is you want to do is a desire to what depart the word he chose is a very telling and descriptive word on the loose side and up on the Lucite means to let loose of, or to break up or to undo and it was a word couple thousand years ago in the Greek language that was used number one of mariners who were leaving port and what they would do is they would loose the ship of the mornings they would untie the ropes they would bring up the anchor and they would give them the freedom to set sail. That's what they meant by the word departure and it's a beautiful description of Christian death, to pick up the anchor and I move in on Paul used it that way when he wrote to young Timothy in second Timothy chapter 4 is toward the end of his life and he said I'm already being poured out as a drink offering at the time of my departure on a loose I is at hand Timothy I'm I'm already on time. The ropes I'm bringing up the anchor. I know my time is short on setting sale of this imagery has found its way into him neurology. Some of the hymn writer speak about gathering together on the other shore were setting sale. There's a second way. The word on a loose I was used in ancient times, and I was for striking a camp or breaking up the Soldiers would camp out in their tents was time for them to move on. They would fold their tents up they would take out the tent pegs they would wind up records and they would move on. That's a beautiful description of death as well were pilgrims were traveling through were camping out on this earth. This is impermanent now camping is a lot of fun for like a day okay for a week or two, but you know you have to like two or three weeks in a tent gets really old and it you long for something more permanent belong for shower your smelling pretty ripe after a few weeks I do care what KOA's have. It's just different, and so the Bible is very descriptive to say this life is like living in a tent were camping out.

And when we die we strike the camp we move on to something more permanent print in chapter 5 we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down. That is when we die and leave these bodies will have a home in heaven, and eternal body made for us by God and not by human hands. And if you are an honest person. The longer you live, you realize you have it is very temporary, and I am in a tent. I woke up this morning and looked at my tent in the mirror and I saw the flaps and the tent is stretching out a little bit.

The cords are way going a little bit looser in the you can't wait for something more permanent few days before he died.

The guy by the name of FB Meyer is a pastor last generation wrote to a friend that here's a guy on his deathbed and he says this. I have just heard to my great surprise that I have but a few days to live. It may be that before this letter reaches you. I shall have entered the palace and he closes don't trouble to write, we shall meet in the morning so beautiful. Hey, here I am writing you. You may not even get this before.

I'm in the palace.

I get to heaven. I've moved on. Don't even bother to write see in the morning. I also discovered that departure can come at any moment you might think.

Today all I won't depart from this life for years. You might not be here next week. There are just no guarantees. It can happen at any moment. Here's Paul Singer today what I want. I would love to depart. I'd love to set sail. I'd love to strike the camp and move on to something more permanent. Notice what he continues to say in that verse having a desire to depart and be with Christ. That's the best part.

The best part isn't the departure. It's the arrival see encounter.

I think I told you about JB Phillips who wrote that great translation of the New Testament and he conducted so many funerals in his lifetime, but he never spoke about a Christian who died as the dearly departed. Give your pastor say that if you hear the dearly departed his unit. He didn't say that he talked about them is the one who has arrived and if you're believer when you die really arrived. So there's the departure but there's immediately the encounter. I have a desire to depart as a means I'm to be with Christ, we have spent four months talking about the arrival four months talking about what it's like.

The moment we die and were in glory, and we get reunited with loved ones were in the throne room of God.

We see the Lamb and the choirs of heaven and with the resurrected bodies will be like and all of that hope.

Upon the arrival you know there's there's two modes of transportation to heaven. Number one death and so far that's all everybody has gotten there's gotten her death. Number two is when the Lord comes back and the saints who are alive are instantly translated into heaven.

That's the rapture of the church. That's another way to get there as the only two modes of getting to heaven as described in first Thessalonians chapter 4 it says we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

And here's the best part, and so shall we always be with the Lord is the departure there's the encounter. The encounter is the best part is when sure with him. You'll always be with right when sure caught up in the air or you die and are instantly in heaven will always be with them to be with him when he returns to the earth will be with them in the millennial reign will be with them in the eternal city forever you'll be with the Lord. No wonder he says that in the same verse having a desire to depart and be with Christ. This which is far better to words far better in Greek. It's three words note it reads literally, which is much more better if you're an English teacher that's repulsive US bad English happens to be good Greek and it's great theology.

Heaven is much more better than earth. The arrival is much more better than even the departure and being here now for Paul to say this is pretty obvious that he believed the moment he died he would at that very moment be with the Lord.

There's no holding pattern is no waiting. There's no going somewhere else.

There is no limbo there's no purgatory there's no soul sleep is some hold that if you die as a Christian you going is this sort of suspended state of unconsciousness, until the Lord returns, then you're awakened in your with Paul witness said that if you believe that is, he thought when he departs will be with Christ, which is far better.

He was anticipating to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord I'm in review something else.

Dwight Lyman Moody. I've quoted him on many occasions a great evangelist and pastor of Moody Bible church last generation. He was on his deathbed while he was there and he did know what the future state would be. He told his family gathered around him. I'm not discouraged. I want to live as long as I'm useful when my work is done. I want to be up and off want to push off. That's my desired to depart when it's my time.

After a particularly restless night. The next morning, very careful, measured speech. He said this earth recedes heaven opens performing was signed. It was at his bedside thought pops is dreaming, and Dwight said to his son know this is not a dream will it's beautiful.

If this is death. It is sweet. There's no valley here God is calling me and I must go when a great way to go. It's so great to have lived that kind of a life so that in the end God is it graduating this is so, are you prepared for eternity. That's one journey that you absolutely must make sure you're prepared for. Because once you start if there's no turning back. So make sure you have everything in place and ready to go that you're ready for the return of Christ and the beginning of his reign, because the alternative, if you are prepared for it is in one you'll enjoy well if you'd like a copy of today's message or of the series from the edge of eternity. Give us a call at 1-800-922-1888 or visit connectwithskip.com each individual teaching is only six dollars plus shipping. You can get the entire series for only $39 plus shipping. Just call us 1-800-922-1888 or connectwithskip.com will conclude this series from the edge of eternity on our next broadcast, so be sure to join us as we get one last glimpse of eternity right here and connect with Skip weekend edition presentation of connection communication.

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