Death as Gain

Most of you know that in 2024 I had a massive heart attack on a Sunday morning just after our second service. Some of you who have had serious medical situations can relate to this, but the year after my heart attack was a very interesting and introspective one. Tears would come for no explainable reason, I got anxious in big crowds, and if there was any pain anywhere in my body, I would wonder if this was another heart attack. I had what is called geographic association. Because my heart attack had happened while I was preaching, often when I stood up to preach after that I had tightness in my chest. It was my body remembering this was where the danger was. And this is going to sound weird, but I even wondered sometimes if I had actually died and I’m just walking around like Bruce Willis in The Sixth Sense.

But, it was also a sweet year with Jesus. Almost dying has a way of reorienting priorities and certain passages that had always been familiar to me started to mean so much more. And this passage we come to today came to mean the most to me.

It’s one of the most famous verses in the Bible, it’s on many of your old youth t-shirts, it’s on coffee mugs…who knows? Robert may have it tattooed somewhere. And that is the downside of these so-called famous verses. Not that they may be tattooed on Robert, but that they can become so familiar that they lose their depth. Well, this one has come alive to me like never before. We looked last week at what Paul means by “To live is Christ.” This week I want to look at why death is gain and what that means in our daily lives.

1. Why is death gain?

It’s interesting to me that if you look at the most recent studies of the top things Americans fear, our own death is not on the list. The death of loved ones is at the top. But, Americans are more afraid of bugs, snakes, and public speaking than their own death according to the studies I read. So does that mean that Americans just have a great handle on the gospel and are ready for that day when it comes? I think it’s the exact opposite. I think we avoid thinking about our own death in every way possible. We have resources that allow us to live longer than ever before. People no longer die in our homes in front of children, but generally out of sight. We may visit dying people, but we are as shielded from that process as we want to be. I think we are a culture that fears the death of our loved ones while we put our heads in the sand when it comes to our own mortality.

But, death is something that is coming for all of us. Unless Jesus comes back soon, I will die and you will die. The mortality rate is 100% which makes death something that we all need to engage with. We can ignore certain problems and hope they go away, but death is not one of them. Paul not only engages with the reality of death, but somehow longs for it. Verse 23: My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

Somehow, Paul knows something that has made death gain for him. What is that? Three very important things. First, death is an enemy. Death in many cultures has been romanticized or made heroic. I’ve been watching a new historical fiction about Hawaiian culture in the late 1700’s. In that culture, death wasn’t just seen as inevitable, it was greeted as a friend. In other worldviews death is a good thing that takes us into the great beyond or reunites us with the great cosmos. That is not what the Bible teaches. Paul clearly understands death to be an enemy in 1 Corinthians 15:25-26: Christ must reign until he has put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Death is our enemy! None of us were created to die. There is nothing natural or Godly about a soul being ripped from its body. It is a horrible thing to attend a funeral of a non-Christian and have them make death out to be life’s big graduation service. Even for Christians, it is right to be sad at a funeral because death is a terrible enemy who takes away the people we love most. Death is a curse that came into the world through our sin.

The second thing we have to understand about death, though, is that death is defeated by Jesus. Death is stronger than us. But not stronger than Christ. Death came for Christ on the cross, but Jesus didn’t stay dead. He came back to life, defeating death for us. I heard one pastor say, “What do you have to do to make your half brother, James, believe you are God? Resurrect!” Defeat death.

In Christ, all our enemies are defeated and death, our ultimate enemy, is no different! No place is this more eloquently summed up than in 1 Corinthians 15: Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? ..thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 15:55, 57). Death is swallowed up in victory. When you eat something, you swallow it and it doesn’t go away, it becomes a part of you. The same for victory. Death is swallowed up and now a part of victory. How is that? How does death become a victory?

Because, thirdly, death is now a doorway to Jesus. There is now a joy on the other side of death that is more satisfying than being reunited with an old friend, sweeter than falling in love, more exciting than your dream promotion, more peaceful than a full retirement account, and more joyful than hugging your children.

Imagine life as a road. Some of us have long roads and some have short ones. But at the end of all of our roads is a huge door. I Imagine a huge arched wooden door that opens in the middle. And behind that door is death waiting to ravage you. But, Jesus has disarmed death. Not only does it not have any sting for a believer, but it becomes a doorway to glory. All the power that death was supposed to have over us is gone. Death in Jesus Christ, while sad for those left behind, is now our greatest victory as we walk into the arms of our Savior for all eternity. Sure, no one is probably going to like the process of dying, but what is on the other side will be so glorious that the hardest of deaths will seem like a stubbed toe by comparison.

I saw a bumper sticker a while back that said “He who dies with the most toys, wins.” You know what? If death is still armed, that actually makes a lot of sense. If death is fully armed, there is no purpose to your life beyond that door. So, you walk that road accumulating as many toys, beach days, sporting events, and good meals as you can. Without Jesus, there is only agony beyond that door which makes life nothing more than a nice steak dinner in a prison cell on death row. The pastor, Tim Keller, just before he died of cancer, said, “If the resurrection is real, everything is going to be ok.”

It's ok because death has been disarmed for those who believe in Jesus. Now, sometimes life gets horribly difficult and the overwhelming desires IS to depart and be with Christ. Life can bring challenges that take the desire to live away. But we have to see that Paul’s life is horribly difficult. He’s writing this from prison. But, his understanding of why death is gain also fundamentally changes the way we look at life now. So, how does Paul’s understanding of death change how he views life?

1.  How death shapes our lives now.

Now, everything we do in this life has eternal value. It not only impacts the road we walk, but has effects farther past that door than we could ever imagine. Paul calls this fruitful labor for Christ. Verses 22 and 25: If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me...convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith.

And we can see the connection between death as gain and Christ as life most clearly when we look at chapter three. In our passage death is gain because you get to be with Christ. Christ is more valuable than anything we could possibly lose in death. But, in chapter three, he’s unpacking this phrase ‘to live is Christ.’ It’s the same line of thinking for Paul. But, instead of saying that Christ is more valuable than anything we lose in death, he’s saying that all those same things we lose in death (Money, comfort, degrees, status…) he counts them as loss when compared to the value of knowing Jesus in this life. And specifically, the value of living in such a way that shows Jesus is our supreme treasure in this life.

Jesus is our gain in death and he is our ultimate source of life now. And that makes what we do now matter. That is the fruitful labor. This summer, we were in a small town called Hope Town on a small island on the east side of the Bahamas. This town has the only operational hand operated kerosene fueled lighthouse in the world. All other lighthouses have been updated with modern technology. It’s so unique because it has been standing tall since 1864, and it still guides ships safely through the dangerous reefs of the Abaco Islands, using a hand-wound clockwork mechanism that has to be carefully maintained to keep its light rotating.

And we got to go up to the top of the lighthouse. I was imagining what it would be like to be out in the ocean before any modern technology like radios, gps, or radar and being out in the Atlantic lost in a storm with no clear path forward. The winds are howling, the rain is pouring, and you can barely see a few feet in front of you. The darkness feels overwhelming, and it seems like there's no way out.

But then, in the distance, you see the lighthouse. A small lantern flickering through the storm. It doesn’t matter that the lighthouse is far off and small. The moment you see it, something shifts. You know there’s a way forward. You know there’s hope. And so, you begin sailing toward it.

That little light, though small, is a beacon. It represents hope, direction, and purpose. Paul’s words of Jesus swallowing up death is that small light in the storm. Even in the stormiest seasons of life, it shines through the darkness, giving us something to walk toward, something to fight for, something to live for. Where there is light, there is hope. Where there is hope, there is purpose. Jesus is the light that guides us, even in the darkest times.

Because Jesus has defeated our ultimate enemy and made it to serve us, we can now labor for a cause with eternal value. The way someone understands what happens after this life radically affects the way that person lives this life. I have these really sweet memories when my kids were little of watching Angela sit with them at the beach and make sand castles. If you look at it from a purely logical point of view, building sandcastles is a pointless endeavor. The tide always comes in and wipes them out. So why put all that time into sandcastles? Because the memories last forever. The effort is in no way wasted.

In a similar way, what we do in this life, if it is for Christ, matters long after we are gone. All of us are sandcastles. We and the world we live in are faint hints of what will be. There is a tide coming that will rush over all of us. For some this tide will be judgment, but for those of us who have placed our faith in Jesus, it will be a tide of grace, love, and restoration. One day, we will be washed of our shortcomings, sickness, sadness, and pain. We will rejoice for eternity in new bodies living in a new world. And we labor with that day in mind.

This is what Paul means when he says he will continue for ‘your progress and joy.’ The labor that matters is the labor that displays and communicates the gospel. That strengthens the faith of others. And this doesn’t mean that everyone here should quit their jobs and become missionaries. Some are called to the mission field, but the opportunity to be a part of Jesus' plan of redemption for the world gives value and purpose to every job, every vocation, and every calling there is. We don’t have callings and higher callings. We don’t have secular vocations and sacred vocations. All of us are called to fruitful labor. Fruitful labor in the office, fruitful labor in our homes, fruitful labor in the hospitals, fruitful labor in politics, fruitful labor in the counseling room…fruitful labor wherever God has called us.

I could apply this in a thousand different ways, but because of the unique needs of our church I want to talk about investing in the children who come here on Sundays. It is a beautiful and unique, but challenging stewardship to have so many young children on Sunday. When we visited other churches this summer on sabbatical, my kids really got to see just how young our church is. Last Sunday we had about 130 kids under the age of ten and we had to turn away about another dozen because our rooms filled up. That’s why we are opening the new building as soon as the permits come through, but we have a real need for people to serve on Sundays and invest in the next generation. And not to just serve one Sunday every quarter, but to serve for one month, take two months off, then repeat. This allows you to build relationships with these children and really teach them about Jesus.

I know serving has been challenging because it can get crazy back there, but the new building will allow us to open up more rooms, make the class size smaller, and minimize the crazy. Our children’s director, Jen, has done an amazing job in every aspect of her job, but we are going to need more volunteers to staff these new rooms. And the main hurdle we are running into is that about 60% of the people who worship here regularly are not members of this church. Now, we are so thankful you are here and I’m not trying to shame anyone, but we are not going to entrust our children to people who are not substantively known and who are accountable to this church. I do hope on one hand that that makes you feel confident to entrust your children to our care on Sundays. Now, there are many reasons to become a member of a local church, but this is an important one. In a real way, not joining the church is hindering our ability to invest in the next generation. It’s limiting your fruitful labor.

So, my request, my challenge to you is this. If you consider this your church home, would you pray about registering for Discover OGC which starts next Sunday evening? It doesn’t obligate you to join OGC, but it allows you to get to know the leadership and hear more about who we are and the blessings of church membership. Blessings that we receive and opportunities for fruitful labor that will have an impact well beyond that door and long after the tide has risen.

There is no ‘calling’ and ‘higher calling’ there is only fruitful labor. Christianity brings value and purpose to all vocations and callings. We aren’t called to sit back in this life, but to labor fruitfully. But, Paul doesn’t stop there. He gives us the hope of the Holy Spirit and the promise of Jesus to aid us.

First, the hope of the Holy Spirit. We are not alone on this journey. Paul says, “I know that fthrough your prayers and gthe help of hthe Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance…” Phil 1:19. In John 14 Jesus said, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. John 14:16-17

Jesus is saying, “You won’t be alone when I’m gone! You will get a Helper. And do you know who this helper will be? The one speaking to you right now!” Jesus doesn’t just send us to do the job alone. He sends His Spirit inside us when we believe. He opens our eyes to the things we are blind to. He allows us to see death as defeated. He gives us desires we haven’t had before. He gives us courage we wouldn’t otherwise know. He gives us contentment we can muster up on our own. And the main reason He gives us His Spirit is for the mission. For our main purpose in life.

Sometimes the Spirit works in unusually miraculous ways. I’ve seen the Holy Spirit do things that have made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I believe He does unusual miraculous work. But, the more usual and more powerful miracles He works are inside our hearts. Giving us love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And those gifts provide everything we need for fruitful labor.

That’s the hope of the Spirit. But we also see that Paul was aided by the promise of Christ. Paul doesn’t just kind of’ think’ that Christ will be exalted in his body. He doesn’t just ‘think’ positive thoughts. What we are reading isn’t wishful thinking or naive optimism. Paul says this is his earnest expectation and hope. The word hope in Greek is a lot stronger than its English counterpart. It’s not saying I hope the permits on the new building come in soon or I hope FSU isn’t terrible this year or I hope my teenagers make wise decisions. It’s something far more certain than that! It’s like saying I hope the sun will rise. I hope gravity works the same way tomorrow. I hope the next time I make a fire, it will produce heat. There is certainty in this hope.

Jesus promised Paul and us that He is with us always. Jesus promised that all things will work out for our good and God’s glory. Jesus promised that nothing will ever separate us from God’s love. That He is coming back. That He has defeated death. And Paul, who saw the resurrected Jesus, believed these promises. And that gave him hope as he embraced his purpose in life.

You can feel Paul’s deep conflict in this passage. Which is better? Life or death? But the conclusion can’t be missed: 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.

The purpose we have in life makes it worth staying here and delaying the greatest reward we will ever have. For me, it took losing consciousness in the ER and being revived by the doctors to really feel these words of Paul. I have this odd feeling now of being more ok than I ever have with my own death AND a desire to live more than I ever have before.

So, there are two questions for us in this text. One to the non-Christian and one to the Christian. To the non-Christian, has death been disarmed for you? Are you engaging with the reality of your greatest enemy? Could Jesus be who you really need most? There is no more important question you will ever answer.

Then, to the Christian, are you living a life of purpose? Do we say, “To live is Christ!”? Or, deep down, are we saying, to live is work? To live is financial security. To live is good grades? To live is to be married?. To live is to have kids who listen to me?. To live is not being stuck changing diapers all day?

Paul had a deep sense of purpose, even in prison, so don’t doubt that God has purpose for you wherever you are..at home...in the office...in retirement. Jesus died to bring us purpose. It is a little thing to ask Him to unlock that purpose. It is a little thing to repent of all the other places we go to find purpose and ask that He would fill that space.

My prayer for everyone in this room is that at our funerals, there won’t just be a sermon preached on death as gain, but also a display of a life lived richly in Christ. A life that will make an impact far beyond that large door and long after the tide has come in.

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