Text: Philippians 1:21–26
Topic: Discovering a right purpose for living and a right attitude about dying

• If you go through the Book of Acts, it's kind of a biography of the early church and Paul's missionary journeys.
• In chapter 16, we find out how Paul ended up in Philippi.
• Paul was planning on going northeast until he received a definitive, clear signal from God to head to the Macedonian region.
• Philippi was unlike any of the places that Paul had been to up to this point, because there was no synagogue.
• There was, however, the presence of people who were known as "God fearers"—those who were not Jewish but had embraced the one true God.
• Through Lydia and the rest of those gathered, Paul established a Christian community in Philippi.
• When Paul drove a demon out of a young slave girl, a riot broke out, and Paul and his companions were beaten and thrown into jail.
• After an eventful night of earthquakes and opportunities for witness, Paul and his companions were set free.

• That was the extent of Paul's personal connection with this little town of Philippi until he wrote them a letter years later.
• If I wrote them a letter at all, it would probably be along the lines of: "Thanks for the good beating I had when I was there."
• When you read this letter, though, it has a distinctively different tone.
• Paul is filled with joy when he thinks about them. 
• This joy is not because his circumstances have changed; he's still in prison, awaiting the possibility of death.
• This is not because of the condition of the church in Philippi; passages in 2 Corinthians 8 show that they were impoverished.
• The answer for Paul's joy is found in Philippians 1:21–26.
• Perhaps more than most people in human history, Paul had figured out that wealth, power, influence, possessions, prestige, good health, and success are temporary at best.

• Many of us would say Philippians 1:21 is true, but I don't know that a lot of us live as if it's true.
• In every piece of evidence we have, both in the biography of Paul in the Book of Acts and in all the letters he wrote, it all says the same thing: Paul was a man who had one focus—Jesus himself.
• At the place Paul was in his life, death was a real possibility.
• Nonetheless, he says: It doesn't matter how long—whether I live another day or ten more years—to live is Christ. But if I die, that's even a gain over what I'm living for.
• Paul was uncertain about God's plan for the immediate future, but he was confident that whatever happened to him, the Philippian church would be provided for by God.
• If you really believe that this world is all there is—if you don't believe the whole God and eternity thing—let me encourage you to pursue with all diligence every pleasurable experience and everything that you think could bring you joy.
• But if you would even consider the possibility that there's more than what you can see with your eyes, then wouldn't it make sense to live as if eternity were reality?
• Let's take these years that God has given us and make the most of them to lay a firm foundation for those things that are eternal.
  • Illustration: The Founding Fathers of America were wrong when they summed life up as a pursuit of happiness, for all happiness is fleeting.
• We use the words "happiness" and "joy" like they're synonymous, but they're really not.
• Joy can happen in spite of difficult circumstances and relationships.
• Joy comes from having a right purpose for living and the right attitude about dying.
• I've got two sentences that I want you to complete: "My life's purpose is ________," and "I don't fear death because ________."

• I'm going to tell you a story about a man who personifies a life worth living and dying for: William Wilberforce.
• Wilberforce had everything that you could possibly imagine: money, power, prestige, and friends—until he got messed up by God's call on his life.
• William had walked away from his faith when he was young, but a group of friends eventually won him back.
• His decision caused both spiritual growth and tremendous tension in his life, because he was a servant of the people, a politician, a legislator.
• Wilberforce soon dedicated himself to two great objectives: the suppression of the slave trade and the reformation of morality.
• Wilberforce first abolitionist bill was defeated in Parliament by a ratio of 2:1.
• Wilberforce was ready to return to his old ways, but John Wesley—who was literally on his deathbed at the time—convinced him otherwise.
• This encouraging word revitalized Wilberforce's spirit, but for the next eleven years, every tiny victory was followed by a massive defeat.
• William faced all sorts of obstacles—his bones weakened, he had ulcerative colitis, and he was almost blind—but he persevered. 
• When Parliament finally passed the Abolition of Slave Trade Act in 1807, there was nothing to enforce the end of the slave trade; Wilberforce continued to work.
• All the while, he worked on behalf of the poor for the reformation of the moral life of England.
• Wilberforce established dozens of faith-based social service organizations.
• Wilberforce kept England from experiencing what happened when the peasants revolted against the establishment in France.
• Wilberforce was also known for his generosity as much as for his tenacity; at one time, he was financially supporting 60 different causes.
• Obstacles continued to come—his health deteriorated at a rapid rate, his sons turned against him, he became financially destitute, and one of his adult daughters was tragically killed—yet the work that he had begun continued.
• Three days before William Wilberforce died—July 26, 1833—the Emancipation Bill passed in Parliament.
• If Wilberforce had been looking for happiness, he had had very little; but in those last days of his life, in spite of all the hardship, can you imagine the depth of joy that he must have felt?

• You might think, I'm not Paul or Wilberforce!
• You and I may never change the world to the extent they did, because that's not what God has called us to.
• God has, however, given us a sphere of influence and many gifts and responsibilities.
• One of the most important things you'll ever discover is what it is that God has called you for, prepared you for, and created you for; you must give your life to that, no matter the cost.
• I hope you're granted an understanding of this life in the context of eternity, so even death holds no fear for you—that's the start to joyful living.