ECYC 2013: Something Better

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Eastern Canada Youth Conference

Ezra Kenyanya

To Die is Gain

Beloved Father, this morning we pose before the throne of grace.

We kindly request that you may come and dwell with us.

Hide me behind the cross and May your name be glorified and uplifted when all is said and done.

For we ask all these in your loving name.

The title of the sermon this morning is gotten from the book of Philippians chapter 1.

Philippians chapter 1 and in the book of Philippians Paul is writing a letter to the people of Philippi and I strongly believe that Paul is also writing this letter to us.

And the psalm is taken specifically from the text that says, For me to live is what?

The Bible says, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.

The title of the sermon this morning is, For to Die is Gain.

I want you to picture with me this morning that you are sick.

The doctors walk in, your family is there, your parents, your siblings, everybody's there.

It's a Sabbath afternoon, and your fellow members from church, they hear that our sister, our brother is sick at the hospital.

And so they decide to come visit with you.

And you're filled with joy as you see them come together and you start singing hymns.

And I can picture you singing 530, it is well with my soul.

And you're saying that even though I am sick, it is well with my soul.

Then a few minutes later, the doctors walk in and they say, I'd like to see you, we'd like to talk to you by yourself.

And they turn to you, they say, we are sorry to say that you're not going to make it.

What will be your last words at that very moment?

When you turn and you look at your father and you see tears coming from his eyes.

You turn around, you look at your mother and you see tears flowing from her eyes.

And you realize that what the doctors are saying, your time has come.

How many of you will join Paul in saying, for to live is Christ and to die is gain?

How many of you, those will be your last words to say, you know what, it is okay, even if I don't make it through this day, to die is gain?

But I want you to think with me that what makes Paul, I mean what makes someone to sit down and say, you know what, I am ready to die, I am ready to sleep.

Who wakes up in the morning and say, you know what, today, father, I'm ready to die.

You realize that everything we do in our lives, it's governed and driven by the fear of dying.

When it's so cold in Canada, I feel so cold.

When the summer comes, it's so hot, man, it's so hot, I feel like dying.

When you're so hungry, you're so hungry, say, man, I'm going to die from hunger.

When you eat, I'm so full, I feel like dying.

We don't realize that even though we don't think about it, even though we don't see it, our life is driven by this thought of we are either afraid of dying whether consciously or subconsciously.

And here comes Paul, he's writing and say, for to live is Christ, but to die is gain.

For Paul he's saying, for me something better is to die.

For us, we will join Hezekiah in saying, for me something better is to say, Lord, give me 2 more days to live.

Lord, give me 3 more days to live so that I can do 1 more thing.

But when you come to the book of Philippians, Paul says, for me to live is Christ, but to die is gain.

How many of us this morning have attained that level of confidence in Jesus Christ that you can say even if I sleep today, to die is gain?

See as I think about these and I read through the Bible, I always ask myself, am I ready for this?

I'm not here to tell you to start praying that I want to die.

No, no, that's not what I'm preaching about this morning.

But I meditate and I think about Sister White, the last conversation Sister White had with her husband.

As I was reading these in the book, Testimonies to the Church Volume 1, I want you to follow these.

She says, they are just going to Charlotte to do a campaign together.

They have been ministering together for 36 years.

Now, when they got back to their home, the following Monday, their husband became sick.

And I want you to realize the conversation they're having here.

He says, on the following Monday, he had a severe chill talking about James White.

Together we were taken to the sanatorium for treatment.

On Friday, my symptoms became more favorable.

The doctor then informed me that my husband was inclined to sleep.

I was immediately taken to his room And soon I looked upon his countenance and I knew he was dying.

But these guys have been married for 36 years.

They've worked together, they've labored together, and here comes a time when the doctor comes to Sister White and he says, you know what?

What will you do if someone told you your father is not going to make it?

It seems as though this is the last day you're going to see them, what will you do?

I want you to notice the response of Sister White.

He understood all that I say, that was said to him and he responded to all my questions that could be answered by yes or no, but seemed unable to say more.

When I told him I thought he was dying, he manifested no surprise.

I asked him if Jesus was precious to him.

When you're a husband of someone and your wife asks you, do you have a desire to live?

And you confidently look in her eyes and say no.

When your father, you go to the hospital, you see your father is sick, and you ask him, Daddy, do you have a desire to live?

I mean, you don't even have a desire to live because of me?

Here is Sister White having a conversation with her husband And when she turns to him, she says, it seems as though you're not going to make it.

And she says, do you have a desire to live?

Question, what is that thing that makes someone to come to this conclusion?

What is that thing that will drive you to a point where you have no desire to live even though it's your wife or your spouse who's talking to you?

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To Die is Gain

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