MANOR PARK CHRISTIAN CENTRE
CARE CELL GROUP BIBLE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
“Are We Ready To Go & Ready To Stay?”
SCRIPTURE: Philippians 1:21-26
1. Imagine that you have just received a once in a lifetime offer of an all expenses paid, no
strings attached, four week holiday to whatever location in the world that you would like
to go. But at the same time you are suppose to take this holiday, you receive a once in a
lifetime offer to dine with the Queen and then receive an honorary reward. You have a
desire to do both, but which one would you choose?
Notes: In Philippians 1:21-26, the Apostle Paul was confronted with two different desires
that he had. Both of these desires were good desires which had eternal
implications. He had a desire to go and be with Christ in heaven. But he also had
a desire to stay here on this earth, to keep on working and serving others. Paul
came to the conclusion that it was God’s will for him to stay and to keep on
working and serving others.
2. In what way might being afraid of death serve as an indication of where we are at in our
relationship with Jesus Christ? How does having a relationship with Jesus Christ affect
our having a deep longing and desire to go and be with Him in heaven?
Notes: God’s Word says that Jesus Christ came to “free those who all their lives were
held in slavery by their fear of death” (Hebrews 2:15). If God, who is love,
comes to live within our hearts by His Holy Spirit, it is His love that assures us
that our sins are forgiven and that we are ready to meet Him. God’s Word says
that the fear of meeting Him in judgment has to do with punishment
(see 1 John 4:16-18). Since God’s Spirit, who comes to live within our hearts, is
an eternal spirit, it is His Spirit that will give us the assurance that eternity is our
inheritance and that we are ready for heaven (see Ephesians 1:13-14).
3. What do you think might be the reason why a believer in Jesus Christ, who is no longer
“held in slavery by their fear of death,” would not have the same deep longing and desire
that the Apostle Paul had to go and be with Christ in heaven? What might a lack of this
deep longing and desire indicate about who or what is our “first love”?
Notes: The Apostle Paul said: “I desire to depart” “Depart” was a word used for
pulling up tent pegs or a ship’s anchor. For Paul, death was simply breaking camp
and moving on, or setting sail to a new port. Paul’s deep longing and desire was
not for death, but for the closer presence of Christ that death will bring: “for to
me, to live is Christ and to die is gain”—is to gain the closer presence of Christ.
4. How would you fill in the following blank: “For to me, to live is __________________.”
In reference to filling in this blank, which of the following things has been, or do you think
could be, a temptation for what it means “to live” for you:
a) Pleasure: football, holidays, watching television or videos, music, sex, eating, etc.
b) Possessions: a car, a house, a pet, a computer, gadgets, clothes, etc.
c) Position: in your job, in an organisation, in your church, etc.
d) Power, prestige, popularity: to have people look up to you, to praise you, etc.
Notes: Living for any of these things: pleasure, possessions, position, power, prestige,
popularity, has a way of crowding out Jesus Christ as the “first love” of our lives.
Only when Christ is the “first love” of our lives will we have the same deep
longing and desire that the Apostle Paul is talking about here—the desire to go
and be with Christ in heaven.
5. Why do you think that a person’s work, at home or on the job, can be a drudgery at times?
How, or in what way, can knowing that you are “working for the Lord, not for men”
change your desire and outlook on working for others?
Notes: See Colossians 3:23
For example, there is a story about a Christian writer of a Christian magazine
whose boss was a lady who did not have any experience at editing. Because of his
own experience at editing, he felt that he was better qualified to be doing her job.
He struggled with his job and found it to be a real drudgery at times. But then he
read the story about a man by the name of Brother Lawrence who lived and
worked in a monastery doing menial tasks in the kitchen. Every day he dedicated
his menial work to the Lord and carried out his tasks with such joy and love that
the work itself became a blessing to everyone about him. What the Christian
writer discovered was that Brother Lawrence was not working for the monastery
or for the head of the monastery, but for the Lord! And when he discovered this
secret, his whole attitude changed! The Christian writer was working “under” the
editor but not “for” her, because he was working “for” the Lord!
If we are going to have the same deep longing and desire that the Apostle Paul
had—to stay and to keep on working for others, we must work as if we are
“working for the Lord, not for men”!
6. Why do you think that it is difficult to stay motivated or committed to consistently serve
others? How, or in what way, can knowing that “it is the Lord Christ you are serving”
change your desire and motivation to keep on serving others even though the people whom
we serve may be difficult or might even reject us?
Notes: See Colossians 3:23-24
For example, back before WWII, when there was a lot of racial hostility in
Germany, there was a black Christian singer by the name of Roland Hayes who
was asked to sing to a German audience. When the audience saw that he was
black, they started to hiss and boo. Roland Hayes quietly stood there and prayed:
“Lord, help me to get Roland Hayes out of the way so that you can sing through
me, so that your music and words can touch the hearts of these people. I am not
really serving them, but You. And because of that, you sing through me and melt
this hatred.” After several minutes went by, he began to sing softly. And for an
hour and a half, he sang while the whole audience sat there transfixed. At the end,
the audience spontaneously stood with a tremendous ovation!
The Apostle Paul’s deep longing and desire was to serve others, and he believed
that it was God’s desire for him to stay and to keep on serving others. But in
serving others, Paul knew that he was really serving Christ.
