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And I invite the rest of you
to turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 4. When Joe asked me a few days
ago if I would be willing to speak this morning, I told him
that I was open to it, but that I didn't know if I loved the
idea of people showing up expecting to hear from Tim Kazee And then
they get me. And I know that most of you know
who Tim Kazee is. If you're here and you don't
really know who Tim Kazee is, the guy that we keep talking
about all morning, the easiest way to explain to you who Tim
Kazee is, is he's basically Indiana Jones. The guy has traveled to over
90 countries. We've supported him in his role
as a church now, in his role at Frontline Missions for about
12 years now. He's been to over 90 countries.
He's poured out his life in the hardest, most dangerous places
in the world, places like war-torn Bosnia. Iraq, Afghanistan, Albania,
Vietnam, Cambodia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Pakistan, South Sudan, Russia,
Somalia, Kosovo, Turkey, and so on. I'm not going to list
all 90 countries. I just want to be super clear this morning.
In his study, down in his home in South Carolina, he has collections
of swords, historical artifacts. I just want to be super clear
this morning. I am not that guy. So I just wanted to set expectations
accordingly. But that said, we are gonna study
the words of a man who lived a life arguably of greater risk
and greater danger. In fact, the words we're gonna
study come from a man who described his own life as filled with danger
from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles,
dangers in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea,
danger from false brothers. This is a man who endured, he
says, toil and hardship, who suffered many sleepless nights,
a man who frequently felt hunger and thirst, who suffered cold
and misery. He was shipwrecked three times.
He was stranded at sea for an entire night and day. He endured
countless beatings. He was frequently imprisoned.
He was stoned with large rocks once. He was brutally whipped
on five separate occasions. He was a man who throughout his
ministry was, as he puts it, often near death. This is not
a man who had an easy life, and yet he could say at the end of
his life with integrity, I have fought the good fight, I have
finished the race, I have kept the faith. The man that I'm talking
about right now is the Apostle Paul. That resume of suffering
that I just read is found in a letter he wrote, a letter to
the church in Corinth that's been preserved for us in the
Bible, 2 Corinthians 11. And this morning, we're gonna
be studying an earlier portion of that letter. I wanna take
just a moment though to clarify that our church is not made up
of Indiana Joneses or of Tim Kazeeses or of Apostle Pauls. In fact, our church is comprised
of very, very ordinary, normal people, men and women who have
normal jobs, normal families, and fairly normal lives. Our
lives, by comparison, are ordinary and maybe a little bit boring.
And yet, I wanna say that our lives are exactly like the people
to whom the Apostle Paul is writing. We might not have as much in
common with the author of the letter, but we have much in common
with the recipients of the letter, the ordinary men and women to
whom Paul was writing. And I wanna say that we need
what they needed. I should also clarify, though,
that even though the Apostle Paul did live an epic life of
adventure, danger, and world travel, the church in Corinth,
The people that he wrote this letter to, they didn't think
of him as Indiana Jones. That thought actually would have
never crossed their mind for three reasons. Number one, they
lived about 2,000 years before Indiana Jones. Number two, Indiana Jones is
not real. He is a fictional movie character from the 80s. The third
reason why it would never have crossed their minds is because
the people in the church at Corinth thought that the Apostle Paul
was a loser. There were these celebrity preachers
who had arrived on the scene. And they were becoming really,
really popular. And one of the ways that they would increase
their popularity was by undermining Paul's influence. They started
saying all sorts of things to make themselves look good, to
make Paul look bad. In fact, they would actually
point to all the horrible things that happened to Paul as a way
of discrediting him. They're basically saying, like,
are we sure that this guy is doing things the right way? Because
it seems like anywhere he goes, he ends up getting beaten to
a pulp or thrown in jail. And like, really? And so there
was this turning and this twisting of the very things that Paul
said, this is what gives credibility to my ministry. There was this
turning and this undermining of his influence. And so Paul
writes this letter to explain to believers what real, authentic
gospel ministry is. He wants normal Christians to
know what authentic, real gospel ministry looks like, what it
does, what it longs for, and what it produces. And today,
on our church's 26th anniversary, I want to remind us as well what
real, authentic, meaningful, lasting, fruitful, bold, God-glorifying
gospel ministry looks like. We've already rehearsed this
a few different ways this morning, but our church is growing. It
has been growing over the past few years. About five years ago,
there was a spike, a change from slow, steady growth to all of
a sudden there was a spike and now we've had much faster growth.
It's thrilling. We're far from a perfect church,
but many of us heard in the last hour specific concrete examples
in testimony after testimony of ways in which God is at work
here. We've crammed as many seats in
this room as we can. We've expanded our parking lots.
Our classrooms are packed. Our children's ministries are
teaming with kids. Our church is growing and it's wonderful.
And so the right response that we've been doing all morning
is to say, praise God. We don't want any of the credit.
All the credit goes to God. So truly, praise God. But as Joe prayed just a minute
ago, what if it doesn't continue? What if our church stops growing? What if we kind of just plateau? What if for any one of a million
reasons our church begins to shrink? What then? My burden this morning is that
I want to see our church, whether we triple in size or if we dwindle
down to next to nothing, no matter how big we are or how small we
are, no matter whether we see lots of fruit or whether we see
a long drought of nothing happening, I want to see us as a church
stay true to the course, stay true to the faith, and stay true
to Christ, no matter what. And so I'm convinced that we
need what the Apostle Paul says in this passage, to ordinary
believers about what is real, authentic, meaningful, lasting,
fruitful, bold, God-glorifying gospel ministry. May we rally
all of us to this war cry this morning. May we never stray.
I'm gonna pray and we're gonna dive in. God, we are seeking
you this morning. We want to hear from you. We
believe that you have spoken in your word through the words
and the message of the Apostle Paul that we're studying today.
And so I pray, God, that you would send your word to us this
morning with great power so that we are moved by it, so that we
are changed by it. We want you to bring us as individuals
and as our church as a whole into complete engagement with
the mission to which you've called us. May we be faithful. We ask for the Holy Spirit's
help now, in Jesus' name, amen. We're going to be working through
this morning a big chunk of 2 Corinthians. Just so you know, a good portion
of my sermon is actually just reading the passage. We're going
to be tackling all of chapter 4, all of chapter 5, and the
first 10 verses of chapter 6. this section of scripture, it's
so rich. Again, Paul is writing to tell believers what real,
authentic gospel ministry looks like. He's writing as an apostle,
which means that there are some ways in which the things he says
about himself are unique to him, but there's a lot of ways in
which what he's saying, he's serving as an example to us.
In fact, in his first letter to the Corinthians, he said,
be imitators of me as I am a follower of Christ. So I'm gonna read
the passage. After I read the passage, I'm
gonna give the main points and I'm gonna try to apply it in
two simple ways. 2 Corinthians chapter four, starting
in verse one, Paul says, therefore, having this ministry by the mercy
of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful,
underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning
or to tamper with God's word. But by the open statement of
the truth, we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the
sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled,
it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case, the
God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers
to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory
of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is
not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your
servants for Jesus' sake. For God who said, let light shine
out of darkness, has shown in our hearts to give the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. pause there for a second. We're
going to be working through a lot of texts. I just want to kind
of summarize making sure that we're getting a handle of what we're
reading. Paul is saying that the reason why some people don't
believe the gospel is because Satan is literally blinding them
and causing spiritual deception. But just like in the beginning
of time in Genesis 1-3, when God said, let there be light,
God is again doing a new work of creation in the hearts of
unbelievers so that they can and they do see Christ as glorious. That's why Paul says that faithful
gospel ministry doesn't change the message. It doesn't rely
on emotional manipulation. It relies on openly stating the
truth of the gospel and trusting that God in his sovereign power
and grace will open blind eyes to the light of Christ's glory.
He goes on, verse 7, he says, but we have this treasure in
jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God
and not to us. We are afflicted in every way,
but not crushed. Perplexed, but not driven to
despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Struck down, but not destroyed. Always carrying in the body the
death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested
in our bodies. For we who live are always being
given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus
also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at
work in us, but life in you. Since we have the same spirit
of faith according to what has been written, I believed and
so I spoke. We also believe, and so we also
speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us
also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For
it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and
more people, it may increase thanksgiving to the glory of
God. Paul is saying that we are nothing more than cheap clay
pots. We're weak. Our suffering is
real. And yet God has designed gospel
ministry to show his surpassing power against the backdrop of
profound human weakness. Paul says that gospel ministry
should look something like the gospel itself, that just as Jesus sacrificed
himself physically to bring spiritual life to others, so we do the
same. We pour out our lives for the
spiritual good of those around us. The verse that Paul is quoting
here is Psalm 116.10, in which he likens himself to the psalmist,
probably David. and says that even in spite of
all of his sufferings, he's still trusting God. Our suffering isn't
a reason to stop trusting God. In fact, Paul is confident that
God is doing something good for others through his pain and suffering. And he says that as grace extends
to more and more people, increases thanksgiving all to the glory
of God. So verse 16, he says again, this is repeating what
he said in verse one. So we do not lose heart, though
our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed
day by day. Look at verse 17. For this light
momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory
beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are
seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that
are seen are transient, they're temporary, but the things that
are unseen, they're eternal, they'll last forever. Now the
tent that he's talking about here is our physical bodies.
He says, Notice the difference between a tent and a building.
Tent, temporary, building, permanent. We have a building from God,
a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. He's
saying that God has prepared new heavenly bodies for us. Verse
two, for in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly
dwelling. If indeed, by putting it on, we may not be found naked.
For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened,
not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further
clothed so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
Now, Paul's writing in Greek, so I think it's okay, but he's
mixing metaphors here a little bit. He's talking about tents
and clothes, and his point is that our bodies are temporary
lodgings for our souls, sort of like a tent is a temporary
building, a temporary dwelling, and yet God has prepared, in
contrast, a building that's eternal in the heavens. In other words,
the new bodies will not be temporary, they'll be forever, and they'll
be perfect. He says, verse five, he who has prepared us for this
very thing is God, who has given us the spirit as a guarantee.
He goes on, verse six, repeating a similar idea. He said, verse
one, we do not lose heart. He says it again in verse 16,
we do not lose heart. Now he says something similar
in chapter five, verse six. So we are always of good courage.
We know that while we are at home in the body, we are away
from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we
are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body
and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or
away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive
what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or
evil. Paul again is saying that his
suffering is nothing compared to the glory that awaits him.
He walks by faith, not by sight. His focus is set on eternal realities
that right now are invisible to the eye, but which will come
to pass. His ultimate desire is to be
with the Lord Jesus, but whether he's with Jesus or not, his aim
is to please him. He knows that he and all believers
will one day stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Look
at verse 11. He says, But what we are is known to God.
I hope it is known also to your conscience. Again, he's appealing
to them. They've been swayed by these, he calls them in chapter
11, these super apostles. It doesn't mean that they were
like wearing capes or anything. It just means they thought they
were awesome and they've been tearing down everything that
he's built in terms of his influence and his investment in them. So
he's appealing to them. He's like, I hope you know what's
sincere about us. He says, verse 12, we're not
commending ourselves to you again or giving you cause to boast
about us. So you may be able to answer those who boast about
outward appearance and not what about is in the heart. For if
we are beside ourselves, it's for God. If we're in our right
mind, it's for you. Verse 14, for the love of Christ
controls us, because we have concluded this, that one has
died for all, therefore all have died. And he died for all, that
those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for
him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore,
we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once
regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus
no longer. Paul is saying that the fear
of the Lord, this holy, reverent awe of God and that the love
that God has shown him in Christ, the fear of the Lord and the
love of Christ, these things are having a controlling effect
on him. His life is moved by these things.
He has this sense of the fear of the Lord, this holy, reverent
awe of the mighty God, and this profound sense that his love
has been poured out on him in Christ, and he's saying, these
realities move me. Knowing the fear of the Lord,
we persuade others. The love of Christ controls me. I've made
this conclusion. He died for all, so that those
who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who
died for them. He goes on, he says, He's compelled
both by his view of God, the love he's been shown to give
his life in making Christ known to others. When Christ saves
you, it changes everything. It changes how you see everything.
We see Jesus completely differently than we did before we were saved.
Depending on our different backgrounds, there's kind of two options in
terms of how we generally view Jesus prior to coming to saving
faith and being changed by him. We either see him as nothing.
He's not a big deal. He's just a name in history.
He's insignificant. Maybe he taught some nice things,
but it doesn't really affect my life. He's either nothing
or he's an abomination. Something about him, something
about his message threatens something in my worldview, and I want nothing
to do with him. That's how the Apostle Paul was
before his conversion. He did not see Jesus as Lord.
He was devoting his life to try to stamp out everyone who named
Jesus as Lord. And yet, that's what he means
there when he says, verse 16, we used to regard Christ according
to flesh. He's thinking back. He's like, we were so blind.
We couldn't see, we didn't see Jesus as he actually is, but
now we do. We didn't used to see him as
king of kings, lord of lords, sovereign ruler of the entire
universe over everything and everyone. Do you see Jesus like
this? Have your eyes been set ablaze
with the glory of Jesus? Or are you still in darkness
and blindness? Paul speaks of this radical transformation
in verse 17. He says, That is, in Christ, God was reconciling
the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against him,
and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore,
we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through
us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be
sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness
of God. Chapter six, verse one, working
together with him then we appeal to you not to receive the grace
of God in vain. For he says, in a favorable time
I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.
Behold, now is the favorable time. Behold, now is the day
of salvation. Paul's quoting Isaiah 49.8, saying
that the day of salvation has arrived. The day has come, it's
here. There is no reason not to turn
to Jesus. He, the innocent one, died in
place of the guilty ones. He didn't just bear our sin on
the cross, He became it. And the wrath of God that was
meant for me, that I deserved, that all of us deserved, was
poured out on Jesus in our place. So that we would not just get
the righteousness of God, that we would become the righteousness
of God. It's our new status, it's our
new identity. This is amazingly good news.
He goes on, verse three, he says, we put no obstacle in anyone's
way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry. Again,
he's defending what real, authentic gospel ministry looks like. He
says, verse four, as servants of God, we commend ourselves
in every way, by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities,
beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger. by purity, knowledge, patience,
kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love, by truthful speech and
the power of God, with the weapons of righteousness for the right
hand and for the left. Through honor and dishonor, through
slander and praise, we are treated as impostors and yet are true.
as unknown and yet well known, as dying and behold we live,
as punished and yet not killed, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing,
as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing
everything. Paul wants believers to know
what is real, authentic, meaningful, fruitful, lasting, bold, God-glorifying
gospel ministry. It looks like this. It looks
like hardship and suffering. It looks like being patient and
kind. It looks like pursuing purity and genuine love. It looks
like speaking the truth and relying desperately on the power of God
to save. It looks like sorrow and joy,
poverty and riches. It looks like having nothing
yet actually possessing everything. It's courage and proclamation.
Tri-County Bible Church, this right here, this is what we are
called to, all of us. I think the main point of the
passage is this, real, authentic gospel ministry courageously
and compassionately persuades others to be reconciled to God. Real, authentic. Gospel ministry
courageously and compassionately persuades others to be reconciled
to God. I'm going to apply this passage
in two parts. Part one is be courageous. On the basis of all
of this, all these realities that Paul has outlined, Christian,
be courageous. Don't lose heart. Be of good
courage. And part two, be persuasive. Chapter five, verse 11, therefore
knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. These are
the two parts. I'm gonna go through them and
try to help us understand what fueled these things within the
Apostle Paul that we can imitate. What was it that gave Paul courage? He didn't have an easy life.
He was constantly facing danger. What kept him going? He gave
his life to this proclamation. What were the truths that he
realized he could not keep to himself? He had to get them out.
What drove him? That's what I'm going to try
to do in the rest of our time, is give us a little bit of a
window. If you didn't notice, the entire section that I'm preaching
today is just ginormous. There's so much there. And so
I'm not giving you everything. What I'm going to try to do is
I'm going to try to highlight five things from each of the two sections
that contributed to his being courageous, not giving up, not
losing heart, and to his giving his life for proclamation, seeking
to persuade others to be reconciled to God. So part one, be courageous
for the sake of the gospel. I think the first half of this
section is clearly summed up with the charge to be courageous
for the sake of the gospel. Again, I tried to point it out
as we went through, but chapter four, first verse, said, having
this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. Verse 16 says, we do not lose
heart. Chapter five, verse six, we are
always of good courage. He repeats again, verse eight,
yes, we are of good courage. Paul makes it crystal clear that
real, authentic gospel ministry is hard and overwhelming. It has to be. Why would he say
all these things if it's not? Why else would Paul be making
such a big deal out of persevering? He's basically saying, don't
worry, guys, I'm not being tempted to give up. Why would he say
that unless he's facing things that would make any reasonable
person think about giving up? Set your expectations accordingly.
It's supposed to be hard. God put us here to do hard things,
hard things that are impossible for us, which is why they feel
hard, but things worth doing that he gives us grace to accomplish.
And I just wanna pause for a moment because I recognize that you
might be here as a Christian, like you're saved, you understand
the gospel, you died, you're headed to heaven. And yet, if
you are not actively engaged in this sort of ministry, much
of this passage really has a chance of just seeming really irrelevant
to your life. I was talking to Joe yesterday,
I appreciate the illustration he used, this idea of these concentric
circles, where if you're at the very, very heart of activity
for Christ, trying to make him known, investing in people's
lives, getting in where relationships are messy, but you're doing it
for Christ, if you're there, you're gonna relate a lot to
what Paul's talking about. But if you're kind of just coasting
through life, trying to maximize comforts, trying to minimize
inconveniences, a lot of this, like, there's not going to be
an inspiring verse for you to take home today. Does it apply
to you? He's describing when you're in
the trenches, when you're laboring, when you're literally warring
spiritually for the souls of people, the closer you get to
that center, the hotter it gets. And if you're like, honestly,
I don't really think I'm in that. And I want to be super clear.
I'm close enough to feel the heat, but I read a lot of things
in Paul's description of riots and beatings and imprisonments.
I've never been that close to it. Part of it is where I live
geographically. I've never been there. There
are brothers and sisters around the world who know so much more
about this than we do here in Northeastern Ohio. But I just
wanna say, if you're like, you know what, Greg, like, I'm a
Christian, but like, I'm not really doing this. That I've
been praying for you all night, most of the morning, that God
would use this for good in your life. This is what we're made
for. This is what we're called to.
We're called to this sort of ministry. This is the work to
which God calls all of us. And it's a work that's necessary,
vital, and in the end, wonderfully worth it. Wonderfully rewarding
in the end. I also want to speak to those
here, like you are in the thick of it. You're doing it. You're
reading these verses. You probably like, if you're
in it, you probably already found these verses before today. And
like you already really know them really, really well. whether
it's from family or coworkers or neighbors or classmates, you
get what he's talking about. You get that it's hard. You're
feeling it because you're trying and you keep bouncing up with
the fact that God is literally calling you to do something that
in your own strength is impossible. Again, that's why it feels hard.
It is, it's impossible unless he helps and as he helps. And it's not like it's hard,
hard, hard, and then boom, he does it, and it's like, oh wow,
God worked, and now it's easy. No, it's normally like it's hard,
it's hard, God, help, and God helps a little bit. And it's
still hard, hard, hard, hard, God, help, and he helps a little
bit. And that's like the Christian life. And then we see Jesus,
and the struggle is over. Again, set your expectations
accordingly. God has not placed us here for
our lives to be easy. He has other things that are
in his plan that he is inviting us to participate in. But if
you're in it, you're trying. You're like, Greg, I'm in it,
I'm trying. But like honestly, I feel like
I'm hitting more into that hard wall of this is impossible. And
I don't know where Paul is getting this courage from. Where is he
getting it from? What fuels his courage? And I
think very, very simply, it's because Paul knows certain things. Not knows as in like intellectually
knows them. If you've been taught the Bible,
if you've been discipled at any level, a lot of the most basic
things, very early on as a Christian, you're going to reach a proficiency
in which if you get a multiple choice question quiz, you're
going to get most of the questions about the things that matter
most, you're going to get them right. But I'm not talking about just intellectual
knowledge, the ability to say that's right, that's wrong. I'm
saying to the place where I know that's right and I've taken hold
of it, or more importantly, that truth has taken hold of me and
I'm gripped by it and I'm moved by it. It's more than just knowledge
up here. It's more than intellectual knowledge.
It's convictional knowledge. And so that's what I want to
do this morning, is I wanna show you what are some of the things
that in his heart, Paul knew these things and they gripped
him, and that's what fueled his courage. I'm gonna suggest five
things. Number one, these are critical,
vital, world-changing things that Paul knows and believes,
and I'm gonna highlight five of them. Know with conviction, number
one, that your ministry is a gift of God's mercy. This one might
be really easy to skip over because it's really in the first couple
words. He doesn't really expand on this. He just kind of drops
it there. He says, therefore, having this ministry by the mercy
of God, we do not lose heart. Paul sees this connection between
the mercies that he's been shown and then the opportunity he has
to serve the king. Think about it. He was a rebel
against God. In his case, he was literally
trying to kill and persecute followers of Jesus before God
saved him. In another letter to a guy named Timothy, he said,
this is a faithful saying, Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners of whom I'm the worst of them. and yet God forgave
him of everything. That would have been enough.
If it just stopped there, like guilty rebel, deserving of eternal
judgment, slate wiped clean, he'd be full of joy. But it doesn't
stop there because God then invites him to then participate in the
work of redemption for everyone else who hasn't tasted that forgiveness
yet. And Paul sees that as mercy. What mercy I've been shown that
he would allow me to participate in this work. And so when the
going gets hard, go back to this thing that Paul just knew it.
He felt it. He knew this, I don't deserve
this. Now you can take that the wrong
way. I had to be careful with my tone of voice there. I don't
deserve this. He's saying, I don't deserve this. To be able to serve
my king like this, I don't deserve this chance. So number one, know
with conviction that the ministry that you have, it's a gift of
God's mercy. Number two, know with conviction
that Satan has blinded the minds of unbelievers, but God sovereignly
pierces the darkness and sets eyes ablaze with the glory of
Christ. I love this passage. Some of you know how much I love
this passage and how much it has shaped me and my ministry.
But again, if you look back at chapter four, Paul says, chapter
four, verse three, Paul says, when we preach the gospel, if
it's going and it's landing on people and they just seem unaffected,
he says the reason why that happens is because Satan, the god of
this world, has blinded the minds of unbelievers. And the picture
he has there is fascinating. It's like Satan's hands are over
people's eyes to keep them. He's trying. Satan's not very
good at this, but he's trying to keep people from seeing Jesus
as he really is. And Paul says, but in the very
beginning, when God said, let there be light, and poof, there
was light instantly everywhere. God is redoing that same creative
work in our hearts. Satan's trying to keep us in
blindness and darkness, keep us from seeing Jesus as he really
is, and God reaches behind Satan's hands and flips on the light
switch, and we see. And once you see the glory of
Christ, you can never unsee that. You're changed by it. That's
what Paul was saying, it changes you forever. And so it's helpful
when you're engaged in this ministry and you're not seeing progress,
you're not seeing fruit, to just understand why, what's happening,
and realize there is spiritual forces at work that are keeping
my community and my neighborhood and people in my family in spiritual
darkness and deception. And I rely desperately on God
by His sovereign grace and power to defeat the enemy and turn
the light switch on. And we pray to that end, we labor
to that end. To connect the dots a little
bit more in scripture, Paul says, how will they believe unless
they hear? Faith comes by hearing, hearing through the word of God.
So we, as messengers, we give the word of God. It goes into
people's ears and it opens their eyes. as the spirit applies it
in people's hearts. So know with conviction that
Satan has blinded the minds of unbelievers, but God sovereignly
pierces the darkness and sets eyes ablaze with the glory of
Christ. Number three, know with conviction that the surpassing
power belongs to God and not to you. Chapter four, verse seven,
he says, we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that
the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. I wish
I could get into verses eight to 10 more when he's talking
about Opposition, persecution is coming at us and yet there's
this God-empowered resiliency underneath it that nothing's
going to stamp out my faith, nothing's going to ultimately,
like I might die, but nothing's going to stop the work that God
is doing. Paul knows that despite the very real efforts of God's
enemies, both human and demonic, nothing is going to crush his
faith. Nothing is going to stop the saving work that God is doing.
Yes, he is weak. He's pathetically weak. That's
what his opponents are always saying, and Paul would shout
back, more than you know. Yes, I am. That's the point. We aren't that impressive, but
God works through us. Their surpassing power belongs
to God, not to us. We are just cheap dirt pots entrusted
with carrying the priceless treasure inside of us. And that treasure
that we're carrying in our weak, failing bodies is gospel light. And when opposition comes and
when the pot cracks, the light shines through. The light shines
out all the clear. So know with conviction that
the surpassing power belongs to God and not to you. Number
four, know with conviction that the glory to come infinitely
outweighs all your suffering. Chapter four, verse 16, he says,
we don't lose heart. Our outer self is wasting away,
but our inner self is being renewed day by day. This, you have to
laugh if you're actually tracking with what he's saying. This light
momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory
beyond all comparison as we look not to the things that are seen,
but to the things that are unseen. I've already relayed numerous
times this morning the sufferings of Paul, and yet Paul's vision
of eternity so transforms his view of the present. to the place
where he can sum up the worst things that he's gone through
and he can label them as light and momentary. This light momentary
affliction is nothing compared to the glory that awaits us.
It's like the song we sing, for behold, I tell a mystery at the
trumpet sound will wake. Death is swallowed up in victory
when we meet our King of grace. Every year we thought was wasted. Every night we cried, how long? All will be a passing moment
in our Savior's victory song. So know with conviction that
the glory to come infinitely outweighs all your suffering.
Number five, know with conviction that you will soon be home with
your King. Chapter 5, verse 6, he says,
again, we are always of good courage. These are things he
knows. We know these things. We know that while we're at home
in the body, we're away from the Lord. For we walk by faith,
not by sight. Yes, we're of good courage. We
would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
Whether we're at home or away, we make it our aim to please
him. We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
so each one may receive what is due for what he has done in
the body, whether good or evil. Again, Paul says he is of good
courage. Why? Because he knows it's just
a matter of time before he stands before his king. And that day
is shaping everything he does. He's recognizing that the things
we do in the present, they do matter for eternity. He knows
that even though his body is wasting away and will eventually
breathe its last breath, that he will then awake in eternity
and be with Jesus forever. And he knows that that is a glorious
thing to look forward to. So both the recognition that
I'm going to stand before God and I'm going to give an account
for how I live my life and the fact that once I'm with God,
because I'm secure in Christ, the Psalm 1611 says, at his right
hand, there are pleasures forevermore. It is Rest. Again, right now,
struggle, struggle, struggle, struggle, struggle. And then
rest and joy forever. That understanding, that end
is coming. That's what enables us to be
courageous and not give up right now. Because we have our hopes
set on that coming day. That's part one. Be courageous.
Number two, be persuasive. As we engage in gospel ministry,
be courageous and be persuasive. It's clearly Paul's point in
the second half. Again, verse 11 of chapter 5, chapter 5-11,
knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. Verse 18,
he says, God has given to us the ministry and the message
of reconciliation. Verse 20, he says, we are ambassadors
for Christ. Christian, do you think of that
as your identity? Do you think of that as the job
God has given you? When you say, yes, I'm a father
of Jesus, so yes, that means God wants me to be an ambassador
for him. And if you would agree yes to
both of those things, which if you're a Christian, you should,
the question for you to reflect on is how are you doing with
that? Are you serving him as an ambassador? You go to a foreign
place and you represent the king. You say what he wants you to
say in the way he wants you to say it, focusing on the things
that he cares about. Tri-County Bible Church, we are
a church that's full of ambassadors, which means our church is like
a little bit of an embassy or an outpost of a different kingdom.
There's something about the way we live and the way we talk should
resemble the king that sent us. And it should certainly resemble
the work that we give ourselves to. We are called to this work.
We are called to persuade others. Verse 20, he says, we implore. That's the language of persuasion. trying to think of like, there's
like 10 words that like, none of them quite get it, but they
kind of get it. Like we're begging people, we're imploring them,
we're beseeching them. We're appealing to people. Now that
can look like different things depending on the relationship
and the conversation. Sometimes it's a more laid back tone of
voice, sometimes it's urgent. But the point is we're trying
to persuade people that there is a God who made us. We as people
are in rebellion against that God. We deserve his judgment
and his wrath, and yet this God, in his love, has made a way for
guilty sinners like us to be completely forgiven. And the
only way that comes is if we submit to his king, that he sent
to save us. He saved us by dying on the cross
in our place, rising, conquering death forever. And if we will
turn from our rebellion and submit ourselves and rely entirely on
Jesus, he will forgive us. That's the idea of reconciliation.
We're at odds with God and that's our message to the world. We
can't just say like, oh, we're all God's children and mean by
that, we're all saved and safe. That is misleading. We are all
made in the image of God. Every life has value and dignity,
and we must honor that and protect it. But we must be clear, there
is conflict between the creator God and the human race, and the
only way for that conflict to be reconciled is through Jesus.
That's our message. We don't get to change the message.
We are simply faithful ambassadors if we say the message in the
way that the king wants it to be said. Just to clarify just
a little teeny bit further, and I'm gonna give you five things.
There's no emotional manipulation here. Again, back in chapter
four, he says, we've renounced disgraceful and unhanded ways,
underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning
or to tamper with God's word. We just present the truth, the
open statement of the truth. And we trust that God alone opens
the eyes. We speak the words, but we're
waiting for God to turn the light switch on. With that said, we
open our mouths and we speak. What motivates us to engage in
this work? What motivated Paul? Again, it
was things he knew. Five things. Number one, know
with conviction that God is worthy of holy, reverent awe. God does not stop being terrifyingly
great the moment all of our sins are forgiven. There is still a sense in which
believers have this sense of this is the God of the universe.
He is big, mighty, awesome, transcendent, and a right view of myself and
a right view of God means that I will carry that weightiness
with me into every conversation, every job he's given me, because
it's all about him. The idea that one day I'm gonna
stand before God and give an account for my life, that is
motivating. That motivates me as I go talk
to people, and I seek to persuade them. There is a God, and one
day you will answer to this God. Let me tell you how you can be
ready. Number two, know with conviction that the love of Christ
ought to compel you to live not for yourself, but for the one
who conquered death for you. Paul actually gives this gospel
logic. He says, it just makes sense.
It just makes sense that if Jesus lived and died for all of us,
that we would no longer live for ourselves, but we would live
for him. He conquered death for us. He brought me out of it.
He transferred me from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom
of light. It only makes sense. And this is what's so beautiful
and so misunderstood. is that what motivates me as
a Christian is not fear of judgment. Jesus took judgment in my place.
I'm not scared that he's gonna get me. I'm securing Christ. And I'm not doing it just because
it's my duty. It is my duty, but that's not my ultimate motivation.
I'm doing it because of love. I'm free to do this because I
see the love that God has done for me. And so that's why I engage
in this work. So know with conviction. that
the love of Christ means this gospel logic. We live for the
one who conquered death for us. Number three, know with conviction
that you're not who you used to be, but that God has made
you a new creation. It's chapter five, verse 17. If anyone is in Christ, he is
a new creation. Old has passed away, behold,
the new has come. This radical transformation. It's God turning
our lives upside down, or to repeat language we've used recently,
it's turning our lives right side up. I see everything differently. I see my life, my future, my
family, my friends. I see Jesus differently. I'm
different now. And that's part of what we bring
into conversation, is God has changed me. Let this move you to persuade
others that God does this work and it's real. It's transformational. Number four, know with conviction
that you are Christ's ambassador and trusted with the message
of reconciliation. I've already dipped into this
a little bit, but again, he says God makes his appeal through
us. God didn't have to do it this way. He chose to. He blesses
us by letting us participate in this work. He speaks through
us. We give the message, but we're
just the mouthpiece. We're the spokesperson. He's
the voice, ultimately. He's the one that's calling on
people, giving them a chance to be forgiven, giving them a
chance to turn and be reconciled to the God who made them. If
you're here and you're not a Christian, you couldn't have come on a better
Sunday, because I've got like a thousand places in this passage
to give you the gospel from, and I've been doing it, and you
just didn't even realize it. If you're not a Christian, hear
this message loud and clear. One day you will stand before
God and give an account for your life. And all of your works and
deeds, thoughts, motivations, it's all gonna be weighed and
judged. And the conclusion that's made clear in scripture, so we
don't have to be left wondering, is that it's not gonna be good
enough. None of us are good enough, but God has made a way. It's
verse 21 right there. Who's gonna pay for your sin?
Somebody's got to. It's either gonna be you, or
you've gotta find a substitute, and there's only one substitute
that will get the job done, and it was Jesus. So you pay for
your sin, or you trust in Jesus. It's the only way that you have
any hope of forgiveness. Know with conviction that you
are Christ's ambassador and trusted with this message. And number
five, know with conviction that your enduring perseverance through
suffering increases the credibility of your faith. This is especially
seen in chapter 6, verses 3 to 10. where Paul is just laying
out all these details of the things that give his ministry
credibility. He's saying both in terms of
his endurance through suffering, but also through his Christ-like
character, these things together. It's actually, it's showing his
faith through his suffering. And I just wanna apply this,
because I know we have a lot of hurting people in this room. And one
of the biggest lies you're tempted to believe when you're suffering
is that This doesn't mean anything. It's meaningless, it's arbitrary,
and it's not true. There's so many places in scripture
from different angles that you can see this, but God is sovereign
over your suffering, and this right here is showing us that
one of the reasons God allows us through hard things is so
that we can show this is real, my faith in God is real. and
it's going to transform how I suffer through this. That doesn't mean
it doesn't hurt. It does. If it looks like it
hurts, but it doesn't actually hurt, that's just kind of deception. It really hurts. And yet, in
our pain, we have a chance to show, demonstrate, my faith is
real. God has changed me. I have this
certain hope. And in our pain, we can speak
out to others who are on the outside looking in and say, this
is what's carrying me through this. You need this too. It lends credibility. That's
Paul's defense of his ministry. He's saying, these things, these
are not reasons to discount me. He's saying, this is demonstration. This is the real deal. This is
what it really looks like. If you're not in it for the real
deal, you duck out when this stuff starts happening. but you
demonstrate the credibility. I said earlier that I want to
see our church, whether we trip one size or dwindle down to nothing,
stay true to the course, stay true to the mission, stay true
to Christ, no matter what, because normal, healthy Christianity
is outward focus. For everything that we want to
happen in our church in terms of Christians building each other
up in love, we want that. If we are only focused inward
on ourselves, it will be the death of us. The heartbeat of
the church is evangelism, discipleship, evangelism, discipleship. May
we always keep this at the center of our church. I want to end
with this quote from a pastor named John Piper. He says, It's
evangelistic. It's persuasive and expansive
and missionary. It's not coercive, which means
we don't force people to become Christians. It doesn't use a
sword, manipulation, or brainwashing, but it does proclaim and persuade
and plead and pray. And where this is not believed
and practiced, Christianity ceases to be Christianity and starts
to become another religion with another king who no longer says,
I am God Almighty, be fruitful and multiply. When we lose a
passion to see people won over to Jesus, we lose Jesus. He says
Christianity is a soul-winning, outreaching, mind-persuading,
heart-entreating, rescuing missionary faith where it's not true Christianity. We need to be reminded of this
because it's almost incredible how listless we can become while
calling ourselves Christians. Little by little, our whole orientation
can become inward. We can go for months and years
and not think about those who perish. We become so dull and
spiritually callous that we don't even ask if we believe in hell,
or lostness, or the preciousness of Christ, and the power of the
cross, and the freeness of the gospel, and the command of Jesus.
We just go about in our in-house religious business like a medical
clinic that sees fewer and fewer patients and has more and more
staff meetings until there's nothing left but a smooth running
program for the doctors and nurses and their families. That's what
happens to many churches. So may we today, on our 26th
anniversary, hear clearly the war cry to rise up with courage
and conviction and answer the call that God has placed on all
of our lives to engage earnestly and sacrificially in real, authentic,
meaningful, lasting, fruitful, bold, God-glorifying gospel ministry. And may we all, by God's grace,
be courageous and persuasive for the sake of the gospel. God,
I pray that you would change us with these truths, that we
would internalize them, grip them, and let them grip us. And
I pray, God, that you would use us as those who do not lose heart
when things get hard and who are committed to the critical
message of reconciliation, calling sinners to be reconciled to God.
I pray, God, that you would help us to do this with compassion,
with genuine love, as Paul describes, with humility, with boldness,
urgency, and that as we do this, God, that you will do the work.
The power belongs to you, not to us. Turn the light switch
on. Shine the glory of Jesus bright
past the blinders of our adversary. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen.
Real Authentic Gospel Ministry
| Sermon ID | 109241530117515 |
| Duration | 55:25 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday - AM |
| Bible Text | 2 Corinthians 4-6 |
| Language | English |
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