Today's reading is 2 Corinthians chapter 4. Therefore, since God in His mercy has given us this ministry, we do not lose heart. Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not practice deceit, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by open proclamation of the truth, we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God who said, let light shine out of darkness, made his glory shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us. We are hard-pressed on all sides, but not crushed. Perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. And in keeping with what is written, I believed, therefore I have spoken. We who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak. knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is extending to more and more people may overflow in thanksgiving to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart, though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison. So we fix our eyes, not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. This is God's Word. In 2 Corinthians chapter 3, Paul defended his ministry to the Corinthians, that was chapter 3 verses 1-6, and argued that the Corinthians themselves were proof that God was working in Paul and his partners as they ministered. In both 1 and 2 Corinthians, Paul addressed an undercurrent of disrespect the Corinthian believers had toward him. If God used you to establish a church, then some of the people there started disrespecting you, it would be natural and very human to become discouraged about the ministry. Add to that the kind of persecutions and pressures that Paul and his team faced, we can see those in chapter 4 verses 8 through 12, and it becomes easy to see how Paul might have been tempted to quit serving the Lord altogether. Paul did not downplay the problems he faced for the gospel. But he opened this chapter by saying, despite these problems, we do not lose heart. That's verse 1. Instead, the ability that he and his team had to keep serving the Lord despite their very human weaknesses reminded them that it was God working through them, not their own power or ability. We can see that in verses 7-12 and 16-17. Today's chapter also touched on the method they used to reach people for Christ. Their method was to set forth the truth plainly. That's verse 2. There was no need to use deception or pressure or any other tactics to get people to trust Christ, according to verse two, because the problem unbelievers had believing the gospel is a spiritual problem, a blindness from Satan that veiled the glory of Christ in the gospel. We see that in verses three through five. The right approach then was to preach Christ as Lord, according to verse five, and depend on God's power to save people, according to verse six. What were their qualifications for this ministry then? Simply, that they believed in Jesus. It is written, I believed, therefore I have spoken. Since we have the same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. That's verses 13 through 14 in the NIV. They gave the gospel and called people to repent and trust Jesus, because that is the truth they believed when they became Christians. Too often we are quiet about our faith because we think we don't have the best arguments, or the right answers, or that we are not personally persuasive. Those are excuses. What matters is that we have believed the gospel ourselves, according to verse 13, and that we are relying on God to work through us when we speak, that's verses 5 and 6. So is there someone in your relationships, at work, in your family, in your neighborhood, old friends, someone who has not heard you share Christ? Is one of those excuses the reason why? That you don't have the best arguments, you're not a persuasive person, or whatever. Is that one of the reasons why this person hasn't heard the gospel from you? If so, then let the truth of this chapter encourage you and embolden you to speak up. Only Christ can remove the veil of unbelief that is covering a person's spiritual eyes. Our job is not to remove the veil, but to faithfully and plainly share the message. So if you get a chance today, step up to the opportunity to speak about Christ. And I'll see you next time.