Thank you for listening to the media ministry of the Puritan Reformed Presbyterian Church in San Diego, California. If you are blessed by what you hear and would like to help keep our little church going as a ministry partner with your cheerful gifts, please listen for instructions at the end of this message. Again, our text for the sermon this evening is in the New Testament, 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 13. We will look at some of its context, and we will also turn to Psalm 116, because verse 10, as you just sang, is quoted by Paul of David in 2 Corinthians 4.13. So we're going to look at a little bit of its context directly to get a sense of how it's being used and applied by Paul. So, 2 Corinthians 4.13 is our text. We'll look at its context. We'll also look at Psalm 116, verse 10, quoted in the verse, and some of its context. So, for your convenience, you might mark those two sections of scripture together. Let me read for us now 2 Corinthians 4, verse 13. 2 Corinthians 4, verse 13. Hear now the word of the Lord. And may the Lord grant that you believe it, that you will see what it says. We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken. We also believe, and therefore speak. Let me read that again. We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken. We also believe, and therefore speak. Well, I had an unusual experience last Lord's Day evening. I'm not sure this has ever happened before, but as soon as I ended the worship service and turned around, I immediately knew what I was supposed to preach on and that I wouldn't go back to Nehemiah yet. I can't really explain why, but I'm just gonna trust that instinct and pray this from the Holy Spirit. If it was just my own inkling of things, I know it's still the word of God. But the reason I think I thought of it was, the message last week was about the importance of giving all of our attention to Jesus, especially in worship, but everywhere else, all our undivided attention. And it was impressed upon me, why don't we? Why don't we listen well? You know, we often recognize, I think, when you're talking to someone, they're not paying attention because they've already decided they don't believe. They won't believe. And so they tune out, they close their eyes, they turn away before even giving a hearing, even looking to consider, because they already do not believe what is going to be said. Or they don't believe the messenger, or they do not want to believe because they do not want to confess it. So they can't see, they can't hear, they cannot receive in their heart and live it out in their lives. It all begins with whether or not they believe in the first place. Whether or not the Holy Spirit has already granted the gift of faith to be able to see, to hear, respond. Having God's gift of faith is the reason anyone can see and profess the gospel or anything else. as true. I give that to you as the idea of our text. Having God's gift of faith is the reason anyone can see and profess the gospel or anything else as true. It is not the truth that seeing is believing, or sometimes what we see may be false, it could be disguised It could be deceiving and what we believe is actually not true. But the general idea of seeing is believing is actually backwards. Again, remember the Pharisees, they looked right at Jesus and did not believe him, though he did many miracles in their presence. And we won't speak what we don't see and we won't see what we don't believe or what we won't believe. Sometimes I've found myself, and it may not be related to the gospel, it could be about something else in the Word that's important, or it could just be something else altogether. I'll actually say, you know, I can tell you don't want to believe this, so I'm not going to waste my time. You don't believe, so you'll never see what I'm trying to show you, as simple and as evident as it is. You know, there are times where sometimes we just don't believe. Some might not believe in Jesus as the Savior. Some might not believe they can be forgiven. So it doesn't matter what you say to them, they don't believe they can be forgiven. They don't and won't believe they can be saved. Sometimes it can be that we just don't believe we can do something. Have you ever had that? You're trying to teach instructions to someone, you can already see the eyes have glazed over because they've already decided, I can't and I will not do it. So what's the point of even trying to teach them? Sometimes we don't believe that God's really working in our lives. We believe in theory, providence, but we don't really believe that God's doing something good in this, and so we can't see it. But it comes in that order. Believing is seeing, and seeing is speaking. We're not gonna speak about God working in our lives. We're not gonna speak about the gospel if we haven't already seen it, because we already believe it. And that's the message for you this evening from our text. Believing is seeing and speaking. Believing is what will cause us to pay attention and then see that it's there and then be willing to speak about it to others. So one thing I would encourage you tonight, beloved, pray God gives you belief right now that what you hear from the scriptures is true, like the Bereans, that you actually receive it. Do something with it. Because it's the truth, and I have seen it in preaching many times, and I've seen it in counseling and other just general ways of life. It's the truth that you very well, and you may be able to disguise it to me, but you can't disguise it before God. You may be able to deceive yourself. As James warns, don't be saying you're a hearer but not a doer, deceiving yourself. You could be right now, as I'm starting this sermon, already not believing what I'm saying. And if that's the case, you won't see the rest of what I'm gonna share with you. So may God give you, give me the grace, the gift of faith to see. Think about kids, but I even think about people sometimes. They don't want to hear something. They don't want to see something that's true when you try to bring it before them. Literally might shut their eyes, cover their eyes, cover their ears, turn away. I see adults do that all the time. Again, it's just more sophisticated. But it's really no different. They don't want to believe. You can see sometimes when you're trying to bring something to someone's attention, you can already see either the eyes glazing over or the wall being built. Not to see. Not to agree. Turn away from actually considering the truth. Faith and belief is the theme of our verse. It's repeated. And the possession of faith or the possession of belief causes the seeing and thus the profession of the gospel. It's in that order. And so Paul's talking about how they, ministering, share the same spirit of belief or faith or trust. By the way, in the Greek lexicon, faith Belief and trust are all listed as synonyms, the same meaning. for that Greek word, pisteous, something like that. I don't pretend to speak those words well. I don't know if I'm saying them correctly, necessarily. But the point of it is the believing, the faith, the trust, it's all the same thing. I emphasize that because too often, there's a long, drawn-out discussion of the Latin. And there gets to the point where you make faith works. And so I just want to emphasize, and I'm definitely reflecting the work of Gordon Clark, because he's right. He was an expert in the Greek, by the way. Faith, belief, trust, it's the same thing. And we have it. And because we have it, because we believe, therefore, do you see? The word therefore is twice there. We have it, you have it. What do we have? Belief, that's twice. Therefore is thrice. Because I believe, therefore, we believe, you believe, therefore, they speak God's gospel truth. We wouldn't speak it if we didn't believe it. We wouldn't see it to be able to speak it if we didn't believe it. So twice, the cause and the effect are made clear. Belief, therefore, speaking of the gospel. You see, belief is required to be able to see, to be able to speak. It's in that order always. especially in the context of preaching the gospel that people are blind to see in stubborn unbelief, which can make you lose faith or become weak in faith and struggle to see yourself. Things can get dim. That gift within that otherwise keeps them and us seeing and preaching that others believe and see and profess. Look at verse 3 of chapter 4. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. So there's this idea that the gospel is hid to some. They don't see it. It's lost to them. It's lost upon them. They're lost to it. They're lost from it. They don't see it. because they haven't been given the gift to believe it. Verse 5, for we preach not ourselves but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves your servants. for Jesus Christ. Oh, excuse me, I wanted to go to verse four first. In whom the God of this world, let me read verse three into four. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. Verse four. In whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. You see, the God of this world has blinded them in unbelief. So they can't see the light shining. It isn't that it's not there in the proclamation of the gospel. It isn't that Christ doesn't make himself shown as the light of the world in the church that is the light of the world. But those who don't believe can't and won't see it. But what is it that they should see? Verse 5, the preaching of the gospel of Christ. And they preach it nonetheless, though some won't see because they don't believe. And in a sense, you could almost feel hopeless. What's the point if they're incapable of seeing it? But that's where we have to trust all of the scriptures and know that God saves his elect by giving them faith to believe and see. Look at verse 6. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. God shares his light to them who believe. so that they share that light to others who will believe and then see the truth of it. In spite of the fact that often they can start to struggle, their faith can waver, and they might struggle to see that God's doing anything with the preaching of the gospel. Do you sometimes, beloved, wonder if God's doing anything with this church? It can be hard to see without eyes of faith. It can be hard to know and see that anything's happening. Now what's interesting is verses that we're more familiar with are in the context. Look at verses 4 to 10. No, excuse me. I think that I somehow skipped to another chapter there when I did that. But look at verse 14. knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus and shall present us with you." Oh, I know what I did. Not verses 4 through 10. We want to start with verse 7 through 10. Let's go back. Excuse me, I had a typo there and I confused myself. Verses 7 through 10, but we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Cast down, but not destroyed. always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. That's interesting, verses seven through nine especially, I can still remember vividly reciting and memorizing with my first four children during one of our most despairing moments, sitting at the Embarcadero. I can vividly remember it as we gave ourselves to it, to not lose faith. that God would increase our faith and help us to see that he's doing something. He's still with us. We're struggling, but we're not destroyed. You see, suffering, despair, and death only brightens their witness when our faith grows through it in the crucible of suffering. And yet still saying, as with Job, I will believe though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. in verse 14, let's return to that, knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus and shall present us with you. They know the resurrection happened for Christ, and in Christ it will happen for them who believe. They believe it, they know it's true, so they see in the scriptures it's going to happen and that it's real. They see what the scriptures are saying. They believe in the resurrection. Think of 1 Corinthians 15, without it we have no hope. But we do have hope because it's real and true. And this keeps them going. Verse 16, for which cause we faint not. But though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. Or as Matthew Henry says, faith kept them from fainting. Fainting, you don't see anything. And as you're getting faintish, you can struggle to see. Faith keeps you seeing. Faith keeps you saying, speaking, serving the gospel. Now Paul's quoting Psalm 116 verse 10 in verse 13 of our text where he says, as it is written, this is Psalm 116 verse 10, I believed and therefore have I spoken. We also believe and therefore we speak. So he's saying, you have the faith, we have the faith, we continue in serving in the faith. Though there's all kinds of reasons, we might struggle to keep on serving. We might struggle to keep on saying and speaking the gospel. But because of faith, even as a mustard seed, we continue on. I believe, therefore I speak. I'm compelled. I'm compelled to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified and Him buried and resurrected because I believe. I believe. Therefore I see. Therefore I speak. But let's look back to David's context in Psalm 116. Because that's what he's quoting again, Psalm 116 verse 10. We'll look at that first and we'll look at a little context together. So Paul is quoting Psalm 116 verse 10, I believed, therefore have I spoken. I was greatly afflicted. I believed, therefore I have spoken. It's a Psalm of David lamenting how he's going to make it. How am I going to make it? I almost can't see that I'm going to make it. If he doesn't make it, Christ doesn't make it. We don't make it. How does he make it? By faith. Think of Hebrews 11. believing and therefore seeing and thus continuing to profess. Look at verses seven to nine. Return unto thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. That's believing. Although it doesn't really look like it all around him in the text. Verse 8, I believe it. So I have that perspective, though I can't see it, I walk in faith. Now, verse 10 again, what Paul quotes, and kind of a similar situation in some ways, the difficulty of continuing the gospel ministry. Even we all need belief to keep on going and not give up on it. I believed, therefore have I spoken. We don't wait to see, we believe, therefore we see, and we speak. Look at verse 13, I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. We often sing this before taking the Lord's Supper. And then verse 15 especially, look at this. How many times, beloved, do you and I turn to this, believing what we don't see? But we believe, therefore we can see it. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. Does it look like that as you bury your beloved six feet under? Does it look like that to you? It doesn't look like that to me. I don't see it. Do you see it? Well, you do see it, and you speak it, and you quote these verses. Why? Because God has granted you faith to believe that, and proclaim that, and witness that to others that you're hoping in the resurrection, even at that moment. Others are like, I don't see what they're talking about. These people are nuts. But some say, I think I need that. Maybe I'll believe that. Then I'll see it. John Calvin, speaking about Paul in our text, quoting David in Psalm 116 verse 10, says this. Now this is the commencement of Psalm 116, where David acknowledges that when he had been reduced to the last extremity, he was so overpowered that he almost gave way. By having soon, but having soon afterwards regained confidence, he had overcome that temptation. Accordingly, he opens the Psalm thus, I believed Therefore will I speak. For faith is the mother of confession. Paul, it is true, stirring himself up to imitate him, exhorts the Corinthians to do the same. He simply means to say that believers ought to be magnanimous and undaunted in confessing what they have believed with their heart. And so they see. And so they say so. because they have already believed by God's gracious gift, believed what the scriptures say. There are other examples in scriptures of the need to first believe, to therefore then see and then speak what is right in front of you, and especially thus the imperative to pray for God to give you and others humble faith, to look up and see and say the way things actually are. Especially that Jesus is the way. And of what he says in the Bible about the way to live for him. People just don't want to see what Jesus says that it's so obvious. Frankly, even unbelievers, if they're studying it honestly about what obviously the author thinks they're saying, it's obvious what they're saying. But there are some who won't even believe the most simplest of things in scripture because they don't actually believe it. They don't want to do it. So they won't see it because they don't start with belief that what God's Word is saying is therefore truth. The narrow way to life where few find themselves walking. Because it has to begin with belief. People won't walk where they don't see because they don't believe it's there. John 9, verse 39. And Jesus said, for judgment I am come into this world, they which see not might see. Excuse me, that they, let me start over. Jesus said, for judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see. And that they which see might be made blind. John 11, 39 to 40, by the way, the Gospel of John, one book I read a commentary on it years ago when I was, the Lord had been giving me belief to see and behold, I read a commentary on the Gospel of John as advised, a good place to start, and the subtitle was The Gospel of Belief. That's what he writes at the end. These things are written that you might believe. John 11, 39-40, Jesus said, Take ye away the stone, Martha. The sister of him that was dead saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he hath been dead four days. Look, here's what I see. He's been in the grave four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see, the glory of God, if you believe, you will see. John 20 verse 29, after his own resurrection, that was the resurrection he was about to do with Lazarus, after his own resurrection, he says to doubting Thomas who said, I won't believe unless I stick my fingers in the wounds of his hands and in his side, I won't believe. When he saw Christ for himself, Jesus said, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, Thou hast believed. Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed." And of course, even if he stuck his fingers into Jesus, but he wasn't granted belief and faith, he would have just been like the Pharisees and explained it away as an imposter. He wouldn't have believed. That's how scary unbelief is, isn't it? Belief to be able to see Jesus right in front of you, the resurrected Jesus. Hebrews 11 verses 1 and 3. Now remember, the whole chapter is about faith. It's by faith. There are all these different heroes of the faith. The cloud of witnesses cheering us on in Hebrews 12 to follow Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Those who've gone before us doing the same. They went through all kinds of horrible things. but didn't deny the faith because of their faith. Hebrews 11 verses 1 and 3. Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen We're not made of things which do appear. I know I've shared with you before, but I always think of this when I read that text. years ago, many years ago, early in the ministry, I was meeting with someone, buying something from them for church work, and because I was a pastor, he was intrigued to, you know, kick the tires, play around for a while, and I think I met with him for about two hours. And for him, it was obvious the, excuse me, the impasse for him to believe was evolution, the false science, or science falsely so-called, of evolution. And he wouldn't believe the Bible because of that. And I said, you need faith to see it. And he said, he responded like this, you're right, that's exactly what I need. I need faith. I said, yeah, that's what Hebrews 11 says. You need faith, or you're never going to see it. Something that you and I see is so obvious. Calvin, as others talk about, it just depends on which pair of glasses we're wearing. Unbelief? or belief, we are looking at the same facts. It is so obvious what the facts actually show us, let alone what the scriptures tell us. But unless you have the gift of faith, you'll never see it. You'll be blind to it. And therefore, you'll never speak it. Romans 10 verse 17, so then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. This relates to different arguments about methods of evangelism and methods of apologetics. Faith comes by hearing the word of God, not trying to prove the word of God, hearing the word of God. And too often, we never get to that. Quote the word of God. And trust him and believe that you might see what he's doing with it over time. And really, perhaps this could be our theme verse that comes just a little bit later in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 7. And in its context, as you know, I've really appreciated the context. The verse before and the verses after say, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. and how much you and I are to be comforted by that, but we don't see it. I mean, if we could see it, I've said if you could look through a window, kind of like we do to make sure our kids are okay in the nursery, wouldn't you be comforted by that? You can't see it. You won't see it if you don't believe it. And so in that context before and after, I so am thankful to have recognized the context over the years for my own need that I hope to pass on to you repeatedly. For we walk by faith, not by sight. What is faith? Belief. We believe, therefore we can see what we don't see until the Lord allows us to see it at the resurrection. That all said, Belief comes before the ability to see and speak the scriptures and the truth of them. Be praying the following. First, that God would help you and others be like the Bereans in Acts chapter 17, verses 10 and 11. which we have in our cover letters to visitors, but lament how very infrequently we observe this kind of behavior. But they are said to be more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily whether those things were so. Why did they search the scriptures to see if it was so? because they had a readiness of mind to do so. They had belief in the apostles of God sent by Jesus Christ, and that they were speaking the word of God. And what they were being taught from the word of God, they had a readiness of mind. They believed, they were open to it. They weren't closed and blind to it with unbelief. Therefore, they took the initiative to search and see and confirm, not to really go out it, to disprove it, and to see, ah, I don't know if what you're saying is true. No, what you're saying is probably true. You certainly have the reason for me that I ought to listen to you. Okay, just want to go see, help me see in the scriptures. Yes, there it is. I see it. But if I go without a readiness of mine, it'll be right there in the scriptures, and I'll already be trying to come up with a way to explain it away with eisegesis, rather than exegesis of what actually is being said. I remember having a discussion recently with someone, believers, I don't doubt at all, But in a particular topic, it was obvious, and I finally said to them, because of certain things that I pointed out by how and what they say, I just want to encourage you that I'm not sure you want to believe this. And if you're already not wanting to believe it, you're never going to see what's right there. And obvious to me. And I changed on it myself when the Lord let me see it. I actually asked them this question just to try to get them to be open to that possibility. I said, let's forget the specific topic. Let's just say, let's pretend there's some topic that we're not even identifying for whatever reason that we are diehard believing one thing, but the scriptures actually clearly teach something else. Would you be ready and willing to change if this, whatever thing it is, is shown to you clearly from the scriptures? And they would never say yes. They couldn't get there. Do you know why? Because they couldn't get past the topic we were talking about and just went right back to that and continued to be adamant about they don't believe the thing. I couldn't even get them to let it go, to make a point, to maybe be willing to come back to this and say, maybe, maybe I'm not seeing it because I don't want to see it. I refuse to believe it. And that's what you and I have to be challenged about all the time. Are you willing to change something that you don't want to change? Are you willing to do or see something you don't want to see or do? That's clearly in the scripture. A pagan would acknowledge what it is saying, they just don't want to believe it, because they don't believe in God or anything else. But they'd be honest, that's clearly what the author thinks he's saying and meaning. But we who would say the Scriptures are of God and we believe them, we can't deny what the pagan would acknowledge is obviously what they're saying. We just have to pray God would give us belief that it's true. And then we'll see. I remember another topic. A lady that was here years ago from Oregon, churches we were exploring, they visited on vacation once. She said she did what the scripture said, and she recognized, I believe it's Psalm 111, verse 10, and I ended up preaching on it. I'm pretty sure it's Psalm 111, verse 10, that. She says, you know, in the doing of it, you see the truth of it. Now we can still do it and refuse to believe it's true, but there's something about submitting ourselves to the Word of God and then we'll see it. And until we're willing to submit, and sometimes just the doing of it will help that, we won't believe it. So we won't see it. So pray the Lord would give you a readiness of mind to receive the Word and then just search to see it for yourselves. To confirm. not to contradict and question an unbelief. Psalm 36 verse 9, pray this for you and others, in thy light shall we see light. Psalm 119 verse 18, open thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. Mark 9 verse 24, Lord, I believe. Help thou my unbelief. Help thou mine unbelief. Luke 17 verse 5. Lord, increase our faith. Faith as the size of a little mustard seed is enough to save. Praise the Lord. But there's so much more to see in the scriptures, beloved. So much more that God can make us alive to. It's alive, make us alive to it. Jesus can make you see. Jesus can make others see. Pray that he wipes a mix of his spittle and mud upon your hearts and the hearts of others. This alone will open your eyes and your mouths in a way that unbelief will only blind you and mute you. It is the only way this works. Begin with believing. This is where seeing begins. Because believing is seeing. And seeing is speaking. The message for you this evening. Believing is seeing. Not seeing is believing. No one will ever believe that way. Speak the word of God because you believe the word of God and thus you've seen the word of God. And trust it's the way it works for anyone else, because believing is seeing and speaking. That is the message for you tonight. Let us pray. Lord, we believe. Help thou our unbelief. Increase our faith. Open thou our eyes that we may behold wondrous things out of thy law. Give us your light that we would see and be your light, speaking the gospel, sharing the gospel. Lord, help us to have more faith to trust you in what you're doing in our lives, and that you are working out good, and that you have a plan, and that you're using us. and that you're using this church. Just like Paul, we can struggle with so much unbelief we encounter and unwillingness to have a readiness of mind like the Bereans. We can struggle and our faith can waver. Oh Lord, increase our faith. And we pray that you would grant the gift of faith to our neighbors, to our friends, Because we acknowledge, we believe what your scriptures say. They will not be saved because they will not see, because they will not hear or wish to speak what you say in your word unless you grant them belief, trust in you. Almighty God, as we would call out the gospel. Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Oh Lord, grant belief, we pray. In Jesus' name, all your people sing, Amen. please click on the Give button at the top of any of our sermon audio pages to support us with your online donation. Or, visit our website at puritanchurch.com and click through the Give button at the top right of your screen. And if you prefer to send your support through the mail, please make your check out to Puritan Reformed Presbyterian Church and send it to Puritan Reformed Presbyterian Church, 6374 Potomac Street, San Diego, California, 92139. Thank you.