For more information about our teaching and preaching ministry, you can find us online at cornerstoneorlando.org. The following sermon has been brought to you by Cornerstone Orlando, making disciples for the glory of God. And the title of our sermon this morning, From Grumbling to Grateful, part two, 2 Corinthians chapter four, verses one through 15. So in our study, brothers and sisters, through Paul's letter to the church at Rome, we know through our study of that letter, that those who have been effectually called by God and then justified through the means of faith alone in his son, are those who have been united to Jesus Christ through faith and united with him in the likeness of his death and in the likeness of his resurrection. We know that to be true. Romans 6, verse 4. Therefore, Paul says, we were buried with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. That just as certainly as his death to sin became our death to sin, just as certainly as we have been united to him in the likeness of his death, We also are united to him, brothers and sisters, in the likeness of his resurrection. We have been raised to new life in him. Knowing this, as Paul would say, our old man has been crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. Therefore, Paul's conclusion is this, reckon yourselves therefore indeed to be dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey in its lusts, but rather present your members, present the faculties of your soul, Present your very persons as instruments of righteousness to God. That's the work that we've been given to do, amen? That's our sanctification. We are to present ourselves as instruments of righteousness to God. In Ephesians 4, verse 17, Paul would say it this way. You should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their hearts. That's no longer who you are. Don't walk that way any longer. But rather, Paul says, you should put off concerning your former conduct the old man, which grows corrupt according to deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, that you put on the new man, which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness. In Colossians 3, verse 8, we must put off all of these. We must put off anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthing language out of your mouth. In other words, we need to control our tongues. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds." You've put off his thinking, you've put off his values, you've put off his ideologies, you've put off his deceitful lusts. And you have put on the new man, that new man which is renewed in knowledge, according to the image of him who created him. And notice in Ephesians 4 and Colossians 3 there, notice, the Gentiles walk in the futility of their mind. Their understanding is darkened, alienated of God because of their ignorance, that you should be renewed in the spirit of your mind, right? Notice in Colossians 3, that the new man is renewed in knowledge, according to the image of him who created him. In other words, we're made a new creation, and that new creation is renewed in knowledge. In what kind of knowledge? In our knowledge of Him. In our knowledge of His Word. In our knowledge of who He is and what He's done. It's renewed as we grow in knowledge. That knowledge, brothers and sisters, is not merely intellectual. That knowledge is moral, as we are conformed into the image of the One who created us anew. We are to be new creations. Think with me, just as the Lord Jesus Christ was stripped of his tattered garments in death, so believers, those who have put faith and trust in Jesus Christ, believers are stripped of their tattered old grave clothes in union with him, stripped of our old identification with that old man, the first Adam, and clothed from on high in our union with the last and true and resurrected Adam. we've been reclothed as it were. And that which was inaugurated at our new birth, when we were made a new creation, that which is now being renewed after the image of the one who created us anew, will finally, that work will finally be consummated at the end of the age when those united with him will be stripped forever of this body of death and gloriously conformed to his heavenly body, to his heavenly image. Until that time, The new man is being renewed. And the new man is being renewed in knowledge according to that image. Knowledge referring to knowing him. Knowledge referring to seeing him. Knowledge of that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. And then acting in accord with that knowledge, not merely intellectual knowledge, but moral knowledge. Acting in accord with what we have grown to know. It's in this life, brothers and sisters, that we are to give ourselves entirely to that work. That is the work of our sanctification. That is the work that God does to conform us into the image of his son. In the language of Romans chapter 12, and in consideration of all that God has done for us through the gospel of his son, we should present ourselves as a whole and continual burnt offering set apart or holy to God, which is the only reasonable response to all of the mercy that has been poured out on us through the gospel. And we should no longer allow ourselves, brothers and sisters, to be pressed into the mold, this pattern of this evil age, but rather we should allow ourselves to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. So on this basis then, on this basis, we must not allow ourselves to be identified with that old, sinful, those old sinful attitudes and actions Those, we should not be associated with that old man. That old man has been stripped off. And now those sins, which characterize the old man, must be laid aside. They must be stripped away. Since we are a new creation, since we have been set free, from the penalty and from the power of sin, we must think and act in accord with the new man. We must clothe ourselves with the new man, as those who have been already graciously clothed in the righteousness of the last Adam. And this is what we must do. This is our work. This is the will of God for you, your sanctification, right? Now, as pertains, as all of that pertains to our current study, we are to put off then grumbling. We're to put off complaining. We're to put off disputing. Let it not even be named among us. We have to put it off. And that's not a simple task. That is a task that cannot be done in our own strength. It may only be done in the power of His Spirit. It's something that we can't do. Complaining, grumbling, disputing is something that is native to our fallen nature, that remaining corruption that still lies within us. We have to put it off. We put off grumbling and complaining and deceitful and disputing so that we might move on to gratitude, that we may put on gratitude and contentment and joy. How are we to do that? We are to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. We're to think rightly about these things. We're to think rightly about who the Lord is and what the Lord has done on our behalf. And we do all that, we put off grumbling, we put on gratitude. So then. Having considered a profile then of the grumbler at the outset of this series, we've now moved on to consider a profile of the grateful. As we defined last week, gratitude is an inward heart attitude of thankfulness. That inward heart attitude of thankfulness is cultivated by a humble delight that is then outwardly expressed in thoughts, emotions, words, and actions. That's what gratitude is. The inward heart attitude that provides a foundation upon which a grateful spirit is both cultivated and then expressed is comprised then of two indispensable qualities or characteristics. The first of those two characteristics is delight. a cultivated delight in the gifts that are given, and that delight then exponentially increased by a cultivated delight in the one who gives. The first is delight, the second is humility, a cultivated awareness, a cultivated acknowledgement of how undeserving we are of any good, of any compassion, of any kindness. We are undeserving people. Our gratitude exponentially increased the more we understand that truth. We don't deserve it. The truth that we are deserving of nothing good and rather are deserving only of wrath and judgment that is rightly due our sin should cultivate within us a humility that is one of those characteristics of true gratitude. When we think about gratitude in those terms, terms of delight, in terms of humility, our own undeserving status, condition, we should of all people be immeasurably grateful, immeasurably grateful. If you think about that with me, the one in whom we delight is God. If delight in a giver exponentially increases our gratitude, we delight in God. His infinite perfections, rich in mercy, abounding in grace. The gifts in which we delight. They are beyond comprehension. Eye has not seen nor ear heard, entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love him. They are incomprehensible gifts, the greatest of all gifts. And we are a dramatically undeserving people, dramatically undeserving, deserving only of death under the curse of his law. So of all people, we should be supremely, preeminently grateful. grateful in every circumstance. It doesn't matter what circumstance you face. He is working all things together for your good. His sovereign power in his providence executing his decrees of good toward you. We should be in every circumstance preeminently grateful. It's in light of these realities that we should be grateful in everything. Ephesians 5, verse 20, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Should you ever find yourself grumbling and complaining? No. We have to put it off. Will you find yourself grumbling and complaining? Yes. That's why we need to be renewed after a knowledge of Him and His work. We have to be renewed in our minds and be transformed by the renewing of our minds. 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 18. In everything, give thanks. There is nothing accepted. In everything, give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. So then, Colossians 3, 17. Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. There simply is no cause. There simply is no justification. There simply is no room for grumbling and complaining as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, as Christian people. I was given this quote this week, which is very helpful. The quote is this, it is always possible to be thankful for what is given rather than resentful over what is withheld. Always, always possible to be thankful for what is given rather than resentful for what is withheld. And one attitude or the other becomes a way of life. If you have found that grumbling and complaining in one form or fashion has become a way of life, put off the old man, put on the new man, put off grumbling and complaining, put on gratitude and contentment and joy. It is always possible to be thankful for what is given rather than resentful, grumbling, complaining, disputing for what is withheld. One attitude or the other becomes a way of life. What will be the attitude that becomes your way of life? Rather than grumbling and complaining about money, that is spent to start a school, we should rather be thankful, grateful that it is one small part of the lavish abundance that God has graciously given us to do his work. Rather than grumbling and complaining about not being treated the way that you think you ought to be treated, we should rather be grateful that we are not treated as we deserve to be treated. Rather than grumbling and complaining about anything, anything, pick your poison, any circumstance, rather than grumbling and complaining about anything, there is much in every single circumstance that we have to be grateful for. One attitude or the other becomes a way of life. Your attitude of ingratitude will lead to complaining. Complaining will lead to criticism. Criticism will lead to a critical spirit. Critical spirit will lead to contempt. Contempt will lead to counterattack. Counterattack will lead to collapse. That deplorable state, that repulsive state, as Boston calls it, all began with being ungrateful. It all begins with being ungrateful. So in continuing our thoughts, on the subject of gratitude this morning. I want you to see how an attitude of gratitude is the end or the aim of all that God does for you through the ministry of his church. The end or the aim, the purpose, one of the purposes for which God blesses you through the ministry of his own church, through the gifts that he has given to you, through the church, one of the ends or the aims of that is gratitude. I want you to see how that works. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians 4, verse one, where Paul is ministering in Corinth. Gratitude is the end or the aim, the purpose of all that the Lord does for his people through the ministry of his body, the church. It's one purpose for that, is gratitude. Therefore, think with me, to be ungrateful for the Lord's own ministry, through his own gifts, through his own body, is to demonstrate ingratitude for the Lord, ingratitude for his gifts, and ingratitude for his body. is to be grumbling and complaining. It is to receive the grace of God in vain, and it's to undermine, it undermines the very purpose for which God has given gifts to the church and for which he is working through the church for your good. It undermines that primary purpose. If we live, brothers and sisters, for this age, for this present age, and we grumble and complain, we live in rejection of what the Lord has given us to become citizens who think like citizens of that age. We undermine, we reject what the Lord has given us to become citizens of that kingdom. We live in opposition to the will of God. We live in opposition to the Christian ministry. And it's ultimately in gratitude for the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. So at the outset of chapter four, second Corinthians chapter four, Paul then is describing Christian ministry. It's a description of the Christian ministry in the midst of tremendous difficulty, tremendous adversity in Corinth. It turns out that the church in Corinth is remarkably immature. The church at Corinth is remarkably immature. Paul's writing to them in 1 Corinthians as to babes in Christ. He's writing to them as babies. Why is that? Because in the church at Corinth, factionalism is present, division, There's discord in the church at Corinth, strife, contention has plagued the church. Until Paul's repeated rebukes, the Corinthians have done little to effectively deal with the problem. Savage wolves have infiltrated the church at Corinth. They've begun speaking against Paul, undermining biblical authority in the church, leading away disciples after themselves. So that we understand the context, a full-scale mutiny is underway in Corinth, as Paul writes. The accusations are flying. Paul's physical or personal presence is weak, but his letters are harsh. They're worded harshly. His words too severe. Paul's speech is contemptible, they say. He was fickle and duplicitous in his decisions. He didn't have the acceptable credentials, they would argue. He was mishandling the money. Paul was accused of mishandling finances as they pertain the church at Corinth. It places Paul in the unenviable position of having to defend his ministry, of playing defense, right? Having to defend his authority, having to defend his teaching, having to defend his own integrity, the integrity of his own ministry among them. And Paul confesses in all of this to being downcast, to being discouraged concerning them. Was it true that Paul had changed his mind about his decision to come to Corinth? Yes, it was. But they painted that in such an uncharitable light as Paul being fickle and duplicitous. Was it true that Paul was handling the finances for a collection that would go to the saints in Jerusalem? Yes, it was. But then they exploited Paul's own handling of the finances to accuse him of being a money mongerer. to being greedy or covetous. And Paul confesses to all this as being very difficult, Paul confesses to being downcast, confesses to discouragement. It's in those circumstances, you think about those circumstances, it's in those circumstances that Paul opens chapter four in verse one. Therefore, verse one, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. We do not lose heart. The word there conveys the temptation to give up. The word conveys the temptation to give out under the burdens associated with the work, giving up in the face of difficulty, rather than continuing the fight, succumbing the doubts, succumbing the fears, slowing down or turning back, rather than pressing forward. The first reason that Paul gives for pressing forward in the face of this difficulty is the mercy that God has shown him. God has been abundantly merciful. As we have received mercy, verse one, we do not lose heart. The grammar speaks of past action with present effect. Past action, right? The one moment of the past, that past action, refers to Paul's conversion. He's referring to the Lord saving him. on the roads of Damascus. That past act of mercy has present and profound effect on Paul's present course. God has saved me, I will not lose heart. I will not turn back, I will not cease from the work. Paul considered a tremendous mercy for God who has saved him that day. And he considered a tremendous mercy that the Lord has now called him into gospel ministry. He considered a privilege, a blessing that he gets to work in the Lord's vineyard. In other words, in other words, We are not in the church, hearing the word, worshiping with saints, serving with the body because we deserve it. We're not here because we deserve it. We're not served by the body because we're entitled to it. You are not, I am not owed anything. We're not owed anything. All of it then is tremendous mercy, tremendous mercy. As we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. We're not entitled to comfort. In fact, we are appointed to affliction and that after the example of our Lord Jesus Christ. And for that, we can be grateful. As we have received such mercy, we do not lose heart. Rather than losing heart, Paul says this in verse two, but rather, we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience inside of God. Rather than losing heart, rather than abandoning his post as a minister of the gospel, Paul says we commend ourselves. Paul says we show ourselves worthy of our calling in what way? By the unvarnished, clear, and complete proclamation of the truth. We show ourselves to be worthy of our calling by not handling the word of God deceitfully, but by a manifestation of the truth. Do you see? We commend ourselves as God's servants by continuing to preach his word. That's how you do it, right? You preach God's word. That manifestation of the truth is visible to all those who hear, to every man's conscience. It is also evident to the one who hears. the one who judges the living and the dead. It's evident in the sight of God. That is a manifestation of the truth, and that is a manifestation of Paul's calling. He continues to preach the word. But not only do we have God's mercy, not only do we have God's mission, preaching the word, that mission is going to be wrought with difficulty, verse three. But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the God of this age has blinded, who do not believe. And they don't believe lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. We may commend ourselves to every man's conscience by a manifestation of the truth, by preaching the word of God, but that gospel is veiled. It is hidden from those who are on their way to destruction. It's not that the message is unclear. It's not that Paul or ministers of the gospel are incapable. It's not that the message is unpersuasive. It's not that the message is weak. It's that the message is veiled. The sun is no less glorious because the blind man can't see it. The sun is glorious. There is a powerful, deceitful, and deadly actor that moves against those who are on their way to destruction. He moves against those who are perishing. He is one who is working for their destruction. And he is described here as the God of this age, in the sense that this fallen world lies under his sway. And his battleground here, verse four, is described as the minds of those who are perishing. He has blinded the minds of those who do not believe. It is Satan's agenda. Satan's agenda perpetrated or perpetuated through the ideology of this world. And it's his agenda that causes grumbling and complaining and disputing, strife, contention, division, discord. Ultimately, he causes death. It is his way of thinking that would lead men to divide the Lord's church, presuming to think that they are serving the Lord's church. It is his way of thinking that causes strife. It is his way of thinking that leads to contention. It is his way of thinking that leads to division. And that's simply all there is to it. It is his way of thinking that would lead others to follow divisive men rather than adhering to basic principles contained in God's word. It is his way of thinking that leads to continued strife and contention. To the one who has been blinded by the God of this age, the treasure in the field is a common stone. To the one who has been blinded by the God of this age, the pearl of great price is costume jewelry. To the one who has been blinded by the God of this age, the Lord's gifts to his church simply aren't enough. The good news for God's messengers is that we proclaim a savior that overcomes blindness. Who is the treasure hidden in the field? Who is the pearl of great price? And we cannot be discouraged with those results. We preach a glorious gospel. We cannot become disheartened when the ministry is hard. We cannot become disheartened when we don't see the results that we would hope to see. We cannot lose heart, why? Verse five, we do not preach ourselves, We preach Christ Jesus, the Lord, and ourselves, your bondservants, for Jesus' sake. For it is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. As we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, although that message is often veiled, to those who are perishing, whose minds the God of this age has blinded. When we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, it is God who shines the light of the gospel into the darkened hearts of lost people. And he does so in order that they might see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. That's our work, that's our mission, amen? That's what we're to do. So as we have received such mercy, as we have received such a mission, such a message, As we've received such mercy, we do not, we cannot lose heart. We cannot lose heart. Now, in verses seven through 12, Paul then explains how this ministry, this ministry in that glory will be characterized by suffering. It'll be characterized by trials and tribulations, by great difficulty, great hardship. And that pervasive suffering is matched only by our pervasive weakness. So to add, to use a colloquial phrase, to add insult to injury, right? To add to the suffering, we add our own weakness. Verse seven, we have this treasure, this gospel, we have this treasure deposited in earthen vessels. The container is ordinary. The messenger is common, unremarkable, insignificant, weak. It's not iron or bronze. It's a clay pot. It's not a porcelain vase. It's not a porcelain vase. It is a clay pot. A clay pot was perishable. I remember when we went through second Corinthians years ago, A clay pot was like the solo cup of that day. You wouldn't even put a solo cup in the dishwasher most of the time. You would throw that away. It's perishable. This is how Paul thought of himself. He thought of himself as a clay pot. He thought of ministers of the gospel as clay pots. We are brothers and sisters, we are clay pots. And what has been deposited with us is an incalculable treasure. This is the description of you and I in Christian ministry in the Lord's church. The container is common and weak. The contents are priceless. You are going to face difficulty. How long do you think you're going to last in the work apart from the grace of God? Not, you can set your egg timer by it. You're not going to last. You're going to face discouragement. You're going to face doubts. You're going to face difficulties that you're not able to bear. You're going to face hardship. You're going to face adversity. You can fold under the weight of discouragement, you can shrink back in the face of difficulty, you can give in to your doubts and fears, or you can acknowledge and you can embrace your weakness. You can reject self-reliance. You can pour contempt on your pride. You can exercise faith, independence upon God, seek his approval alone and not the approval of all those who reject you. Bind yourself to the horns of the altar in your service to Christ and his church. Make of yourselves a whole and continual burnt offering in your reasonable service to the Lord. And when you do, you know that you follow the pattern laid down by the Lord Christ himself. And you fill up in your flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, and God's power is displayed in your weakness to his praise and glory. Do you see? Now Paul describes that principle in verse seven. We have this treasure in earthen vessels so that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. When we work in labor in the Lord's work in the ministry, And when doing, you rest in and even boast in God's power. When you refuse to budge, when you refuse to shrink back in the face of adversity, when you set your face like Flint in the work of the ministry, trusting him as you simply do what he has called you to do, then you experience his power in your weakness. You experience his power in your weakness. Verse eight, we are hard pressed on every side, yet we're not crushed. We are perplexed, but we are not in despair. Persecuted, but we are not forsaken. Struck down, but we are not destroyed. Always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. Although we may be constantly afflicted, perplexed even, persecuted and cast down by God's grace and through God's power alone, we are never restricted in real despair, abandoned or destroyed. So Paul learned to see in his trials, Paul learned to see in his suffering, his own weakness in the face of those trials, And he learned to see his own weakness and he learned to see his own suffering then as conduits through which God supplied Paul with power and with faith. They became conduits through which God worked through Paul for his own glory. And the fruit of that understanding was a mature and a bold faith, a mature faith. Paul understood his trials. He understood his difficulties. He understood his suffering. And he understood his weakness in the midst of all that so that God would receive the glory when God came through in power to deliver him and to work through him. What resulted was a fearless, a determined, and a resolute, a resolved faith in the Lord in the work of the ministry. He knew, Paul knew everywhere he went that change and tribulations awaited him. Everywhere he went. And Paul persisted. Why? Because he knew that God would work through that to save people, to deliver him. God trusted the Lord. God trusted the Lord. Paul had a bold, resolved faith, a mature faith. In all of that, brothers and sisters, our weakness is not an obstacle to our work. Our weakness is necessary to our work. Suffering, difficulty, adversity, is not an obstacle to our work. It's the means through which that work is going to get done. You could say, that if we determined that we didn't want suffering, didn't want difficulty or adversity in the work, we just won't do the work. That's the way to have ease and comfort. Those who are outside, not doing the work of the Lord, many of them are at ease. Many of them enjoy comforts in this life. those who are doing the work of the ministry, it's not the suffering and the adversity that becomes an obstacle to the work of the ministry. It's through suffering, through difficulty, that the work of the ministry is pressed forward. If we're going to accomplish things for the Lord, if we're going to accomplish His work, if we're going to spread the gospel, if we're going to see people saved, if we're going to see fruit for His name, it's going to come through difficulty. It's going to come through adversity. As we, brothers and sisters, acknowledge our own weakness so that we can become conduits in that work of God's own power. Verse 10, we are always then, if we're prepared to be involved in the work of ministry, verse 10, we are always carrying about in us the body, carrying about in our body, the dying of the Lord Jesus. We're constantly suffering, constantly facing adversity, so that, verse 10, the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. so that His divine power might be manifested in weak clay pots, you see? That His power might be manifested in our perseverance. That His power might be manifest in our endurance. That His power might be manifested in our hope, in our joy, in our contentment. Four, verse 11, we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake. The Lord himself delivers us up to constant suffering, constant adversity, so that, verse 11, the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. so that His divine power might be manifest in weak, cracked clay pots, so that His life might be manifested in those who will die, those who have died to self in Him, those who have died to sin in Him, and those who will eventually die and be raised again in Him. So then, verse 12, death is working in us, Paul says, but life in you. That through his divine power, at work through weak clay pots, bringing forth fruit for his glory. Verse 13, and since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, I believe, and therefore I spoke, since we have the same spirit of faith as that psalmist, we also believe and therefore speak, knowing this, that he who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus and will present us with you. We can press forward through difficulty in the work because we brothers and sisters will be raised from the dead. This life is a shadow. It is a mist that vanishes with the dawn. That life is eternal and we will be raised with him. We can endure, we can persevere through suffering and trials. Our Lord persevered through suffering and trial for us. We can persevere knowing that God works through our weakness to accomplish his ends in power. That quote, verse 13, is a reference to Psalm 116. Turn there with me, Psalm 116. In Psalm 116, the psalmist remembers how God has delivered him from difficulty. And he acknowledges that God's gift of salvation is not anything that he deserves, right? He's remembering the gift, he's delighting in the gift, he's delighting in the one who has given the gift, and he knows that he doesn't deserve it. What do you think that's going to lead to? It's going to lead to gratitude, right? Verse five, Psalm 116, verse five, gracious is the Lord and righteous. Yes, our God is merciful. The Lord preserves the simple. He preserves the weak, the hopeless, the incapable. He preserves the clay pots. I was brought low in great need and he saved me. That's what our Lord does. He is our rock, our refuge, our deliverer. Verse seven, return to your rest, oh my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from falling. I know from experience that I can trust him. I have learned from the trials that I have faced that I can rely on him. Return to your rest, oh my soul. So, verse nine, remembering those things, I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. I will serve him. I believed, therefore I spoke. I am greatly afflicted. I said in my haste, or in my fear, all men are liars. They are of no help to me. All right, in other words, I have put my faith in him in the midst of my suffering, I'm trusting him. And because I believe in him, I have poured out my heart to him in prayer. I believed, therefore I raised my voice to him. He knew in a moment that all men are false, all men are deceitful, unreliable, untrustworthy. He knew that he could not place his trust in men, but he also knew that the Lord was willing and able to save. In our times of suffering, we know who we can rely on. Amen? We know who we can trust in. We know who we can lift our lament to. Paul picks up this quote in 2 Corinthians 4. But he also picks up the context. And Paul essentially says, we share the same faith as this psalmist. We know who preserves us through tribulation. We know who delivers us in our trials. We know that he works in those trials, in our suffering, with divine power through our own weakness. We know that. And I, Paul says, I believe in Him. Therefore, I will pray with the psalmist. I will lift up my voice in prayer to the one who saves the simple, and He will deliver me. Brothers and sisters, we have that as a promise from God. That is a promise. He will deliver us out of all our tribulation. Do you believe that? He will, he will preserve us as his people, justified through faith, in union with his son, he will preserve us. Then the psalmist asked this question, in light of that knowledge, verse 12, what shall I render the Lord for all his benefits toward me? What am I to render to him? I can't repay God for his grace, can I, can you? If we could repay Him, it wouldn't be grace, would it? We can't repay Him. What can I do? I can worship Him. And I can express my gratitude to Him. I can tell others about it. That's what I can do. What shall I render the Lord for all His benefits toward me? I will take up the cup of salvation. I will take it up and I will call upon the name of the Lord. It means to worship him. I will worship him. I will pay my vows. The creature is obligated to worship in gratitude. I will pay my vows to the Lord now in the presence of all his people. I will obey him. I will worship him. I will tell others about it. Verse 15, precious, prized, highly valued in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. The Lord is not indifferent toward me. The Lord is not so aloof that he doesn't understand or see or hear my cries, doesn't see my suffering or my pain. He will care for me and he will care for me to the end. I will never, the psalmist is saying this, I will never die apart from his sovereign care or apart from his sovereign plan. He believes it. Oh Lord, verse 16, Truly, I am your servant. I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. In other words, I serve you and all those who serve you. I'm your servant and the son of your maidservant. I serve you and everyone who serves you. You have loosed my bond. You've delivered me from death. Therefore, verse 17, what can I do? I can offer up the sacrifice of thanksgiving. I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and will call upon the name of the Lord. I will worship you with thanksgiving. The psalm was written for the people of God to praise and worship God in the midst of their trials. It was written so that they would praise him and thank him and be grateful to him in the midst of their suffering, to give glory to God in the midst of their weakness, to give glory to God who delivers them. And the praise and the glory that they ascribe to God, the sacrifice of thanksgiving that they offer to God, is given in the context of faith. They're in the context of trial, in the context of suffering, and so that faith is expressed through their gratitude, through their thanksgiving. It's a faith that is matured in the crucible of adversity, the crucible of affliction. And brothers and sisters, that's all we can do is to thank Him. We cannot repay God for His grace. All we can do, all we have is the sacrifice of praise and gratitude. And because the death of His saints is of great importance to our God, He is faithful to deliver them from their suffering, faithful to preserve them during their suffering, to cause them to persevere, to preserve them through their trials in compassion and by His grace, by His power. And this is for the purpose, this is for the purpose that we might acknowledge His goodness, that we might acknowledge His power in the midst of the assembly of His saints as we offer gratitude to the praise of His glory. Now, Paul expresses that very same sentiment in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 15. The principle of faith at work in the psalmist is the very same principle of faith at work in Paul. And it must be, it must be the very same principle of faith at work in us who believe. All the difficulty that they had faced together, all the trials, all the tribulations that accompanied their work in gospel ministry, all the circumstances in which they were proven to be weak, clay, pots, powerless, all those circumstances in which they were manifest to be weak. All of that was for the purpose that the people of God would abound in their gratitude to God. Isn't that interesting? Isn't that interesting that our difficulties, our adversity, our suffering is to cause us to abound in gratitude to God, the one who raises the dead, and that that might terminate upon his glory. Verse 15, 2 Corinthians 4, verse 15. For all things are for your sakes, all the things that we endure, all the things that we suffer in the work of the ministry, in the work of ministering to the saints, all things are for your sakes so that This grace, the grace that God pours out upon us during that time, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound or to overflow to the glory of God. Paul is essentially saying, what shall we render to the Lord for all his many benefits toward us? We will gladly and joyfully press on in faith, We will gladly and joyfully embrace the difficulty, rejoice even in our infirmities, boasting in our weakness, because as the grace of God through us produces fruit, thanksgiving will abound to the glory of God. How much suffering has been endured in the history of the church that you might hear the gospel. Those apostles through whom we believed died for their faith. The growth of the church has been in the bloodied soil of the martyrs. How many, how much persecution, how much suffering, how much adversity, how much difficulty, has been passed through so that God might work in power through their weakness to glorify himself in your salvation. To glorify, to magnify the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ who suffered shame, death, torment in our place on the tree. Can you see how all our trials then are to serve the purpose of making us a grateful people? It is so that all these things are for your sakes, so that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. When we are delivered, when God shows up in power to accomplish his work through weak clay pots, what is the response of God's people? Gratitude. Thank you, Lord. That abounds, that thanksgiving abounds to the glory of God. We cannot grumble under the weight of our difficulty. We cannot complain under the weight of our affliction. We must delight in our God who preserves us through suffering, who preserves us through affliction. We must delight in his gracious benefits toward us, the one who works all things together, even our difficulty, for our good. In that delighting in him, delighting in the gifts that he's poured out on us, we need to see ourselves, brothers, as undeserving. We need to see us, ourselves, as weak, as common clay pots. And then, brothers and sisters, we need to offer the sacrifice of praise with thanksgiving to his name for his glory. Amen, amen. Pray with me. Father in heaven, we thank you for this a seemingly paradoxical truth that our suffering and our weakness converge in our circumstances to be conduits, as it were, for your power in order that we might be a grateful people and our gratitude might abound to the glory of God. It's an amazing truth. Lord, thank you for this perspective that we have, that you've given us from your word to place on our own trials and difficulties, in our own adversity, in our own weakness, and cause us, Lord, to be a people that rely upon you. With the psalmist, our soul takes rest as we rely on your power, your strength in the midst of our difficulties. as we watch you work in divine power to execute your decrees and cause us to be a people who, in our difficulty, have a mature, steadfast, immovable faith. And that we rely on you when we face circumstances like we face. We will not become grumblers or complainers or disputers, but that we would rest in you as you accomplish your work. As we see you bear fruit through those means to your own glory, we praise your name and gratitude. We are weak, yet we show you how weak we are. We are undeserving, lavish upon assertion, incalculable riches. We are grateful to you for these things. We are just grateful to you. Cultivate an innocent, mature, and steadfast faith in the causes that you do. Abound in this praise and gratitude to you for the riches that you bring. you Hello, and thanks for listening. My name is Mark Brashear, and I have the blessed privilege of serving with the saints at Cornerstone Church near Orlando, Florida. We're so grateful that you've connected with us through the sermon that you've just heard. For more information, visit us at cornerstoneorlando.org, or better yet, come and see us on the Lord's Day at 3370 Snow Hill Road in Oviedo, Florida. We're just east of Orlando and about 15 minutes from the campus at UCF. It would be a joy to have you worship with us.