Well, a few years ago, a retired minister of the gospel approached me with his concern about the state of ministers in their latter decade of service, age 55 and up. And this retired minister perceives that we have a major crisis in ministers who are not finishing well. He sees many in this age group as being either discouraged or complacent. They've lost their idealism, their passion, and their zeal for sharing the gospel. But brothers and sisters, it's not just ministers. As I've taught classes on evangelism, I have asked people what word first comes to their minds when they think about sharing the gospel. And you know what word I hear most often? is the word fear. So we have discouragement, complacency, and fear when it comes to sharing the gospel, when it comes to sharing that which we say we believe and are passionate about. What's wrong? Could it be that our expectations are wrong? On the one hand, we're too optimistic, but on the other hand, we're too pessimistic. We're too optimistic about the church's ministry. We think that spreading the gospel and seeing people become followers of Jesus Christ is something that we can do. We think that it's something that's within our abilities. We think it's something we can program in the church. But that's not what the scripture says. Scripture says that from a human perspective, from a human perspective, the ministry of the gospel is beyond difficult. It's impossible. Our Lord Jesus said that it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. But then the disciples asked Jesus, who then can be saved? And what was Jesus' answer? With man, this is impossible. So we have it on the highest authority that from a human perspective, it's impossible. Yet on the other hand, we're too pessimistic. Because gospel ministry is impossible from a human perspective, we think that therefore it is altogether impossible. And we neglect the further teaching of Jesus that while with man this is indeed impossible, with God all things are possible. So this morning I want to challenge you to lose your confidence in yourself. Lose your confidence in yourself. But I also want to challenge you to grow in your confidence in God. And in doing that I want to change the word that comes to your mind when you think about sharing the gospel. I want to change that word from the word fear to the word glory, to the word glory. Our scripture this morning is 2 Corinthians 4, 1 through 7. And we have read that passage out loud, but now I want you to do something. I want you each to find the Bible and to read that passage again. 2 Corinthians 4, 1 through 7. I want you to read it again silently. And then I want you to take two minutes and turn to someone beside you or to a couple of people beside you and to discuss this question. Who are all the players involved in sharing the gospel? Who are all the personalities? Who all is involved in sharing the gospel? So read silently 2 Corinthians 4, 1 through 7 and then turn to someone near you and discuss what you see there about who's involved when we share the gospel. OK, if you finish reading it, discuss with someone near you who all is involved in sharing the gospel. Or who are all the players involved when we share the gospel? Okay. Okay, talk to me. Who all is involved? Okay, God, others, and we. Is that all? Okay, God's involved. Okay, the Holy Spirit's involved. So God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, others, and us. But there's at least somebody else involved. The God of this age, yes. And how is the God of this age involved? Blinding the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing. And that, brothers and sisters, is why it's impossible from a human perspective. If we were just debating with somebody about, you know, what color these walls are, You know, that would be one thing. People aren't blind to that. Well, maybe some people are colorblind. But when it comes to seeing the glory of God in the gospel, the God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers. So from a human perspective, it's impossible. And therefore, we need the involvement, like you said, of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So there's much more going on here than just us and the people we're sharing with. It's us, the people we're sharing with. It's the God of this age, the God of this world, and it is God involved. And we need to understand that to understand what all is going on when we share the gospel. Now that we understand the players, I want you to see that the chief issue involved is glory. Glory. The light or the glory of the gospel, is to reveal the glory of Jesus Christ, who as the image of God, opens up to us God's glory, which we as sinful human beings otherwise couldn't see. So we've got the glory of the gospel, the glory of Jesus Christ, and the glory of God. Understanding these three aspects of glory, I now want to explain how keeping glory in mind helps you in sharing the gospel. Let this focus on glory empower your approach to evangelism. The first glory that we see is the glory of the gospel. And the glory of the gospel imparts confidence. It imparts confidence. Look at Paul's confidence in verse 1 of chapter 4. He says, therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. He doesn't lose heart. He doesn't give in to that fear that so often comes to mind when we think about evangelism and gospel ministry. Verse 1, though, begins with the word, therefore. And therefore is looking back to what he has said in chapter 3. And chapter 3 is all about the glory of the gospel. And in chapter 3 verse 12, Paul states his confidence in the gospel more positively. Whereas he begins chapter 4 verse 1 by saying he doesn't lose heart, look what he says in chapter 3 verse 12. He says, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. It's not just that he doesn't lose heart. He's very bold in his presentation of the gospel. He's got great confidence. But what is the source of this hope that gives him such boldness? We'll look back a little farther. Look to chapter 3 beginning at verse 4. And we'll look at verse 4 through verse 11. And he says, such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, this is the case. What once had glory has come to have no glory at all because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, Much more will what is permanent have glory. The Apostle Paul's boldness comes from the glory of the gospel. The glory that brings life. And his confidence in the gospel shapes the way that he shares it. In chapter 4, verse 2, he talks about how he shares the gospel. He says, 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. The way that he shares the gospel is without shame. It's without shame because he's renounced disgraceful and underhanded ways. It is also without deception or distortion. He doesn't use cunning, but most of all, he doesn't tamper with God's Word. You know, we have a tendency to want to tamper with God's Word, in our minds make it a little more appealing to a modern audience. But the Apostle Paul says he didn't do that, not tampering, not adulterating God's Word. Instead, by the open statement of the truth. You know, one way that we tamper with God's Word in this day and age is by minimizing the diagnosis of our sin and of our need for God's grace. As Rico Teiss, the developer of Christianity Explored, says, we tend to try to put the gospel on sale for people. That is, we try to cut the price so that more will buy. And instead, what the Apostle Paul says, essentially, is be straight with people. The open statement of the truth. Just tell them what God's Word says. You know, we are sowers of a very powerful seed. The Gospel seed. And therefore, we have to have confidence in that seed. But that's true of anybody that sows seed. You know, is there anything that looks more lifeless than a seed? This is a seed of a pole bean. And I don't know if any of you are gardeners, but I plant pole beans every summer. And this little seed will produce a plant that way exceeds me in height and will multiply itself many times over. But I have to have confidence in the seed, that something like this, I don't need to help it. I don't need to pull it apart and try to make it more powerful. I just need to trust that the life is implanted in this seed, and what I need to do is sow it in good soil, or sow it in the soil, and trust God to make that good soil. Do what we can, but trust the seed. It's got the power of life in itself. And so it is with the gospel that's described in many places in scripture as a seed that is sowed in soil. Or let's think of it another way. If you go to a physician and you've got some kind of illness that is really serious, what do you want from that physician? You want that physician to give you a diagnosis and a cure. A diagnosis and a cure. You don't want the physician to try to sugarcoat it. You don't want to make the diagnosis go down easy. What you want is an accurate diagnosis. Because it takes an accurate diagnosis to prescribe the correct cure. The correct treatment to whatever illness or disease that you have. But you see, that's where we've got a problem in today's world and in the church. Because we are, I think, cutting the diagnosis and trying to make it more palpable. And some of the false gospels that are out there is that one is that our chief problem is that we are victims and that somebody is taking advantage of us. So for victims, what do we need? We need an advocate who will restore us and will overcome our victimhood. So that's one false gospel that's out there. Another false gospel out there says where really the problem is that we're empty. Maybe we're empty of self-esteem or self-confidence. And if the diagnosis is that we're empty, then we need somebody to come in and pour in what we lack, to fill our emptiness of self-confidence and give us self-confidence. Or there's another false gospel that says, really, we're just kind of sick. And if we're kind of sick, we just need somebody to come alongside and care for us. But one thing that I think any... accurate presentation of the gospel and like Christianity Explored or whatever other presentation is, you need to get the diagnosis right. And what is the diagnosis? The diagnosis is in fact that we are rebels against the living God. We are rebels against the rightful king of this universe. And if we are rebels, then the diagnosis is that we need a rescue that will lead us to repentance. and to true change, true change, the hole in our holiness. We need to change. Or we need to understand that in our rebellion, we are hopelessly dead and lost. We're not just sick. We're not just empty. We're not just victims. We are hopelessly dead and lost. And if we're hopelessly dead and lost, then what do we need? in terms of the way of diagnosis. If we're dead, what can we do? If we're dead, I mean, we really can't, we need help from outside. We need a substitute, somebody to do it for us. We need a savior who can give us new life. So that's the confidence that we have in the gospel. The glory of the gospel is that it points us in the right diagnosis and it points us to the right cure, which is someone outside of ourself, which then points us to the second glory that I want you to see, and that's the glory of Christ. The glory of Christ. And as people share in the gospel, it removes the pressure to save people yourself. You're not the Savior. The glory of Christ shows us that you're not the Savior. And understanding that you're not the Savior then is going to give you both humility and boldness. Wait a minute, those are opposite. How can it give us both humility and boldness? Well, understand that the glory comes from another source and not from us. So we don't need to prove our own glory and that sets us free in evangelism. Look again at verse 2 of chapter 4. It says, 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. It's just the open statement of the truth. That's what commends us, not anything that we have to do ourselves. And that takes the pressure off of us. Or look down to verse 5. It says, For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ is Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. We don't have to prove ourselves, but see ourselves as servants. And whom do we serve? We serve God in his ministry to people. How? By joining God in what he is doing. Because what he is doing is what's important. Which means that we also serve others for Jesus' sake. The light that shines through you is God's light. Don't corrupt it by pretending that you are something that you're not. But in order to be servants for Jesus' sake, we discern what God is doing in people's life. So that's going to involve us in asking questions. It's going to involve us in listening, observing, and looking beyond perceived barriers. Barriers where we think that person is just so hardened that he will never come to faith in Jesus Christ. Verse 5 says, do not make it about yourself. It's not about yourself. But it's about Jesus Christ as Lord. And with Jesus Christ as Lord, then we are just merely servants. But then verse 6 says that we are recognizing that God's light is shining in your heart. It's God's light that transforms you so that through you it can transform others. So chapter six says, 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. as we present the gospel, the open statement of the truth, then what people are going to see as God, the Holy Spirit, applies it to people's heart is they're going to see the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. That means we don't make it about our face. It's about continually pointing to the gospel, pointing to Jesus' face through which people see the gospel. Look again back up to chapter 3, the last verse in chapter 3, verse 18. And it says, And we all with unveiled faces, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. Where does the gospel change come from? It comes from with unveiled faces beholding the Lord's glory. And it's the glory that does the transforming work. And then that leads us up in chapter 4 to the last verse that I had read for us, which is verse 7. It says, but we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. What were clay pots in the first century? They were merely storage containers. Merely storage containers. And one thing you know about the clay pot is not the pot itself that's important. It's what's in the pot that's important. And it's what's in the pot that makes the clay jar important. And so it says here that we have this treasure in jars of clay, merely storage containers to show that their surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. Now, understanding that is a word of encouragement or word of grace to us. That means that none of us are so lowly or so humble that we can't share the gospel of Jesus Christ because we're all equal jars of clay. And so it doesn't matter if you're a PhD and you've never graduated from high school. It doesn't matter if you're somebody who's got a great personality and an outward going extroverted personality and you're an introvert who's very shy. You see it's not about you. You are the clay pot and you just hold that treasure, which is the gospel. And therefore, none of you are so humble that you cannot share the gospel. And so that gives you boldness in sharing. But it's also a word of challenge to be gracious with other people. None of us are God's gift to gospel ministry. None of us are. We're all just clay pots. And so we need to be gracious with others as they are growing in their ability to be able to share the gospel of God's grace. And so that's how seeing the glory of Christ gives you both humility and boldness. Reverend Kevin Allen is the Associate Pastor of Evangelism at Village 7 Presbyterian Church in Colorado Springs. It's a PCA church that's been using Christianity Explored now for more than 10 years. And as I've talked to Reverend Allen, here's what he says about using Christianity Explored as an evangelistic ministry. He says, you need to trust the material. The material takes people through the gospel according to Mark. And so it uses the gospel to present the gospel. And what you need to do is, just like this seed, you need to trust that the power is in the gospel. So trust the material and present it. And then in relation to that, he says you need to be patient. Be patient, just as the seed. It takes time for that life to come out of that seed and sprout and for it to grow into a great vine. And so it takes time for that gospel to sprout in people's lives so that it can be seen, the response. And then here's most important, he says, is you don't have to dump the whole gospel in the first 15 minutes that you're with somebody. You just don't have to do that. You trust the gospel. And it is the Holy Spirit at work as you faithfully present the gospel that then brings it to life and produces the results in people's lives. And he says when he's seen Christianity explored not work in places is when people think that they have got to add to it and they've got to do something other than presenting the gospel. He says be patient, carefully present the gospel, don't try to sell it, don't be cunning, don't tamper with God's Word, but trust it to do its work. So we've got the glory of the gospel, we've got the glory of Christ, and the third thing that I want you to see is God's glory shining through you that causes people to change. Now, one thing that's clear from this passage is it takes a miracle for people to respond to the gospel. And that's why I did the exercise earlier to have you look at who's involved in sharing the gospel. And that it's more than just you and the other person. There needs to be a miracle of removing the veil for anybody to come to Christ. Look what it says in verse 3 in chapter 4. It says, even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. So there's a miracle required for anybody to come to Christ. A miracle of healing and restoration. A miracle of removing the blinders so that people who are blind can see. A miracle of resurrection. But the good news, brothers and sisters, is in verse 6, is that God is able to perform such a miracle. Because it says, for God who said, let light shine out of darkness. Now where did that happen? Where did God say, let light shine out of darkness? Creation, back in Genesis 1. Back before there was a sun or a moon or any other source of light that we would normally think of. God said to the darkness, let light shine. Now if God is able to make light when there was no light, is it something that he can't do to restore light to blind eyes? Is that not a miracle that God himself, that's easily within his capabilities? It's not too difficult for him to open blind eyes. But you know, Ephesians 2, in talking about the same thing, uses an even more graphic image. It says that you were dead. You weren't just blind, you were dead in your trespasses and sins. But God took you when you were dead in your sins and made you alive in Jesus Christ. So not only can God open blind eyes so they can see, He can raise those that are dead. So you believe it's too difficult for him to take the most hardened atheist and bring that person to him? No, not at all. Because in fact, it was just as difficult for each one of you to respond to the gospel. Because we were all blind. We were all dead. The fact that it takes a miracle of God should remove our optimism in our own means. But it also should remove our pessimism in thinking that it's impossible for someone to come to Christ. It should cause us not to give up on those that we think are hopeless cases. And it should lead us to not go around pre-qualifying people as the ones who are most likely to respond. and thinking, okay, I'll respond to him because I think Bill might respond, but I'm not going to present the gospel to him because it's just beyond him. It's going to move us beyond pre-qualifying people as to who we present the gospel to according to who we think will respond. I mean, after all, just think in biblical days, the very author that the Holy Spirit used to write this passage in 2 Corinthians was the Apostle Paul. And was there anybody in the first century that would have probably seen more unlikely to respond to the gospel than the Apostle Paul? I mean, the Apostle Paul says himself that he was, you know, among those that were the least likely to respond. So if God can take the Apostle Paul and literally blind him by the light on the road to Damascus so that the scales fell off his eyes so that now he can see, then is there anybody today that's beyond hope with the gospel? Let's think of a modern example. Have any of you seen the book out there, I think it's called The Confessions of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield? Has anybody seen that? It's an amazing story. This is a lady who was a professor of postmodern thought at Syracuse University. She was a professed lesbian who was the advisor to the gay and lesbian community on the campus at Syracuse University. And she was in the process of writing a book that was critical of the religious right and saying how wrong the right was. And in the midst of that, she wrote an article that was published in the paper. And a reformed Presbyterian North American pastor. Now, you need to understand, reformed Presbyterian North America, this isn't the seeker kind of services. This is the non-instrumental, psalm-only singers, you know, relying on the power of the word, an elderly, Reformed Presbyterian Church North American pastor wrote a letter in response to the article that she'd had published in the paper, critical of the religious right, and just very carefully challenging her and her presuppositions. It took two years of very carefully sharing the gospel, the open statement of the truth, and praying for Rosaria. But Rosaria, two years later, came to Christ and is now a pastor's wife. Her husband is a pastor of Reform Presbyterian Church North America congregation in Durham, North Carolina. If the Apostle Paul, if Rosaria Butterfield can come to Christ, those that would seem the least likely cases, then brothers and sisters, God is able to perform the miracle of anybody. So that should give us great confidence that the gospel, that God's glory shining through causes people to change. Well, I want to leave you with a question, a prayer, an attitude, and a hope. The question is this. What question would we ask in order to gauge our success in sharing the gospel? What question do we need to ask? Well, based on this passage of Scripture, the question we need to ask is, did I present Christ, and did I do so without deception? Did I present Christ, and did I do so without deception? I want to leave you with a prayer. Pray for a miracle of God. This is a vital but often overlooked element in evangelism. If people's response depends on a miracle of God's grace, opening blind eyes and raising the dead, then prayer is absolutely crucial because God is the one that does the work. I want to leave you with an attitude. The attitude is humility. Brothers and sisters, you're not salesmen. You are not salesmen. You don't have to sell the gospel. It doesn't need selling. Rather, you're a midwife privileged to assist in the miracle of new birth. The life is there. You get the privilege of assisting in the delivery. And then I want to leave you with hope. And the hope is this, even the least likely person may one day come to Christ. Rico Tice says, pray 2 Corinthians 4, 6 over people. 2 Corinthians 4, 6 is for God who said, let light shine out of darkness as shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. How would you pray that over people? How would you turn that into a prayer? Oh God, please, I pray, let your light shine out of darkness. Let your light shine through me. Shine the light into the heart of this person to give them the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Pray that over people. Pray that over people every day. Praying for God to unleash in them the same power that created light out of darkness. We have hope because God is zealous for his glory. That's an underlying theme in Psalm 67. That was our Old Testament reading. May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your ways may be known on the earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the people praise you, O God. Let all the peoples praise you. God is zealous for His glory, that His glory go out to all the nations. Or think, since we're just coming out of Christmas time, think of the great hope that are in our various Christmas carols. But think particularly of the hope that's in the carol Joy to the World, The Lord is Come. The fourth verse of that carol says, He rules the world with truth and grace and makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness and wonders of His love. God is zealous for his glory, and that gives us confidence and hope in sharing the gospel. And may we be obedient to do that. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, I pray that as we start a new year, as we enter into 2014, that Lord, you would give us great expectation of your glory shining through us into the hearts of men and women. But Lord, may we do that. not through cunning or craftiness or any way trying to tamper with your word. But Lord, give us courage to buy the open statement of truth, to share Jesus, to share the light of the gospel with other people, that they might come to the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Let me pray this in his name. Amen.