2 Corinthians 4:1-6 - Why We Don't Lose Heart

let's open our Bibles this morning to second Corinthians chapter 4 verse 1 I think life in a fallen evil world is a struggle Elif as said to job when he was giving him counsel man is born to trouble like sparks fly upward and I don't think it's any different for the Christian life in fact the more devoted you decide to be to Jesus and his cause the more difficult your life in this world will become jesus said to his disciples and warning them I've told you these things so that you might have peace in the world you're gonna have tribulation when Paul and Barnabas circled the churches that had been planted in his first missionary journey we read about their ministry in acts 14 and it says that they went from church to church strengthening the souls of the disciples exhorting them to continue in the faith and then said to them you must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God Paul wrote in his last letter to Timothy from prison before they put Paul to death if you desire to live a godly life in Christ you shall suffer persecution I don't think that there's any way away from or around the difficulties that you're going to face if you're gonna walk with Jesus and and serve Him but as the Lord warns us about the hard road and it is a hard road he also brings us great comfort to incur to endure he says to them and to us be of good cheer I've overcome the world says that he will send His Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth - to watch over us to give us the right words to speak he tells us in Hebrews chapter 13 that he'll never leave us he will never force a to forsake us the psalmist wrote in 50 I think verse 15 you can call upon me in your day of trouble and I'll answer you so though it is a hard road it is a road that God can lead you through and the question becomes how then can we as believers experience the triumph that Jesus promises to give us in the midst of trouble how can you and I appropriate God's promises and his help in tribulation and I think that at least part of the answer is in the six verses we're gonna look at this morning they are bracketed by two thoughts verse 18 of the last chapter talks about the glory of God finding it with unveiled face in the Lord a transforming power in verse 6 it says of chapter of 4 here that the light of the knowledge of the glory of God can be found in the face of Jesus so Paul says that keeping his eyes upon Jesus was not only a vital theological truth but a necessary and practical one if you've been with us going through 2nd Corinthians you know that this is probably one of the most difficult times ever in Paul's life he mentions it over and over again how hard things have gotten the latest grief was the character assassination of Paul being led by the false teachers who had taken over the Corinthian church so even the folks that Paul had loved and ministered to and prayed with and married and buried you know and was involved in their families we're now turning against him through the lies of these folks in fact he will write in chapter 11 in this book I'm afraid that they are going to turn you away from the simplicity of the gospel in Christ how did Paul survive all of that how was he able to not faint under the attack and the answer is he kept his eyes on Jesus they had accused him of being weak of being dishonest of being ineffectual they they said of him he's corrupt and selfish they mocked his teaching style his presentation why they even made fun of the way he looked Paul had written in Chapter three when we finished last time that the power of the new cousin coming at this born-again experience where the Holy Spirit comes to live in you was the best commendation that you'd ever find for the message that you have to preach well this morning as we begin chapter 4 we look at how a persecuted and difficult life was able to be persevered because Paul had his eye on the one that he was serving and he could stand tearfully for the Saints in Corinth who now were doubting him because he knew who had done the work to begin with he was sure the battle was spiritual he kept his eyes on the Lord and on the face of Jesus who had revealed him the heart of God the key theme of chapter 4 is found in two places verse 1 says we will not lose heart verse 16 says therefore we do not lose heart and then between verse 1 and verse 16 bracketed between them is Paul's explanation to you and I how that we can have great victory in a world that is abject Lee against us and yet we have a work to perform we have a gospel to preach we have a nation to reach an ax and an ax and a culture to change there were plenty of good reasons why Paul could have hung it up if you've read the book of Acts or the the epistles you know you want to say to the guy just quit what are you doing and there were great reasons for him to be discouraged and sometimes he was but there were also plenty of good reasons to keep at it and that's what he's sharing here maybe you've thought about giving up maybe somebody has hurt you or betrayed you or turned against you or disappointed you maybe you feel like nobody cares anyway why should you perhaps your sacrifices of love have cost you plenty but the payoff hardly seems worth the effort maybe God hasn't responded like you thought that he should Paul went through all of that and yet here's some reasons and we'll look get them in the next couple weeks why you shouldn't lose heart but we'd like to give you three of them this morning in six verses beginning in verse 1 and 2 with this thought I do not lose heart because I've received mercy from God Paul writes this therefore since we have this ministry as we have received mercy we don't lose heart but we have renounced the hidden things of shame not walking in the craftiness nor handling the Word of God deceitfully but by man's manifestation of the truth we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God it was dr. McGee who wrote years ago whenever you see a wherefore ask for the wherefore and you can usually find it in the verses that precede it Paul believed that God's Word preached and the work of the Holy Spirit and the heart could save the hearer he was sure of that and he knew that it was a battle and that God's Word was the sword of the Spirit and so he was bold in his ministry but he realized that the sufficiency that he had was found in the Lord and here's how he put it I've received this ministry because I've received mercy I don't lose heart or if you will Paul knew that God's Word worked it worked in his life Paul knew that Jesus was his strength but that didn't make ministry easy Paul wasn't a popular guy the Romans didn't like him most of the Jews could have lived without him and now the church was turning against him there are more plots in the Bible against Paul's life that are laid out than almost anyone else he's got plenty of reasons to to pack it up and pack it in but why doesn't he why doesn't need lose heart and the reason is he says I've received God's mercy what kind of guy was Paul before he got saved he was a resistant hard-headed stubborn mule killing Christians in the name of his religion if God could reach Paul he could reach anyone if God can reach you he can reach anyone you're amazing look at you saved it all who knew and that's Paul's heart Paul believed that what God did for Paul God could even do for those that were blaspheme him bearing the corinth church so he didn't get discouraged oh they were after him all right but that was him before - no it is God's work to save and open the eyes of the loss can take a tremendous amount of pressure off of your shoulders you can share you don't save anyone God saves and if you know that to be true that he bears fruit in you then you're obligated to just share faithfully honestly but just being a vessel for the Lord can certainly bring great opposition I think that that the easiest place to be a Christian is in America and the reason is the Christian Church in America doesn't stir much trouble it is weak it is unwilling to preach it doesn't take a stand for the name of Jesus it just mel's into the culture not God's plan Paul told Timothy that though there was a cost involved in preaching he saw his calling as a privilege as a blessing because he had received mercy he said to him in first Timothy I think chapter 1 that for this reason I obtained mercy so that first in me Jesus could show forth his love and kindness as a pattern to all of those who would follow afterwards in other words he said my life ought to be a pretty good argument to you that God is a merciful God because he took the likes of me and he saved me now I'm facing people that want to destroy me that are against the gospel that want to ruin the work that God has done but I have great hope because what God has done in my life he can do in their life in the Bible mercy is defined as God withholding the judgment sinners deserve he holds it temporarily for the unsaved who if they do not believe will face the the sure judgement of God in the future he holds it permanently for the for the believer through Christ so Paul could endure the setbacks on the trials because he'd received God's mercy God didn't give on what he deserved and he knew it and isn't it good that you're not gonna get what you deserve I know you want your enemies to get what they deserve and that guy down the road from you in the same video that guy he should get what he deserves but we're so happy we're not getting what we deserve and that's Paul's point he could never abandon the work even if it cost him to serve the Lord because God had given him mercy when Jesus spoke about how the gospel sometimes affects different heart see he spoke about a heart that was stony he said all stony heart is kind of like someone who hears the Word of God and he immediately receives it with joy but because he doesn't have any root he only had ears for a while and when tribulation comes or persecution comes because of the word in the world he stumbles Paul said I can't stumble I've received mercy you see your greatest hope and saving your family your parents your in-laws your your spouse your children your neighbors your co-workers is that you've been saved if God saved you it's downhill from there and Paul believed that to be so so I can't lose heart the words I can't lose heart is only one word in Greek it means to lose courage or to begin to behave like a coward when things aren't going particularly well when I face persecution or a lack of measurable fruit I can't be disheartened to the point of throwing in the towel or because I've seen what God could do I'm a miracle of God so are you so how can we give up look Paul was a human being he was a frail guy sometimes he was prone to appointment and and failure and uselessness and feeling useless but despite the the suffering and the the vicious attacks upon his person Paul couldn't lose his courage because he was confident that what he had saw in the face of Jesus for his life if they saw the face of Jesus they could find it - that's pretty in curved that's pretty encouraging isn't it so what can Paul do he says in verse two here's what I can do I can be sure that the message I deliver is delivered from a life that is practicing what I preach that is honest and above reproach that is simple and open to the Word of God without twisting the scriptures in other words doing it right not at all the way these false teachers were I I can enhance the message by my way of life I I don't want to just talk about it I want to live it to the best of my ability so Paul would would just turn away from what the false teachers did he wouldn't he says in verse two our renounced the hidden things of shame it literally is to preach in the you know publicly what you want people to hear but yet hidden in your life as is a shameful one you you practice what you preach he turns in verse two and he talks about not being crafty or handling God's Word deceitfully but but showing forth the truth by the way that he lends he practices what he preaches look the false teachers didn't go to the scriptures for the truth to be established they went with a a concept of what they believed already and then they find verses to kind of support it I always think about politicians when they whip a Bible out and they quote a verse completely out of context you go what are you doing because he doesn't believe it he doesn't know it and you can make the Bible say whatever you want all you have to do is two things avoid the context and don't look at any other verses isolate the text from the context and from the bigger picture and you can make the Bible say what everyone you can say this God the Bible says God is dead actually it says the fool says in his art that God is dead hey if you're making a point and you're running for re-election Paul says this I'll let the word of god established the truth I'll renounce a a dishonorable way of life I won't be like the false teacher who acts one way in public and another in private I won't turn to deceit trickery deceitfulness willing to do anything to get the goal you know I won't handle God's Word deceitfully it means to twist it or to turn it or to manipulate it for gain of power influence if you ever want to read in your Bible about the false teachers and God's heart towards them just read the book of 2nd Peter it's in a whole book for one cause the warning about the false teachers look the the false teachers in Paul's day and even in our day are marketing experts they see the gospel as a product and the sales and they're the salesmen think about if you were a false teacher and you want to make your living being a crook you know you don't want to offend anybody because you need their income and so you you take a middle ground on everything and stand for nothing but you also want to have an ear air of mystery about it I was watching this guy on TV a couple of nights ago 2:00 in the morning and he would he'd he'd this Oh get my book and you'll see it like I see who goose bumps he knows stuff there has to be this air of mystery you know or he has something that you need everybody's always looking for hidden meanings have you seen this verse hold it up to the light there's there's nuggets there man you haven't seen have you look there's so much obvious truth there that I want to learn I got time for hidden things just teach me the obvious stuff that's all I need Paul had no secret game plan Paul had no need for crafty underhanded dealing he didn't come to use the people he came to serve them he said to them in that first Corinthian letter look I didn't come to you with with big you know words of man's wisdom I come in fear and in trembling so that you might have the confidence in God's Word not in man's word why didn't Paul and why wasn't Paul you know discouraged why did he not lose heart because he'd received mercy from God and he was living it out the message he he preached he lived and the difference between Paul and the false teachers was Paul had seen God's face he had seen the heart of God in the face of Jesus they had not Paul believed that God would do his part to save as he had done in Paul's life years earlier second of all Paul didn't lose larp heart because he realized that when it came to men and and their salvation he entered into a spiritual battle he says this in verse 3 but if our gospel is veiled it is veiled to those who are perishing whose minds the god of this world has blinded who do not believe lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God should shine on them Paul says this look if there is any darkness of understanding I want to be sure it's not in my presentation or my lifestyle which should be honest and truthful but it is rather the function of the enemy of our souls whose job it is to blind the hearts of men left the light of the gospel or the glory of Jesus should shine upon them and they would be saved so Paul says a second reason I don't lose heart is that I'm engaged in a spiritual battle and it's son battle that I can't win but Jesus can win that my words can't win but his word can win that I can't have the power to overcome but the Holy Spirit can Paul saw the the warfare for the sins of men and understood why he was getting such different responses to the message of grace I think that's important that you and I see that that when you go to share with your family or your friends or or somebody you don't know at all and you get these weird responses that you realize it's a warfare that you're in how do you handle verse 3 those who are perishing their response or verse for those who don't believe who've been blinded in their minds by the god of this world Paul knew only too well what it was like to be blinded to the truth spent years that way bound in the darkness until Jesus met him on the road to Damascus when Paul finally years later stood before King Agrippa on his way to what would become his trip to Rome he said of him there in Acts chapter 26 he said to him about his calling the Lord has called me to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to the power of God so that they might find forgiveness and inheritance among all those who have been sanctified by faith in Jesus Paul saw that as his mission it's yours too Mike don't you lose heart because this is a battle and you realize what you're up against and what you're facing you should know and maybe you you watch those things but the contemporary prevailing thought in church in America today is to take a much subtler less offensive approach to sharing the gospel that which they believe and seminaries teach will we bring greater results so preaching against sin yeah that's not gonna work don't preach about repentance don't bring up hell or judgment those are not good subjects in a user-friendly church under lighting this this this modern evangelical movement is the heretical idea that success in ministry is found by the ingenious way you come up with sharing the gospel they view unbelievers as consumers the gospel should be cleverly packaged in order to make a sale and you should know that in the last five years hundreds of churches have sprung up around the country that immediately have grown to five and ten thousand people in size they don't use Bibles they don't need them but they are interested in just packaging it draws people in why does it work because there's nothing that's required of the person in the Pew no repentance is needed they'll guilt for sin is addressed the holiness of God never comes up but we got coffee and artists and contemporary music and let me be a prophet for a minute because you know I'd always wanted to be one it's not gonna last it isn't gonna last and the reason it isn't is that salvation is not the result of human persuasion or packaging salvation is a sovereign work of God no one comes to the Father but my no one comes to me unless the father who sent me draw him that's what the Bible says that gave Paul great hope the Lord opens the eyes of the blind when God created the world he handed it over to Adam and Eve told him to be you know overseers of all that that he had created when Satan came along and lied to even Adam followed through their obedience they handed the world to the devil Paul would say to the Romans whoever you obeyed his slaves you are to whom you obey Jesus twice called Satan the prince of this world and the purpose for Jesus is coming was to redeem the world back to God to pay God's righteous price for sin daya death but to do it for everyone in his own body when Satan sought to tempt Jesus in the wilderness as he began his earthly minister of three-and-a-half years in one of the visions that Satan set before Jesus in the wilderness he showed him the kingdoms of the world and he said I will give all of these to you if you will just simply bow down and worship me these are mine and I can give them to whomever I want now if that wasn't true Jesus what I said baloney but he didn't argue the point because man had hand it over if you will the world what Jesus wouldn't do however was to forsake the cross which by the way is Satan's big message to the world today you can get to heaven just don't have to go to Jesus do your best you know find worse people than you to feel good about yourself don't go to the cross jesus said that that wasn't the will of the Father that he would go to the cross he would redeem man he would he would purchase man back from the dilemma that he found himself yeah but Satan's suggestion to the man to this day is you don't need the cross when Jesus first told his disciples about the fact that he was going to die it was in Caesarea Philippi it was 10 months or so before he would end up at Golgotha he asked the boys who he thought after he asked who does the world think he is for their friends and then he said well who do you think I am and Peter spoke up for the whole group he said we believe that you're the one the mighty one the one that was to come Christ and Jesus said we didn't come up with that on your own my father in heaven showed you that 10 or 15 verses later Jesus is saying well we're going up to Jerusalem down I'm going to be handed over to the Gentiles and they're gonna take me and scourge me and they're gonna kill me and Peter thinking he was on a roll if I don't know Lord I've gotten one-for-one I'm gonna go through for food for two that should not be you Lord you're not gonna die you're gonna live and Jesus turned to Peter and he said get behind me Satan for you saver now the things of man and not of God and that's always been the battle this is this message of the gospel and the cross Peter thinking he had gotten it right had gotten it wrong but you see Satan's message to man today is to just forsake the cross on the cross Jesus overcame the enemy right he redeemed the world he he triumphed publicly over over Satan Satan today is a is a trespasser an interloper his job is simple blind the hearts and the minds of men so that they won't see Jesus or his love or the cross that's the battle we're in we read this morning in Revelation chapter 5 that there is coming a day in glory when the title deed of the earth will be held forth and Jesus alone will have the right to claim it because he had been slain yet to this day the blindness of sin the work of the devil they they impair men's hearts from believing that's what you're up against Paul realized that he wasn't discouraged he realized that was the battle if you don't believe that battle exists just think about the rational kind you know people that you can sit and speak to who seem to be wise on so many subjects they're insightful they're they're tolerant and yet they dramatically change when you say to them you need Jesus in your life personally and now all of a sudden rationale goes out the window now it's blame and self you know preservation and now the people don't want to hear what you have to say now it's it's it's the myth starts to happen and they begin to grab on to the lies of the enemy when Paul wrote his last letter to Timothy in second Timothy chapter 2 he said look Timothy as a servant of the Lord you shouldn't quarrel but you should be gentle to all men be able to teach them be patient in humility correct those who are in opposition against themselves if perchance God would give them repentance so that they might know the truth that could come to their senses they could escape the snare of the devil who has been taking them by his will that's the battle why did Paul not lose heart because he realized there's a battle and God alone could bring victory Satan is lying and binding and blinding the lost we need to pray that Jesus bind this blinding work of the enemy and shine his heart light in the hearts of the people so that they might see him I am I'm absolutely sure if people see Jesus for who he is they'll get saved I did youdid they will God gives to man a choice and he will respect the choice that they make Satan will not he doesn't want you to have a choice he wants to hide from you the choice that you have in Christ it is awfully difficult to pray lord save Lucy when Lucy doesn't want to be saved but if I pray Lord bind the enemy from blinding Lucy's heart show her who you are open her eyes to your love then I think we've got something then the Jesus then Jesus was the image of God what will will shine in their hearts so don't lose heart because the antidote to the veil of blindness is preaching Christ he turns on the light so Paul isn't discouraged he's not giving up he's experienced God's mercy and he realizes that just like his soul there is a battle for the souls of men and there's an enamine he's real finally verse 5 and 6 we don't lose heart because we preached Jesus who alone can save notice what he says in verse 5 we don't preach ourselves but Jesus Christ the Lord we are ourselves our bond slaves for God's for Jesus's sake it is God who commands light to shine out of the darkness who has shone are in our hearts to show us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God and we find it in the face of Jesus Christ or in other words when you see Jesus you'll know God's glory and he's the one who turns on the light you you want to know how you can not lose heart because if you preach Jesus you've got an antidote for the blindness and in the hearts of men you've got an antidote for the lies of the enemy Paul's response to the warfare was to just preach Jesus all right and if that meant people lash out against him and criticize him or go after him or cause persecution the solution is sailed the same you don't preach get betters do better think better you preach Christ because no matter the response the gospel can't be altered or changed no other place for us to turn God has turned on the light how by sending his son who shines in our hearts so don't lose heart I love this little line commanded light to shine out of darkness that's chapter 1 verse 3 of Genesis and darkness filled the earth and God said let there be light you open your mouth and preach Jesus he's the light of the world that overcomes the darkness of Satan and his lives so don't lose heart we got Easter coming up there's a lot of people you're praying for don't lose heart yeah I've asked him nine years and Roley they will come it's a battle man I don't think they'll ever get saved yeah that we thought that about you he's tired me preaching Jesus yeah buts the only message you have there's only one name one person that can save don't lose heart don't take it personal live the life as a Christian that that people will see realize the war is being fought for the souls of men and the enemy partners with the flesh and the world to keep men in the dark but you have the solution you can preach Jesus who in his face you can see the glory of God don't lose heart amen we thank you this morning that though we are called to a difficult task and in this world we will have tribulation yet you have given us great assurances that Lord we should be aware of the fact that your word works and the first reason we believe that is our lives have been changed we were lost now we're found we were we were hateful now we're walking in love we were selfish and now we've died to ourselves we we were going our own way now we've turned around and gone to your way our reliance is upon you and because you've saved us we believe that even our worst enemy you can save them so we don't lose hope we realize Lord that there's a warfare in in this world that Satan has one job keep people's eyes off of Jesus keep them from considering his love keep them from hearing about his name and yet Lord that's what you've given us to preach not only from a life that has been changed but from a word that is powerful and as we preached Jesus the light goes on where there once was darkness we turned men from darkness to light from the power of Satan to the power of God to open their eyes so that they might receive forgiveness all Lord use us and may we not be discouraged or lute heart we realize we have the answer for a world that's lost bound by the enemy who haven't reserved received the mercy yet that we've so clearly received and if that's you this morning maybe you're in church this morning and you don't have Jesus then would you come and talk to one of the pastors up front and and they'll pray with you and you can invite Jesus to be the savior of your life your Lord you can thank him for dying in your place of paying for your sins for for causing his death for your salvation it pleased the father to bruise his son so that the knowledge of him many could be made right with God that could be you today you don't have to walk out of this room without God you can walk out of this room with God's Spirit dwelling within you you can be saved and God can through us tell others the same don't be discouraged don't sit on the sidelines don't give up I know it's a tough time to be when it meant witnessing to people but that's God that's what God's give us this is the art generation so this is the group we have to reach don't be discouraged don't lose heart learn from Paul shall we stand

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Length: 35min 25sec (2125 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 19 2019