Charlie Dates | 2 Corinthians 4:1-12 | 4/24/2019

a man Dan a man a man and a man thank you sister Tonya to president RIKEN who's got a major golf game I found out last year it is my pleasure and privilege to be here with you to each of you my father's children it is a joy and honor and once again standing the hallowed walls of Edmund Chapel I want to preach one verse of the passage doctor I can read one of the most intriguing things that chaplains like dr. Blackmon do is that they send busy pastors a passage to write a new sermon on in addition to everything else they have going on and so I want to to tell you I'm not going to do that to preach all of the verses you can breathe a sigh of relief I want to read any you're hearing this one verse and preach it's of the glory of our God but we have this treasure in earthen vessels so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves let me breathe a word of Prayer father thank you grant me now clarity of mind concision of speech and conviction of heart that I may tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth for your glory and the good of your people in Jesus name Amen people keep valuables in strange places that's the story of the million dollar nickel only five of Lady Liberty nickels were minted in the 1800s the million dollar nickel that stayed in the Givens family attic in North Carolina for 40 years until they discovered that it was one of five and that five cent coin was worth 1 million dollars people keep their valuables in strange places I wonder where your family keeps the family jewels now Folgers coffee can behind a vault or underneath the mattress but perhaps this might strike you as more intriguing some recent college graduates who were roommates lived together in New Paltz New York they went to the local Salvation Army to purchase some furniture on their recently graduated budget to fill their apartment they stumbled upon a couch it looked okay they could see two maybe three comfortably looked as though it had been set upon and rested upon and so they made a bargain struck a deal and bought the couch for $20 they got the couch home and started to sit on it and felt it was a little lumpy and so they began to beat the lumps out and to try to smooth out the couch for their comfort the beating didn't go quite the way they wanted it to go so they started to unzip parts of the couch when unbeknownst to them hundreds hundreds of $100 bills started to fall out an inch and a half here an inch and a half there and by the time they got done counting they stopped counting before they got through the rest of it more than forty thousand dollars had fallen out of that twenty dollar couch [Music] a real moral dilemma they face what would they do with this couch they they ended up locating the owner it turns out that it was it belonged to an elderly woman who's a widowed woman whose children had decided they didn't want her sitting or sleeping on that couch anymore and so they bought her a real mattress a bed to hang out on and they looked at the couch and thought it was junk and was going to throw it away instead of throwing it away they donated it to the Salvation Army and they found out that all of those years their mother and deceased father had been keeping their treasure in what they thought was trash that seems to be the argument that Paul makes about you and I in second Corinthians chapter 4 verse 7 it is that God likes to put treasure in jugs of mud in jars of clay this is not an unhelpful imagery it's actually an illustration from that 1st century world where people would take their valuables and not deposit them in a bank but put them in little pieces of pottery and bury them in the backyard they took what was most important and put it in a container they could crack one that they could easily access and I imagine Paul's a great preacher he's looking at that piece of pottery containing that treasure laid down in someone's yard and the jug of mud starts to preach to him the jug of mud says if you look at me Paul I'm an illustration of your life what's good about you is not actually you but what's good about you is what's inside of you it is that God has taken his most valuable possession and placed it inside of you there's Paul undoubtedly thought through his own ministry as he reflected upon the salvific work of Jesus Christ he came upon this imagery a picture of God putting treasure in something like trash it's a metaphor with meaning it is to say to us that Paul knew his limitations but beyond that Paul knew the limitless power of God this text says that we have our weaknesses but the infinite God has none let me say it to the people in the balcony maybe they will shout back at me we have our own human weaknesses but the infinite God has none it's a kind of poetic image that is meant to warn us on the heels of the great exaltation in verse 6 Paul issues a warning in verse 7 verse 6 for God who said light shall shine out of the darkness is the one who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ that's amazing news that which God has bestowed upon us Paul goes on to argue but don't get the container confused with the content that what's good belongs to God the container itself is weak it is fragile it is feeble the container is corruptible but the treasure is strong precious incorruptible and cannot be broken friends if you're going to in any way make it in life or in ministry you need to realize early on you've got some weaknesses you have some limitations but the good news of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ is that your ministry is insured guaranteed by the limitless power of the one who called you this is how Paul writes it he says we have oh we could stop right there that's a present possession we have the Bible friends is replete with this kind of already not yet imagery it's a recognition that we Christians live in a kind of eschatological tension we already have some things and we do not yet have others I think actually this is where many Christians span across the spectrum ma split some of us have a over realized eschatology we take some of the promises of God that are meant for us but we apply them too early in life we don't wait so they actually manifest immature and so we start claiming things right now that God doesn't intend for us to have right now that might not be your problem at a school like Wheaton you might actually struggle with an under realized eschatology that is to say that you don't yet believe God fully for what God has promised you know God is able but you don't think he will for you you know God is doing good things but you put off those good things until the sweet by-and-by this text argues that we have something right now Peter says it this way in verse 4 I think of first Peter chapter 1 he says that we have a treasure in heaven reserved for us no I like that I'd like going places where things are reserved for me I don't like standing in lines or waiting a long time III want it ready with my name on it feel the beauty of this when you get to heaven there there are treasures reserved for you this is hard to comprehend because we're so caught up in the shiny toys of this world we're so taken by the fleeting pleasures that we cannot fully comprehend the kind of treasures long-lasting eternal treasures that never fade for us they are reserved for us one day we will obtain them but can I do you one better Paul says in second Corinthians chapter 4 that yes we have treasure reserved for us in heaven but we got treasure right now I wish I could preach this the way that I feel it's some things you ain't got to wait to heaven to enjoy but we serve such a wonderful God that he has given us all things richly right now to enjoy that there are many wonderful spiritual pleasures for you to take part in and yes we await a life that is unknown that is beautiful that is beyond compare which language is the poverty of speech to describe but we've got some joy in the here and now let me say rather Pastor Lee don't you let the enemy take the light of Christ away from you don't let them rob you of the joy that that is right here right now for you we've got the that not yet but we have the right now it's a kind of think the right now is a kind of down payment deposit preview of a coming attraction of what's to come the joy of Christ that we have now is a kind of preview of the of a longer fuller deeper more profound joy we will experience I don't need a theology book to explain this to you I brought my own story today about 14 years ago I took my life savings and bought a ring this is before Beyonce said if you y'all don't listen to Beyonce if you really want it if you really like it you should have put a ring on it yeah so I really I really liked it I really wanted it so I put a ring you should've saw me in front of the jeweler didn't know what I was doing she turned out all the lights in the room brought out these little headlight lamps and these little tongs and pulled out some black velvet and she pulled a small bag and unzipped it and sprinkled the Diamonds and there they started to Sparkle and she explained all kinds of things to me there was clarity there was cut there was carat carat was all I knew growing up there was clarity there was cut there was carat there was color and and she said which one of these do you want and I said which one of these can I afford and cost yes that's the most important one there so so I looked at my account and I said this is all I got but there's more where this has come from I'll work to get it and I bought that ring you should have saw me I was so proud about that ring Caston and straight platinum tucked it away into a little box the next day I was on the drive from Rockford to Champaign to propose to Kirstie I was driving down i-39 about every 15 minutes I'd opened the little glove compartment to look at it to be sure was still there and I closed it back and I got there y'all should have saw me I got down on one knee and I started to wax eloquent shall I compare thee to a summers day thou art more beautiful and fair rough winds do shake the Darling Buds of May and far too often too hot the eye of heaven shines and often is its glory damn but thy eternal beauty shall never fade nor lose possession of the fair thou owest or as long as men can breathe or eyes can see so long lives your beauty and with this ring I want it just for me I told her that day if it makes the point I told her that day I got to go back to where I am I've got to get back in the car and drive back up I've got to finish school but I'm coming back to get you and if ever you miss me or you can't catch me on the phone and you wonder what's going on where I am all you got to do is look down at your hand because when you look at that that's a symbol that that is me saying God gave you everything I got and I'm coming back for you when you look at the treasure that is inside of these earthen vessels God has put a kind of deposit a kind of down payment if ever you wonder how he feels about you that that he loves you and and if he's coming back all you have to do is look at the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ and it is a reminder that we have this treasure but I push on here to suggest to you that it's not just that we possess the treasure presently but it is also that the content of the treasure is more valuable than the container Peter argues that we aren't much more than jugs of mud jars of clay I know this might be tough for young people at a prestigious university about to take over the world for Christ let me tell you time has wings it moves fast you're not as strong as you think you are right now time has a way of imposing gravity upon you parts of your body they once stood up perky and strong start to slip and drop muscles that used to be nice and firm start to grow weak and flabby it doesn't take long to find out you're made of mud I looked at our metabolic value as chaplain Blackman assigned me a passage for which I had to write a sermon I looked at our medic Baalak value and let me tell you doesn't matter what your net worth is your metabolic worth will never be much LeBron's making a lot of money but about 85% of his body is water less than 1% is magnesium and chloride and saw an iron Tiger just won the Masters worth a lot of money but about 85 percent of his body is h2o you who carried the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ you you may not see 50 million dollars in the signing bonus but you're met about value is about the same your you're about 85% water less than 1% magnesium chloride salt iron if you are to reduce your body down to its metabolic content you'd be a couple bottles of water maybe a few iron nails and about a quarter of the amount of salt in a shaker you'd be worth $25 at Walmart [Applause] Freeza doesn't matter what your net worth is we don't measure out to be much we don't a little bit of water a little bit of salt a little bit of iron we're done and yet he took nails for us yet he came through 42 generations for us yet he endured the ridicule the scorn the shame of his own creation for us because he felt like we were worth it and then to juxtapose this he took that light of the glory of God is seen in the face of Jesus Christ and put it inside of us but as he does so he says I never want you to confuse the content with the container I want to say this to you and I'm almost in my seat you can feel the paradox here the fragility of the container is juxtaposed to the magnificence of the gift it is a paradox too many of us confuse the glory of our ministries with the worth of our persons and a lot of us exalt the preacher when really we should exalt the message I like the way John ultimen said it he said don't exalt the preacher don't exhaust the pew preach the gospel simple full and free prove him and never doubt a word that he said I'll draw all men unto me your preacher is going to let you down one day because he's a jug of mud some of you are gonna let your families down one day because you're a jug of mud but don't give up in ministry when you fall don't don't don't don't let go when you mess up because the treasure in reallyyou that the treasure is what's inside of you I marvel at how quickly we throw preachers away these days when we find out they're really just jugs of mud the beauty friends is that our weaknesses actually demonstrate the power of God this is how Paul writes that he says that the surpassing greatness all I wish I could lean into it the original language it uses the word from which we get our word hyperbole you you usually when you hear the word hyperbole you think it's not true it's exaggerated it's it's just something taken out of form right but but when Paul uses the word for surpassing greatness here in second Corinthians chapter four he is saying that the treasure inside of us is superlative ly greater more wonderful than any hyperbole could ever imagine this is a surpassing greatness so that in our weakness is the power of God is seen in the world I'm done but my soul is happy so I'm gonna take my time here and finish this here message my grandmother is an illustration of this my grandmother gave me rather an illustration she went home to be with the Lord about two years ago my grandmother was as was a church woman okay church woman godly woman I mean she she made the best greens and cornbread you ever had in your life it was collard greens and hot water cornbread y'all don't know what that is but hot water cornbread is a little gritty cake kind of thing you can mix in a mesh in with the collard greens she made sweet potatoes not candied yams I don't know what that is she made sweet potatoes stick your finger in the spooky fork and potato and raise it up he sees his slimy sugary thing come down you get type-2 diabetes just looking at it it was amazing grandma grandma loved Church too she she would worship God in church and in ways that those of you who come to progressive I'm so happy y'all come to those are you come to aggressive she would do it like that she shouts so hard she clear-- hope you just by shouting on her own and what church was over she cussed like a sailor she she could go 20 minutes without repeating herself it was she was amazing she's amazing she had this activity she'd like for us to do during gardening season whenever that is on the south side of Chicago and she grew our own green tomatoes and onions and mustard and collard greens and so she she would she called me chocolate I was her favorite she said come on chocolate let's go on out to the garden and she'd take the little water hose by the spigot on the side of the house and she'd fill up these two buckets I won't forget it one bucket was beat up in raggedy and holes in it in cracks in it she always gave that bucket to me fill it up put in my hand she'd take the nice pristine bucket fill it up hold my hand and we walked through that guard on 117th and been sands in Chicago all those are precious memories few years went by and she wanted to do it again I thought I didn't want to do it using words I'm not permitted to use from this station she's basically asked me well why not and and I told her I'm of no help to you you always make it to the end of the garden with all the water you put in your bucket and I never make it to the end with all the water you put in mine and I just don't get it why why why why do you do this to me it was an exercise in futility and she said is that what you think this is she said come on let's walk through this garden she said do you see your side I said yes ma'am she said what do you see I said there green tomatoes and and their onions and there their coloreds and their mustard she said do you see my side I said yes ma'am she said what do you see grass she said I knew about the holes in that bucket she said I knew about the cracks in the side of that bucket and I filled it up anyway and I I had you to carry it as I carried your hand because I knew that as you walked through the garden the contents of that bucket would ease out and fall over and hit the ground and it would help to see underneath the soil open up and grow and the reason we got green tomatoes and onions in college and mustard is because that bucket is broke friends I wish I could preach this the way I feel it but let me just say to you that grandma taught me something about the power of God it is through our limitations that God demonstrates his power he knows your crack container he knows that your a jug of mud he knows that we are jars of clay and yet he feels us so that as we walk through the world the glory of the light shining on the face of Jesus Christ eases out and those who would never have known the truth about God get to see him because God put inside of us a great treasure god bless y'all made the world

Channel: wheatoncollege

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Length: 24min 38sec (1478 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 24 2019