I wonder where you keep your most prized possessions.
I'm certain that wherever you put it, you try to make it a safe place,
the safest possible place that you can find or buy.
My country, Albania, placed its most prized possessions,
which is the national treasure, in a forbidden mountain,
in a tunnel, impregnable, with guards.
Nobody knew where it was.
It was a state secret.
And no one could get near to it without being shot.
24 years ago, however, we had the so-called troubles,
just like in Ireland, where the state ceased to exist.
And at that moment, you know exactly what happened.
24 years ago, within the space of two days,
the Albanian national treasure, a whole nation's wealth, was stolen,
broken into, taken away.
The tunnel left an empty shell.
What we are going to see today is that God does something counterintuitive.
He stores his most valuable treasure in the unlikeliest of places,
in plain sight,
and in the most insignificant vessels.
And yet, no one can steal it.
No one can destroy it.
Because of God's power.
We are going to focus today in the letter that Apostle Paul sent to the Corinthians.
He had sent perhaps a series of letters,
the first of which we know as 1 Corinthians.
This is the 2 Corinthians.
Perhaps the 2nd or the 3rd, and some say the 4th letter that is sent to them.
These were people that he had evangelized,
he had brought to Christ himself a while ago.
And we are going to focus in a different passage today.
I apologize for the miscommunication with Pastor Graham,
but we are going to focus on verses 7 to 12.
And we are going to see three things that Paul actually tells us about this treasure and its vessels.
And the first thing is simply this.
What are we who believe in him?
We are insignificant vessels of invaluable value.
Insignificant vessels of inestimable value.
And secondly, we are going to see proof for it.
Paul gives us proof, and the proof is this.
Against all odds, you will resist.
And thirdly, and finally, we are going to see the purpose of it all.
You will win, and others will gain.
Let's go to verse 7.
But we have this treasure.
Now, Paul says this treasure, so he must know what it is.
He must have said what it is, and it does.
Just a bit earlier, I will explain briefly.
Just a few sentences earlier, he explains what the treasure is.
He explains it from the history of Moses.
Moses, as you might know from the Old Testament, would go into this particular tent, sometimes daily,
and he would speak with the Lord.
And that was a very personal encounter.
And because of that personal encounter with the Lord, which the Old Testament calls it face-to-face communication,
after Moses would go out of the tent, his face would shine because of that glory that was the Lord's presence.
However, that glory would soon fade away from his face, so that the people would not be distracted, therefore, from his message.
After he left the meeting, Moses would put a veil on his face until the glory disappeared.
And Paul says, look, there is a parable in this true story.
And that is that the Old Testament, the Old Covenant, was only a foretaste of something much better, much bigger to come, of a lasting glory.
And that is, he said, Jesus Christ.
However, when Jesus Christ came, many Jews still did not believe.
The veil, he says, still remained on their eyes.
They are like blind people.
And not only them, but even those who are not Jews and have heard the gospel and do not believe.
A veil still remains on their faces, and he calls them, they are blind.
Because there is a force in this planet, some people call it impersonal, and Christians call it personal, and that's called the devil.
And he is the God of those who do not believe in the true God.
And he says, the only way that the blind can see the light is when they see the face of Christ.
And he says, the face of Christ is actually the light that we have been waiting for to see.
The light of the knowledge of God's glory.
And he says, that's the treasure.
Now, it's a treasure that we carry to give to the world.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay.
We are insignificant vessels.
We are jars of clay.
Now, Paul is playing a pun of words here because we people are made of earth, of earthen elements.
Now, in the period that Paul was living, as you may have seen, there were the so-called amphoras,
the huge jars or the small jars in Corinth.
And some of them were intricately decorated.
They were beautiful sometimes.
However, if they were made of clay, they were not made to last for long.
That's why you had jars or vessels of silver or of other kinds of metal, bronze or even gold.
And the jars of clay were not the most important ones.
They were not the ones where you would actually put all of your treasures in because they were easily broken.
They wouldn't last and the treasure would spill or they would be easily taken away.
Now, we are jars of clay, Paul says.
And that's where God has put his treasure.
And the treasure, as I said, is a message about a person who represents God himself, and that's Christ.
And it's that person himself that we carry within us.
And that will not be stolen away.
And that is a message that, by the way, is against the culture of this world.
Because, just like back then and now, we are bombarded with different messages from the culture.
Sometimes two disparate kind of messages.
And one of them is this.
It's all about you.
It's all about your well-being.
It's all about you.
You are the most priceless treasure.
And you should take care of yourself.
And that was the message, in a sense, that was, whether intentionally or not, in Paul's day, portrayed by the so-called sophists.
But not only them.
It was a culture where the spectacular was celebrated.
And you can see that in the first letter of Corinthians as well.
The Corinthians, even after coming to Christ, they were still very much part of their culture,
in which they enjoyed listening to beautiful words.
People who actually had the best rhetoric in the land, they would also be the most rewarded.
With success, with honor from all people.
They were like the Hollywood actors of today.
And they were also rich because of the patronage they received.
Because, like crowdfunding today, if you have a convincing message, you get the most of money.
And, of course, that was what a good leader should be like.
Charismatic, nice-looking, rich, of good honor, of a good upbringing, good family.
And that's what they were seeking.
This kind of glory, this kind of shine.
And the other message was, again, disparate.
And, again, we'll see that Paul actually speaks about it.
And that's stoicism, which has made quite a comeback today.
And it's the opposite of the message of the culture that says, it's all about you.
The Stoics realized that life is tough.
That life is chaos.
And you have to somehow face it.
And you can only do so bravely.
Because if you do it bravely, you give a good message not only to yourself, but also to those around you.
And, after all, if this life is what all there is, even if there are gods, or perhaps even if there aren't gods, this life is all it is.
So, you know what?
Let's face the chaos of this life with the bravest way we can.
That's the message of stoicism.
And Paul sees that both of these are flawed.
And so, today, he starts by saying, we are insignificant vessels.
You are not the treasure.
You are the pot.
If you're a Christian, you're a vessel.
You're not the priceless treasure.
You're an insignificant vessel.
However, because of the treasure, we have this treasure.
We have been given it.
We are also of inestimable value.
Now, he says, we have all of this to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
Now, we can see why God is doing what he's doing.
We can see why he's choosing the weakest of vessels.
Because he's trying to make a point to the world.
Whatever this gospel is, whatever this good news is, it only has power not because of me, the speaker, or you, the Christian.
It's because of God himself.
So, the more insignificant and weak the vessel, the more everyone will know that this power is not from us.
It's from God.
And he calls it an all-surpassing power, which in Greek is like hyperbole.
Hyperbole, which actually would mean an incomparable power.
A power that cannot be defeated.
And he gives proof for it.
Brother and sister, you're not the most prized possession in the world.
Yet, you become one because of what you carry within you, this wonderful treasure.
But you're not meant to carry this weight for yourself.
And Paul gives a list of four theses and antitheses here.
Four examples.
Four pieces of proof.
That we are weak, but we are invincible because of God's power.
We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed.
Verse 8.
You can feel like, do you remember those movies?
I mean, movies are always based on the worst nightmares of human experience.
Because they actually happen in your life.
And in one of those movies, you see like the walls of a person who is seeking for a treasure.
He gets into a pyramid or whatever.
And suddenly, he makes a mistake.
And the walls are closing in.
And there is no way to escape.
And the adrenaline goes off the roof.
And yet, he doesn't know what to do.
We're like that.
We're hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed.
The first part is, we are insignificant vessels.
We are weak.
We are frail.
We're human beings.
Paul is not denying that.
And by the way, Paul is talking about himself.
And he says, however, we are not crushed.
Somehow, the strangest thing happens in Paul's life as he was speaking the word, as he was being persecuted, as he was being hated.
Somehow, he was not crushed.
He was kept by the Lord.
We're perplexed, but not in despair.
In Greek, these two words are very similar.
And the idea is this, that we're perplexed.
We're confounded.
Somehow, we're not confounded.
We're perplexed.
And yet, we're not in total despair.
We are at a loss, but not at a total loss.
I am at a loss, but I'm not a loser somehow.
Now, this speaks to the sincerity of Paul about what he's going through.
He's not lying about who he is.
And the message of the Stoics was, we should find a way to kind of get an inner peace.
They call it ataraxia, which is like an indifference in the face of everything that comes your way.
But Paul is saying, look, I'm perplexed.
I do not deny this.
As a Christian, don't you wonder about life often?
Especially because you're a Christian.
Because we know that there is suffering, and yet there is a good God.
And when you do the right thing, and somehow you still suffer, and you see the evil prosper,
you still ask yourself the question, Lord, until when?
Or when you're faced with a difficult situation in your life,
whether it is in your career, in your school, in your life, in your marriage,
you at some point become perplexed.
What is going on here?
Especially if I'm doing your work, O Lord.
And yet, we're not lost.
Somehow, we're not in total despair.
But that's not because of Paul again.
It is because of the all-surpassing power of God.
Somehow, especially in your weakness, you see his strength.
And thirdly, persecuted, but not abandoned.
A hunted animal.
You can actually see it in your mind.
A hunted animal, or a prey, or even a hunted human being who is fleeing from his executors.
Like the mob is trying to chase them, and that's what happened with the early Christians.
They were trying to find Paul, get him, and get him killed.
That is the picture that he was going through.
Thankfully, we're not going through that.
However, as you, all of you here know, we're still persecuted to this day
because of the treasure that is in us.
And somehow, I'm not abandoned, he says.
And it's not a feeling.
The first part is what you feel when you're persecuted.
The second part is what God does.
It's not because of Paul's courage.
God does not abandon us.
Struck down, but not destroyed.
And you can easily see what Paul is talking about here.
Perhaps a wrestler who was thrown down on the floor.
And when that normally happened, that was the end of the match.
Or worse yet, it was the gladiators.
Suddenly, you were struck down by your opponent.
You find yourself on the ground.
And a few seconds later, as you hear the cheers from the crowd,
as you see the thumb of the main person,
it could have been the governor or the emperor, going like this,
that was the end of you.
And that's exactly what we often feel in life, Paul says.
We see the sword on our throat.
But we are not destroyed.
Every single day, in our worst issues, problems, and difficulties, and suffering,
somehow, we marvel at the fact that we're still here.
We're still resisting against all odds.
And it's not because of me.
It's not because of you.
It's because of the treasure we carry.
And because of the power of God that keeps us,
that cannot be destroyed
by anyone or anything in the world.
So, can I tell you something, brothers and sisters?
Do not fear if you feel insecure.
If you feel that you don't have all the gifts
to give to the world the best possible explanation of the gospel.
If you don't feel that your mind is strong enough
to stand against a very smart opponent
who is an atheist, for example, at your workplace.
Or if you just feel that you're too much of a sinner.
Lord, I cannot do this.
You say to yourself, Lord, I cannot do this.
I feel myself as an imposter in your family.
I don't know why I'm standing.
How can I speak to others?
How can I live for you?
Now, that's exactly what Paul is countering here.
He is no Stoic philosopher.
And that's exactly what he's saying.
The Stoics would have said this.
We are hard-pressed on every side,
but invincible.
We are perplexed, but somehow courageous.
We are persecuted, but unflinching.
Struck down, but defiant.
That's not what Paul is saying.
The first part is what we feel,
what we live as human beings.
The second part is what God does.
So don't feel afraid of who you are,
of the flaws you have,
of the time in your life where you are right now
and you feel that you're not doing what you can in your Christian life.
God chose you as a vessel to serve Him,
to carry His treasure.
And He chose you as an earthen vessel
so that we can rely on Him,
not on our power.
There is nothing to boast about us,
nothing to boast about me,
but there is everything to hope because of Him,
because of His power,
because in your worst weakness,
He will show His strongest power
and everyone will see it.
I remember somebody saying once
about a young man's sermon,
that young man wasn't me,
but it could have been me.
He said,
His heart is not yet broken,
something is missing.
After he has suffered a while,
he will have a message worth listening to.
So don't worry if you're suffering.
Don't hide it.
Don't be a stiff upper lip person.
Don't pull yourself up from your bootstraps.
That's not the Christian message.
In fact,
show who you are.
Show your weaknesses and say,
it's not me, it's Him.
He has kept me
and He will keep you.
And thirdly,
you will win.
That's the purpose.
And others will gain.
We saw the proof
that we are insignificant vessels
and yet of inestimable value.
That's why we are kept
by God's power.
And now we'll see the purpose.
You will win
in verses 10 to 12
and others will gain.
There is a purpose in the pain
and in suffering gain.
We always carry around in our body
the death of Jesus
so that the life of Jesus
may also be revered in our body.
For we who are alive
are always being given over to death
for Jesus' sake.
And again,
he repeats
almost the same sentence
with one exception.
So that His life
may also be revealed
in our mortal body,
in our mortal flesh.
The purpose of it all
is not that you may feel
miserable,
that you may self-flagellate
and show the world
that you will suffer for Him
and yet you will stand.
No, that's not the idea.
Paul does not deny
the reality of suffering in life,
the chaos that your life is
at different moments
and sometimes constantly.
But it tells us
that God keeps us
for a purpose
that we will win.
But before He does that,
He shows us again
the dark side of life
by taking the example of Jesus.
He smartly uses some words
that remind us
of the story of Jesus.
We always carry around
in our body
the death of Jesus.
It's actually the word
dying here.
The word death
is used just a verse later.
The idea is that
what He's trying to say
is that daily
we who are Christian
carry within us
the dying moments of Christ
which is the final week,
the week of passion,
the week of His
strongest trials.
When He was
handed over,
being given over to death,
the word used is
we're handed over to death
just like He was.
In that final week,
Jesus was betrayed
and handed over
to death.
And secondly,
He speaks not only
about His passion
but He speaks to
Jesus' crucifixion.
We always carry around
in our body
the death of Christ.
That's what the
pallbearers do
to a dead person.
We Christians
carry around
the putrefying smell
of a dead man.
We carry Him
from the cross
to the grave.
And thirdly,
however,
there is a purpose
so that we
may win.
We do this
so that His life
may also be revealed
in our body.
And that's His
resurrection life.
Jesus Christ
had to suffer
and be betrayed,
had to die
and be crucified.
But then He rose again.
Brothers and sisters,
we who believe here
carry within us
not just a message
but a person
and a story,
a living one.
We actually
enact
every single day,
even in the midst
of your weaknesses,
you still enact
to those around you
the sufferings,
the death,
and the victory
of Jesus Christ.
And they're not
for the future.
They're present realities.
That's what He's saying here.
Even though He does not deny
that because they are
present realities,
they become
future
certainties.
Suffering is not a sign
of God's disappointment,
brother and sister.
It is perhaps
a divine appointment.
And I don't just say this
to say it.
I don't like suffering either,
but none of us
denies that we're
going through
certain kinds of suffering,
even as we speak.
But we know
that we will win
because Christ won.
And we know
that there is no
easy fix.
We have to go through
the difficulties of life,
but we also know
we shall be undefeated
because of the
treasure we carry
and the power
God gives us.
We will win
and others will gain.
And we see that
in verse 12.
So then death
is at work in us,
but life is at work
in you.
Now,
just to give
the context again
of what Paul is saying.
Paul loved
the Corinthian Christians.
They were like
his sons and daughters
because he had
brought them
forth
by the power
of the gospel
some years earlier.
However,
they did not like him
because they still saw
the epitome
of great leadership
with the eyes
of their culture.
And that was,
like I said,
you have to have
a good appearance.
You have to know
how to speak well.
And Paul,
they accused him
in the same letter
and Paul mentions it.
They said,
his appearance
is nothing
and his speech
is of no account.
How can we believe
his word?
He's nothing.
He's not even rich
and he does not even
seek money from others
and from us
because he's nothing.
Had he been somebody,
he would have had
a lot of patrons
and a lot of money.
And Paul says,
no.
We go through
whatever we go through
not only so that
we can win
but that you can gain.
and all my sufferings
are like those
of a parent.
Now,
throughout this letter,
if you go through it,
you'll see that Paul
calls himself
a parent for them.
In fact,
even a parent
who is going to
discipline them
if they keep on doing
what they're doing
because he loves them
to death.
He has sacrificed
himself for them.
You know what
we parents do.
Even if you're not
a parent,
you're somebody's child.
You know that
as a parent,
you sacrifice
everything
for your children
and you die
daily for them.
You die in small ways
and in big ways.
You die to your hobbies.
Sometimes,
had you had not a child,
you'd have done
something else
as a hobby
that weekend
but yet,
you have to take them
to a football match.
Or,
you die to your
rest.
If you want to sleep
for an hour,
well,
you can't catch enough.
And if you want
to sleep through
the night
because it's so important
that you go to work
the next day
to support
that very child,
you have to stay
up all night.
And you suffer
in small ways.
You die to yourself
every single day.
And you die to your career
because you want
to give them
a better future
than yours.
You die to your dreams
often
because theirs
are more important
than yours.
And then,
as we well know,
you're ready to die
actually
for them.
You don't even
think about it
if it's a difficult
situation,
even if you've
never thrown a punch
in your life.
You turn into
a mama bear
or a papa bear
when your child's
life is
in peril.
You don't think
twice about
dying for them.
And you don't do it
because you're a hero.
You do it
because you're
a parent.
Like,
that's Paul.
And that's us
as Christians.
He's willing
to give it all,
to sacrifice it all,
to see that
others,
he's willing
to see others
see him down,
struck down,
pushed in a corner,
openly perplexed,
wondering what
is going on.
because he knows
that all of his
troubles will
actually bring
forward
the most
absolute joy
in his children,
in his spiritual
children.
And in the same
way we,
who suffer,
when others
see that we
suffer and yet
we stand,
yet we resist
against all odds,
that's a way
for them to
actually think,
wow,
I want to do
the same.
I want to do
the same.
I want to have
the same as
they're having.
I remember,
I will not tell
the name here,
but there is a
wonderful Christian
in Edinburgh
and I heard
this story.
Recently his
father died
of a,
of cancer,
I think.
And at the
funeral,
he said,
throughout his
life my father
showed me how
to live
and recently
he showed me
how to die.
That's the
Christian life
because it
starts with
Christ.
He was
betrayed,
handed over.
He was
willing to die.
He was
willing to
sacrifice himself
for us.
He is the
face of God.
and he
died for me
and you.
He showed
us how to
live.
He showed
us how to
die.
And three
days later,
he was
back alive,
never to
die anymore.
That is a
promise that
if I showed
you how to
live and
I showed
you how to
die,
you know
that now
I can show
you how to
live again
and never
die again.
that's why
we are
willing to
bear the
burden of
being
misinterpreted,
of being
hated,
and sometimes
of even
losing the
bid to the
highest office
in the land
because we
believe that
there is
something more
important than
an office.
There is
something more
important than
our dreams.
There is
something more
important than
our jobs.
There is
someone more
important than
ourselves.
And when we
grasp that
person,
Jesus Christ,
we know that
we are safe.
We actually
haven't lost
anything.
You cannot
keep
something that
is not yours,
but others
cannot take
away from us
what God
has given
us,
eternal life.
And because
we live and
every single
day we die
to ourselves,
we know
that one
day we are
going to win
the final
battle.
Do you
feel any
joy today,
brother and
sister?
Do you
feel any
love?
Do you
feel any
relief in
your troubles?
That's all
from God,
but you
know what?
It's only
a foretaste,
a preparation
of what is
to come.
It is like
a rehearsal,
a small
rehearsal of
what we'll
see one
day when
Christ returns.
until then
we have to
hold on,
not to
ourselves,
but to
Him,
because we
are indeed
insignificant
vessels,
and yet
because of
the treasure
we are
of inestimable
value.
And there
is proof
for that
every single
day you
suffer in
many different
ways,
and God
still keeps
you.
Against all
odds you
stand and
resist.
And the
purpose is
that we
will win.
That's why
we're willing
to sacrifice
everything.
And even
if we're
not willing
to sacrifice
anything,
it will
happen,
and yet
we shall
not lose.
The Lord
is going
to pick
us up
again,
and we
shall win,
and others
will gain.
Because we
know that
the one who
raised the
Lord Jesus
from the
dead will
also raise
us with
Jesus and
present us
with you
to himself.
Therefore,
we do not
lose heart.
Though
outwardly we
are wasting
away,
yet inwardly
we are being
renewed,
day by
day.
For our
light and
momentary
troubles are
achieving for
us an
eternal glory
that far
outweighs
them all.
So we
fix our
eyes not
on what
is seen,
but on
what is
unseen.
Because what
is seen is
temporary,
but what
is unseen
is eternal.
Oh,
Lord,
we are
weak.
We cannot
enact in
our own
lives the
life
sufferings
death of
Jesus
Christ.
But we
know that
we are
strong in
you because
of the
treasure we
carry.
Lord,
make the
people see
what is
in us and
may they
come to
you.
Even those
of us this
morning here
who do not
believe,
open their
eyes,
Lord,
that they
may see
Christ
himself and
may believe.
Life will
not get
easier for
them.
It will
get even
worse sometimes
because they're
Christian and
they will
represent Christ
in the world,
but however,
they're winners
because of
him and
one day we
shall all be
resurrected with
when Jesus
returns,
never to die
again.
In Jesus'
name,
Amen.