to preach this morning as we continue in our series from 2 Corinthians.
! Thanks Sam.
Good morning everybody.
If you could turn please, in God's word, to 2 Corinthians chapter 4.
And we're going to read from verses 1 to 6.
That's 2 Corinthians chapter 4.
If you're using a church Bible, that's on page 1161.
As we come to read God's word, let's pray and ask for his help to really hear it.
Let's pray.
Our Heavenly Father, as we come now to read your word,
help us by your Spirit to really listen.
We don't want your word to just go in one ear and out the other.
We want to hear what you have to say to us this morning.
We pray this, Lord, so that we may not lose heart,
but that we will be encouraged in the ministry that you have given to us all.
Amen.
Mary's going to read our passage.
Thank you, Mary.
Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry,
we do not lose heart.
Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways.
We do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God.
On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly,
we commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God.
And even if our gospel is veiled, it's veiled to those who are perishing.
The God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel
that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord,
and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
For God, who said,
Let light shine out of darkness,
made his light shine in our hearts
to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory
displayed in the face of Christ.
Amen.
Well, I wonder, what do you see?
I don't know if you've ever seen this picture of Ruben's vase before.
Half the room will look at this,
and they will see a vase.
The other half of the room will look and see two faces looking at each other.
I wonder which one did you see first.
I saw the vase first, not the two faces looking at each other.
Isn't it funny, though,
how two people can be looking at exactly the same thing
and yet see something completely different?
I have another example of this.
When I was 16 years old,
I became convinced that I had a future as a singer-songwriter.
I got recording software for my Christmas present.
I began writing and recording my own songs
and sharing them out to the world.
My older, wiser brother, he was coy about the whole idea.
He didn't want to crush my spirits,
but he was gently trying to help me see that singing wasn't my main gift
that the Lord had given to me.
But when I told him that I had got my first gig,
he nearly collapsed.
And he did sit me down at that point and said,
Sambo, you can't sing.
Of course, I completely ignored his advice.
And I went and I played that gig anyway.
It took me years to actually see the reality that he saw,
which is that singing isn't my main gift.
And I should leave that to others more so in a solo capacity.
We were looking at the same thing
and saw something completely different.
Have you ever had that experience?
Well, the text today tells us that the same thing happens
when we look at Jesus.
We could all be looking at Jesus
and see totally different things.
And we're going to learn today why that is.
So that's our first theme in this text.
It's seeing Jesus.
But here's the second thing.
It's sharing Jesus.
Now, all those who truly seen Jesus
and received him as God, as Savior,
they're given the ministry of sharing Jesus with others.
And it's really natural.
We want to share the good news of the Savior
who we have seen.
We share the gospel of his life, his death, his resurrection.
Now, that's the ministry we've been given.
Paul has already been talking about this ministry in chapter 3.
And now in chapter 4, he tells us this.
In verse 1, he says,
Don't lose heart in your ministry.
Don't lose heart.
Why did he feel it necessary to say that?
Why is it so important to tell us not to lose heart
when we share Jesus with others?
Well, here's what I think.
As believers, whenever we look at Jesus,
we see God the Son from eternity
who became a human being.
We see the second Adam who never failed.
We see the humble servant who made himself nothing.
We see the only substitute who could ever pay for our sin.
We see the unstoppable victor
who crushed our death when he rose from the dead.
We see the reigning king who is interceding for us,
a God's right hand in heaven right now.
We see the good shepherd,
the sovereign ruler,
the head of the church,
the king of kings,
the lord of lords,
who one day will ride out with heaven's armies,
eyes ablaze with fire.
To judge the living and the dead.
That's who we see when we see Jesus.
But they can't see him.
They can't see Jesus
for who he really is.
That's why we get disheartened.
All they see is a dead,
distant,
historical figure
with no relevance to their lives.
Or a religious joke
whose name they thrash around.
Or a cold condemner
who's just waiting for them to fail.
It's heartbreaking.
And when this happens,
we so easily lose heart
because we know they desperately need Jesus,
but they can't see him.
But look at what Paul says in verse 1.
He says,
Therefore, since through God's mercy
we have this ministry,
we do not lose heart.
Now how so, Paul?
How are we not to lose heart
when most people in Cargoline
just can't see Jesus?
And Paul's going to answer that question
in our text today.
But first,
he wants to talk about
what happens when we get disheartened.
In verse 2,
he shows us two different ways
that we can respond
whenever we lose heart.
Now here's the first response we can have.
We can distort the gospel.
We do this whenever the results aren't coming in.
Paul talks about it in verse 2.
It's like,
if we change the message about Christ slightly,
right,
presenting a less offensive,
more culturally acceptable Jesus,
more people will believe in him.
Right?
In verse 2,
Paul calls it
deception.
Often we do this
by overemphasizing
one truth about Jesus
at the expense of others.
Some examples.
We might deceive people
by presenting Jesus as life coach.
Okay?
Jesus will help you
to make big decisions,
guide you on your journey,
support you in hard times,
you know,
footsteps in the sand,
all of that.
And it's true.
God is
intimately interested in our lives,
but it's not the main truth
of the gospel,
is it?
If that's all we're telling people,
it's a deception.
Do we share
how Jesus confronted us
in our sin
and commanded us to repent?
How about his demand
that we would take up
our cross
and follow him?
We could present Jesus
just as a spiritual help
along your journey,
that he affirms
your choices as such,
but no,
the gospel presents Jesus
first and foremost
as our rescuer
from our hopeless,
sinful state,
not a life coach
who affirms our choices.
But that's not popular today,
is it?
We're tempted to distort
the message of Christ
so people will listen.
Here's another example.
Maybe we might distort the gospel
by presenting Jesus
as the ticket to heaven.
Okay?
Yes,
you should repent.
Say sorry for your sin,
accept Jesus
as your savior,
and then you'll go to heaven.
With the emphasis
all the way through being on
you'll go to heaven.
And really,
Jesus is just
the ticket machine,
right?
You insert a prayer,
out pops the ticket to heaven.
You know,
off you go.
Get back to your ordinary life
that you were living.
No change.
You just got the ticket
in your back pocket now.
And it's true,
of course,
that Christ
does give us heaven.
But that's only because
heaven is to be
with Christ.
Heaven is when
Christ is truly
and fully united
to her bride,
the church,
betrothed to her
forever.
But
my colleagues in work
don't really want to know
about that.
Or the classmates,
or family,
or neighbors.
They want heaven
without Christ.
So we begin
to subtly change
the message.
You know,
when I think about it,
I presented both
of those deceptions
before,
in sharing
what I thought
was Jesus
with other people.
I don't know
what it is for you.
How do you try
and dress Jesus up
or something
to make him easier
to believe in?
People will probably
be more keen
to listen,
yeah.
I might be more
acceptable.
But it's shameful
deception.
And it's preaching
a false Jesus.
Think about it.
He can never save.
It's not the real Jesus.
Look at what Paul says
in verse 2.
Rather,
we have renounced
secret and shameful
ways.
We do not
use deception.
Nor do we
distort
the word of God.
On the contrary,
by setting forth
the truth plainly,
we commend ourselves
to everyone's conscience
in the sight
of God.
God,
that's
the second response.
That's our only
right response
when we are
disheartened
in ministry.
We keep
declaring
the gospel
anyway.
The true message
of Christ,
the way the Bible
presents it,
we don't gloss
over the awkward
or offensive bits.
We set it forth
plainly,
genuinely,
whatever the response.
Here's a quote
from an author
called Dean Ortlund.
He says this,
the gospel
is a message
of truth,
an honest
assessment
of our sinful
condition,
and a clear
and forthright
declaration
of how freely
to be put
right with God.
That's what it
means to share
the gospel.
You know,
so when we are
disheartened
that people don't
listen to our
message about Jesus,
we don't distort
the message to try
and get them to
listen.
No,
we must keep
sharing the truth
regardless
of the response.
Paul now
turns,
though,
in the next
verse to
address a
really important
question,
and it's
why do people
reject the
gospel truth?
Why do they
reject the good
news about Jesus?
Why do so
many not see
Jesus as God
and Savior
whenever we
tell them
about him?
Why can't
they see
what we
see?
Well,
let's read
from verse
three and
find out
the reason
why.
Verse
three,
and even
if our
gospel is
veiled,
it is
veiled to
those who
are perishing.
Okay,
so we
hear that
the good
news of
the gospel
is veiled
or hidden
from those
who don't
see Jesus
as God.
The true
Christ is
veiled.
He's hidden
from them.
Why is
Jesus hidden
from them?
Verse four
tells us.
Read with
me.
The God
of this
age,
that is
Satan,
has blinded
the minds
of unbelievers
so that they
cannot see
the light
of the
gospel
that displays
the glory
of Christ
who is
the image
of God.
Well,
there's our
reason.
This is why
people don't
see Christ
as God
and all
his glory.
It's
Satan
has blinded
them.
They can't
see the
light of
the gospel.
The gospel
shines light
on Jesus,
his glory.
The gospel
illuminates
his glory
as God.
Satan
blinds them
from seeing
that light.
That's what's
happening
whenever your
colleague or
classmate or
family member
doesn't respond.
Whenever you
tell them
about Jesus
or whenever
they hear
about him
in some
other place,
they can't
see the glory
of Christ
when they've
been blinded.
Whenever I
was 18
years old,
I went to
my sixth
year,
Deb's
Ball,
with a
friend of
mine from
school.
She was
visually
impaired.
She could
only see
shadows of
light.
At this
point,
she was
almost 100%
blind.
when we
arrived at
the venue,
I was
amazed at
the glory
of the
hotel.
It was
just
wonderful.
There was
a red
carpet laid
out,
this
Georgian
architecture,
the grand
staircase,
the ornately
decorated
tables.
I was
sad that
my friend,
she couldn't
see the
glory of
that place
for herself.
She could
never express
her praise
of it as
I could.
She was
physically
blinded from
seeing that
glory.
And this
is a picture
of what is
happening
spiritually.
When people
we know
cannot see
the surpassing
glory of
Christ.
Satan has
blinded them
from seeing
Christ as
God and
the only
savior from
sin.
At best,
what they
see is
this blurry
or false
picture of
who he
is,
like a
life coach
or like a
ticket to
heaven.
They can't
see.
Now,
if that
was where
Paul left
us,
this would
be a
really
hopeless
text and
sermon,
wouldn't
it?
We might
ask,
how then,
Paul,
can anyone
believe if
Satan has
blinded
everyone?
We might
completely lose
heart and
just give up
sharing Jesus
with anyone.
I mean,
do you guys,
do you feel
the blindness
here in
Caracoline and
around?
Does it
weigh on
you?
Do you feel
disheartened
because so
many people
just can't
see Jesus
as you can?
do you
feel that?
Where is
the hope
in this
situation?
Paul begins
to give us
the answer
in verse
five.
He says
this,
for what
we preach
is not
ourselves,
but Jesus
Christ as
Lord and
ourselves as
your servants
for Jesus'
sake.
So he's
basically saying
here,
look,
all I'm
ever going
to share
with you
is Jesus.
Jesus as
Lord,
no other
message matters.
Why?
Here's the
glorious hope.
Here it is
in verse
six.
For God,
who said,
let light
shine out
of darkness,
made his
light shine
in our
hearts to
give us
the light
of the
knowledge of
God's
glory displayed
in the face
of Christ.
light.
Yes,
thank God
there is
hope for
those who
cannot yet
see,
because God
gives
spiritual
sight to
see Christ.
And here's
how he does
it.
As we
speak his
word,
he calls
forth
light.
Okay,
just as in
creation,
God
commanded
light to
come out
of darkness
and it
came
flooding
out,
so also
God
calls new
spiritual
light out
of spiritual
darkness in
people's
lives and
they can
see.
How does
he do
that?
Well,
he does
it as
we speak
God's
word into
their lives.
God makes
the light
to shine
on Christ.
That's why
it's so
important to
keep sharing
God's
word
faithfully.
Isn't that
amazing?
God's
word
creates
new
spiritual
light
in
people's
hearts.
You know
what?
Where people
could never
before see
Jesus as
God and
Savior,
now with
new
spiritual
eyes,
they can
see him.
It's a
miraculous
transformation.
It's not
something anybody
can do for
themselves.
There's no
spiritual
formula to
manufacture it.
No,
only God
can remove
the blindness
Satan has
cast on
them.
Now,
turn with
me,
if you
could,
please,
to Matthew
chapter 16.
Matthew
chapter 16.
And
verse 13.
And
here's another
example in
scripture of
how God
removes
spiritual
blindness.
It's
Matthew
chapter 16
verse 13.
When Jesus
came to the
region of
Caesarea
Philippi,
he asked
his disciples,
who do
people say
the Son of
Man is?
They replied,
some say
John the
Baptist,
others say
Elijah,
and still
others,
Jeremiah,
or one of
the prophets.
But what
about you?
He asked.
Who do
you say
I am?
Simon
Peter answered,
you are the
Messiah,
the Son
of the
living
God.
Peter saw,
right?
He saw
who Jesus
really was.
Now what
does Jesus
do in
response?
Does Jesus
give him a
pat on the
back and
say,
hey,
Peter,
you're the
man.
Knew
you'd be the
first one to
see who
he truly
was.
Top
class
disciple
right here.
Everyone
give this
man a round
of applause.
Is that
what Jesus
says?
No.
The answer
might surprise
us.
Verse 17,
he says
this.
Blessed
are you,
Simon,
son of
Jonah,
for this
was not
revealed to
you by
flesh and
blood,
but by
my Father
in heaven.
Our
sight is a
gift.
Peter
isn't given
an ounce of
credit for
seeing who
Jesus really
is.
God
removed
your
blindness,
Peter.
It was a
gift.
You had
nothing to
do with
it,
Jesus
says.
Now think
about your
story for
a second.
If you're a
believer in
Christ today,
there was a
time in your
life when you
couldn't see
your need of
Jesus,
right?
Just think
back to that
time now.
God.
And maybe
like me,
you had
heard the
message of
Jesus spoken
to you many,
many times
before,
maybe over
years.
But you
still couldn't
see Jesus as
God and
Savior.
You didn't
see your need
of him.
You didn't
want him.
But then,
over the
course of
time,
something
changed.
You found
yourself deeply
convicted of
your sin.
And you
saw Jesus
as dying
on the
cross for
your sin
personally.
And you
repented of
your sin and
you turned
to him in
wholehearted
trust.
You believed
that he
rose from
the dead
crushing
your death.
Is it to
your credit
or to
mine that
we saw
him?
No.
We never
wanted Jesus
until God
removed our
blindness.
And then
we saw
his glory
and believed.
Isn't that
amazing?
Reminds me
of those
famous words.
Amazing
grace,
how sweet
the sound
that saved
a wretch
like me.
I once
was lost,
but now
am found,
was
blind.
But now
I see.
That's
true.
People who
are physically
blind cannot
do anything
to give
themselves
sight.
So also,
people who
are spiritually
blind can
never make
themselves see
Christ.
There really
is all a
gift of
amazing
grace.
How does
this help
us not
lose heart
in our
ministry?
Of sharing
Jesus with
others?
How does
this help
us not
lose
heart?
Well,
here so,
we now
have hope.
Satan
may blind
people from
seeing Christ,
but God
can remove
the blindness.
God can
shine his
light in
their hearts
just as
he shone
it in
ours.
Just as
he removed
our blindness
making us
see Christ,
he's going
to do the
same for
other people
as well.
That is
our hope.
There are
neighbors,
colleagues,
classmates,
family members
who will
see him
as glorious
God and
Savior.
It just
hasn't
happened yet.
God.
Now,
if it
were up
to us
to change
people's
hearts,
we would
have every
reason to
lose heart
in ministry.
But no,
because God
is in the
business of
removing
blindness,
we don't
lose
heart.
That is
our hope.
Now,
as we
finish,
how does
knowing all
this change
the way
that we
live as
Christians?
I've got
three brief
things for
you to
consider.
Here's the
first one.
Keep sharing
the true
gospel.
Remember how
in creation
God spoke
his word
into darkness
and the
light shone?
So when
people are
saved,
it's actually
we get
to speak
God's
word into
people's
lives and
God makes
the light
shine on
Christ.
Isn't that
incredible?
And it
means very
simply that
we have
to keep
on declaring
the gospel.
We don't
distort it.
We don't
change it.
To try and
make people
believe him?
No.
To do so
is shameful
and damaging
because it
only leads
people to
a Jesus
of our
imagining,
not the
true Jesus
of the
gospel.
So that's
our first
thing.
We share
the true
message of
Christ.
And I've
been challenged
quite recently
to think
about this.
I mean,
how am I
actually sharing
the gospel?
I find
it's very
easy to,
you know,
when I'm
chatting to
someone here
in town
or wherever,
it's very
easy to
chat about
my church
and I
can tell
them lots
of great
things.
Oh, yeah,
we meet in
the community
center,
we sing
songs,
we've got
tea and
coffee after.
It's great.
A kids
program,
all of
that.
That's good,
but if that's
all I share,
they're not
hearing about
Jesus at
all.
How can
they know
about Jesus
if we don't
actually tell
them the
gospel,
what he's
done?
I think we
need to
challenge
ourselves to
just go
for it.
Be open
with the
gospel,
not in a
loud,
in-your-face
way that
clearly does
not work
in contexts
like
Carragiline,
but if we
do open
up our
lives to
people,
no one
can contest
that.
Everyone is
willing to
listen to
your life
story,
your experience,
and through
our story,
we tell of
our sinfulness
and we tell
of the
Savior who
rescued us
and who
can rescue
them too.
We open
up God's
word,
we show
them just
what it
says.
We keep
sharing the
true message
of the
gospel.
Here's a
second thing
I was thinking
about.
We should
pray more
than we
share.
If God
is the
only one
who is
able to
remove
blindness
from hearts,
as Paul
has just
told us,
prayer should
be on the
top of our
priority list.
Because when
we don't
pray, it
implies that
we think
we're the
ones who
can make
people believe
in Jesus.
You know?
How good I
am at sharing
the gospel
or something.
It's like
it's up to
us.
Prayer
changes
things because
in prayer,
we call
upon the
only one
who is
able to
remove
blindness
and give
spiritual
sight.
Now,
you might
say,
well,
God can
remove
blindness
without
anyone
praying
for it.
And it's
true.
I mean,
it's not
beyond him
at all.
God can
remove
blindness
of anyone
that he
chooses
anywhere
in this
world,
and he
has done.
But here's
the mystery
of it
all.
He wants
us to
pray for
people.
He actually
asks us
to.
He says
in Luke
13,
ask,
and it
will be
given to
you.
Seek,
and you
will find.
Knock,
and the
door will
be opened
to you.
He wants
us to
ask him
to save
other people
from their
blindness.
There are
things that
God is not
going to
do in
this world
until people
have called
on him in
prayer to
do it.
Isn't
that crazy?
I don't
understand that
fully.
It's a
mystery why
God does
it in this
way, but
it's amazing,
isn't it?
He involves
us in
his work
of saving
people.
He sure
doesn't need
our prayers,
but how
amazing that
he chooses
to use
our prayers
to involve
us in
his saving
of people.
So here's
what we do.
here's
the model.
We pray
for people
who are
on our
hearts.
We share
the gospel
with them
and then
we pray
and pray
and we
don't give
up because
we know
that God
opens
eyes.
If you
aren't doing
so already,
write some
names down
on the list.
Just get
praying for
God to
open their
eyes and
see what
he does.
Ask him
for those
opportunities
to share
the gospel
and pray
for them
and just
watch what
he does
in their
lives.
One last
thing.
Maybe you've
been sitting
listening
and you
just don't
see your
need of
Jesus.
You don't
see him
as God,
as the
king of
your life.
your heart
is not
warmed
when you
hear of
him.
The songs
that we
were singing
earlier
don't really
mean anything
to you.
We've just
read that
you are
still blind
to the
glory of
Jesus.
But here's
the good
news.
You can
see.
You can
see today.
Here's how
God's
word about
Christ.
As you
read it,
hear it,
ask God
to remove
the blindness
from your
eyes.
Just try
him.
Ask him
that you
would see
who Jesus
really is,
both God
and Savior.
And God
says in his
word that if
you seek him
with all
your heart,
you will
find him.
today is
the day
that you
can see
Christ for
the first
time and
be changed
forever.
Let's take
all that we
have heard
from God's
word and
turn to
prayer now.
Let's pray.
thank you,
Lord, that
because we
have this
ministry,
we do
not lose
heart.
We believe
your word.
You will
save people
in this
town as
we speak
your word.
the message
of Christ.
We call
on you
now for
a fresh
move of
your Holy
Spirit,
removing
blindness
and causing
light to
shine in
people's
hearts.
Save us
from
distorting
that message
to try
and garner
some fake
results.
Help us
to speak
the true
message of
Christ
clearly,
plainly.
Burgeon us
to pray
for our
friends,
family members,
colleagues,
classmates,
that they
too will be
granted sight
to see
Jesus just
as you
did for
us.
And Lord,
we are
amazed at
your amazing
grace,
how you
made us
see.
Let your
glory be
seen and
savored by
more and
more people
in
Caracaline.
we pray
this for
your great
namesake.
Amen.