Chapter 4, 2 Corinthians chapter 4. Thank you, Ralph, for leading us this morning.
!
We've been working our way through this letter to the church in Corinth, written a long time
ago, but written for the church in every age, to God's people.
Well, we're going to pray, and then we're going to look at God's word together.
Let's pray.
Father God, you are the one who sees and knows all things.
And you see us today, not just us sitting here, but you know our hearts.
You know the things that are concerning us, the things that have happened to us.
And we pray that as we hear your word, it would speak into our lives, and allowing us and helping
us to see all our concerns from your perspective, and to see the work that you are doing in us.
And so we pray that you will move by the power of your spirit, and work in us what is good today.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Amen.
We're going to read chapter 4, verses 16 to 18.
It's a short text this morning, but jam-packed with wonderful truth to encourage us.
Chapter 4, verse 16.
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.
Since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Some of you will be familiar with the name Joni or Joni Erickson Tada, a young girl who in her teens had an accident.
And since that time, for the last 50 years of her waking life, she has remained in a wheelchair.
She was paralyzed from the neck down and has suffered terribly in her life.
Joni is a Christian, and she loves Jesus.
In her book, which I recommend to you, it's called A Place of Healing, she writes about a friend of hers called Melinda.
Let me read to you some of that story.
Melinda is struggling with a severe, and I mean a heartbreakingly severe, case of diabetes.
In the process, she has lost both her legs through amputation.
She has lost her eyesight, and she has lost several fingers.
Not long ago, she called to me to tell me that the doctors were about to remove another finger.
My heart went out to her, as it always does.
But my heart is also inspired by her struggle, and here's why.
Melinda has not lost heart.
The diabetes may be taking much away from her, but it can't take that away.
The doctors can't amputate that.
The woman is quite literally wasting away week by week, day by day.
But she has not lost heart, because she places her trust and confidence in Christ.
In chapter 4, we have seen how embracing the Christian life and ministry will mean weakness, suffering, and death.
In fact, to be a Christian means we will face troubles and trials of all kinds.
And when we go through those times, we can lose heart.
We can want to give up.
But we don't need to.
We don't need to lose heart.
Because chapter 4 is written to us for our encouragement.
Look back at verse 1.
Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, the ministry of declaring the good news about Jesus,
we do not lose heart.
And then down in verse 16.
Therefore, we do not lose heart.
So to help us this morning not to lose heart,
we need to be able to see our struggles through God's perspective.
To understand them as God would understand them.
So we're going to look at these few verses together
and see what God teaches us.
How we can respond to our struggles.
First, we do not lose heart because we have an unbreakable reality.
We do not lose heart because we have an unbreakable reality.
Verse 16.
We do not lose heart.
Though outwardly we are wasting away,
yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
That's our reality.
Our outward self, this body, is wasting away.
But our inward self is being renewed each day.
I have some sobering news.
I'm dying.
And so are all of you.
As we get older,
our weakness becomes more apparent.
Our energies decline.
Our thought process slows.
Our sufferings become more acute.
Our aches linger and our pains increase.
Our dying becomes more unavoidable.
Our fight grows tired.
Our bodies wear out.
Psalm 90, that we were reading earlier,
says this.
Our days may come to 70 years or 80
if our strength endures.
Yet the best of them
are but trouble and sorrow.
Even the young people,
you fit and healthy people out there,
you're not immune to this trajectory.
The writer to Ecclesiastes
puts it like this.
Remember your creator in the days of your youth.
Don't forget God.
Before the days of trouble come
and the years approach
when you will say,
I find no pleasure in them.
Now you might think
I'm being a little bit morbid
and a bit dour
and it's not very cheerful this morning.
But I'm just spelling out
the reality of God's word.
Weakness leads to suffering
and suffering will lead to death.
Outwardly,
we are all at this very moment
wasting away.
But,
in the midst of our aches and pains
and our groans and cries,
we are, verse 16,
being renewed day by day.
An unbreakable reality
is taking place
as we waste away.
So what is this renewal?
What's the transformation
that's going on in our life?
Well, we've already been given a hint of it.
If we go back to chapter 3,
verse 18.
Chapter 3, verse 18.
And we all,
who with unveiled faces,
contemplate the Lord's glory
as we look at Christ,
as we see Christ,
we are being transformed
into His image
with ever-increasing glory
which comes from the Lord
who is the Spirit.
Wonderful.
The Spirit of God
is at work
in our inner being.
We are,
as God's people,
at this very moment,
being transformed
to be like Christ
with ever-increasing glory.
And one day,
this renewing,
this transformational process
is going to reach its goal.
We will be like Christ.
We will be like Him.
We will see Him.
And we won't sin anymore.
And we won't struggle anymore.
We are, verse 16,
being renewed.
It is happening.
We are being transformed.
It will happen.
It's an unbreakable reality.
And this is the trajectory
that we are on.
God is preparing us now
for the age to come.
As our external self
decays and dies,
so our inward self
transforms and renews.
It's like the butterfly effect.
The caterpillar crawls
underneath your window ledge.
A chrysalis forms.
And from it emerges
a most beautiful butterfly.
Well, as death takes place
within us,
so at the same time,
life comes forth.
And one day,
one day,
yes, it is true,
we will be like Christ.
This is our unbreakable reality.
Outwardly,
wasting away,
yet inwardly,
being renewed
day by day.
Therefore,
we do not
lose heart.
So we have an unbreakable
reality.
certainty.
We have,
there we go,
an unshakable
certainty.
We do not lose heart
because we have
an unshakable certainty.
Verse 17.
For,
the reason for this renewal,
the reason for this transformation
that's going on in our life
is because,
verse 17,
our light
and momentary troubles
are achieving for us
an eternal glory
that far
outweighs them all.
You see,
when we face our troubles,
whatever they are,
we begin to doubt
and wonder.
Am I going to make it
to glory?
What if my suffering
overwhelms me
and crushes me?
What if I do
lose heart?
But look closely
to what it says,
verse 17.
Our troubles
are
achieving for us
an eternal glory.
Our troubles
are causing us,
they are preparing us
for our eternal destiny.
They are achieving
for us
our eternal glory.
wonderfully,
God in his sovereignty
and wisdom
gathers up
all of our sufferings
and all of our tears
and he uses
all of them
to get us
to glory.
It's the Romans 8,
verse 28,
principle.
And we know
that in all things,
in every circumstance
and every detail
of our life,
God works
for the good
of those
who love him,
who have been
called according
to his purpose.
And what is
God's purpose?
But to make us
more like Christ
and to bring us
to glory.
He will do it.
You see,
with God,
your troubles
don't keep you
from glory.
They get you
to glory.
This is our
unshakable
certainty.
And with that in mind,
we begin to see
our troubles
from God's
perspective.
Yes,
we're weak.
Yes,
we suffer.
Yes,
we're dying
and wasting away.
And for most,
that process
is difficult
and hard.
It's a daily
agony for some
people.
It's like a
torture.
Cancer
isn't nice.
Dementia
isn't pleasant.
Losing your
hearing or your
eyesight or your
mobility is at
times unbearable.
They are not,
as the
Apostle Paul
seems to suggest
in verse 17,
light and
momentary.
How can you
call my
painful disease
or my
crushing
disability
light
and
momentary?
It's hard.
Seems that
the Apostle
Paul didn't
get to go
to his
pastoral
caring course,
did he?
But he does
have a message
for us
because he
does understand.
He's telling
us that we're
to compare
our troubles
with the
glory to
come.
Verse 17,
our light
and momentary
troubles
are achieving
for us,
in contrast,
an eternal
glory that
far outweighs
them all.
on your
phones,
I'm sure
you've got
a stopwatch.
Every time
you have a
trouble,
click
start.
And when
it ends,
click
stop.
Do that
with every
trouble
and with
every hurt
and with
every pain
that you
may endure
through life.
And imagine
that you add
them all up,
all those
troubles,
all those
hardships.
Let's just
say for the
sake of
illustration,
it comes to
45 years,
20 days,
and 13
minutes.
That's a lot,
isn't it?
Now get
your stopwatch
and press
start when
glory begins.
And press
it when
it stops.
That's the
point.
That's the
point.
Glory
doesn't
end.
It never
finishes.
It never
stops.
It goes
on decade
after decade,
century
after century,
millennia
after
millennia.
Now
compare your
troubles in
this age
to the
glory to
come.
They are
momentary.
glory.
Your
life's
suffering is
like a
blink of
an eye,
a nanosecond
compared to
the eternal
glory that
is to come.
or think of
it like
this.
Get your
old-fashioned
weighing scales
out.
You know,
the balancing
ones.
Collect all
your troubles,
all your
hardships,
and place
them on the
left-hand
side.
And again,
for illustration
purpose,
let's just say
they all add
up to
120 kilograms.
That's a
heavy weight.
Not many
people here
could even
push it
or lift it,
certainly not
carry it.
Now get
all the
glory that
is stored
up for you
and place
it on the
other side
of the
scales.
Compare
the weight
of your
troubles
with the
weight
of glory.
It's like
putting a
piece of
dust on
one side
and a
cruiser
ship
on the
other
side.
Our
troubles
are a
feather
compared
to the
tonnage
of glory.
That's
why Paul
can say
back in
verse 8,
we are
hard-pressed
on every
side.
but not
crushed,
perplexed,
but not
in despair,
persecuted,
but not
abandoned,
struck down,
but not
destroyed.
The
weight
of glory
means we
are on
the side
of victory.
This
is our
unshakable
certainty,
our light
and momentary
troubles
are achieving
us an
eternal
glory
that far
outweighs
them all.
Therefore,
let none
of us
lose heart.
third,
we have
an unchangeable
priority.
An
unchangeable
priority.
Verse
18,
so,
and here's
our priority,
this is what we
are to give
our time
to,
in the light
of our
troubles,
we fix
our eyes
not on
what is
seen,
but on
what is
unseen,
since what
is seen
is temporary,
and what
is unseen
is eternal.
The
seen
are the
material
and the
tangible
things of
life.
Things like
our work,
our hobbies,
our possession,
our money,
our homes,
all the
things that
we look
to for
our comfort
and our
happiness.
But the
reality is
all that
we can
see,
all the
things that
we hold
dear,
they are
all
temporary.
Even the
things we
most love,
and even the
people that
we most
treasure,
are all
transient.
Everything
we touch,
everything
that we
can grasp
and hold,
perishes,
spoils,
and fades.
As the
writer James
put it
like this,
what is
your life?
You are
a mist
that appears
for a little
while,
and then
vanishes.
Just a
vapor.
We cannot
hold it.
The things
of this age
and the
world that
is around
us do
not last,
therefore,
there is
nothing in
this universe,
in this
world,
that can
satisfy us.
Nothing is
strong enough
to overcome
our sorrows.
Our longing
for contentment,
our desire
for happiness
is never
fully
realized.
What is
seen,
what we
have,
what we
hold and
touch,
it's all
temporary,
But the
unseen
is what
is eternal,
it is what
is yet to
come,
it's where
life does
not perish,
things don't
spoil,
things don't
fade,
it lasts
forever,
it's a place
where nothing
breaks,
nothing ends,
nothing dies,
it is nothing
less than the
new heavens
and the
new earth,
the new
creation,
it is
eternal
joy.
And the
very fact
that it is
unseen
means that
it is yet
to come.
Chapter
5,
verse 7
tells us
we are to
live by
faith
and not
by
sight.
We long
for something
better and
greater than
this mere
world around
us.
Our hope
is in what
is promised.
The
Apostle Paul
put it like
this,
hope that
is seen
is no
hope at
all.
Who
hopes for
what they
already have?
But if we
hope for
what we do
not yet
have,
we wait
for it
patiently.
Our
glorious
joy to
come is
eternal,
so we
fix our
eyes not
on what
is seen,
but on
what is
unseen.
That is
to be our
unchanging
priority each
and every
day.
Fix our
eyes on
what is
unseen.
So how
do we do
that?
How do
we fix
our eyes
on what
is unseen?
Well,
two things
to apply
to us.
I don't
have it
there, so
here's the
first one.
Loosen
your grip.
How do we
fix our
eyes on
what is
unseen?
Loosen
your grip.
God's
love.
Because it
was never
God's
design that
this world
should be
our home.
In fact,
all that we
love and
enjoy here
right now
in this
age are
shadows
of the
reality.
One writer
put it like
this, one of
my favourite
quotes.
things that
is
to go to
heaven
fully to
enjoy God
is infinitely
better than
the most
pleasant of
gifts here.
fathers and
mothers,
husbands and
wives,
children and
friends are
all but
shadows.
But the
enjoyment of
God is
the substance.
These, the
gifts around
us, are but
scattered beams,
but God is
the sun.
These are
streams, but
God is the
fountain.
These are
but drops,
but God is
the ocean.
You see, we
so often live
as if this
earth were
our permanent
home.
We grip so
tightly the
things that we
love that we
cannot see
anything else.
And when
suffering comes,
we lose all
hope.
But all
that we have
are shadows
pointing us
to the
reality to
come.
Our hobbies,
our work,
they're the
streams, but
God is the
fountain of
joy.
Our friends
and our
health, well,
they're just
drops.
God is the
ocean filled
with love.
Loosen your
grip on
this life
love.
And look to
Christ who
is unseen.
Adjust your
gaze is the
second thing
we do.
Look to
Christ because
without Christ,
without him,
there would be
no glory.
You see, it's
the presence of
Christ that
makes glory to
come and
eternal joy.
In other
words, if you
could go to
heaven right
now, and if
Christ were
not there, it
would be
joyless.
It would be
empty.
Christ is the
one who makes
glory happen.
He has defeated
your sin on the
cross.
He has
destroyed the
death and
grave.
He alone
satisfies us
and fulfills
us.
As Psalm
16 says,
you fill me
with joy in
your presence
and with
eternal pleasures
at your right
hand.
So let us
together loosen
our grip.
Let us
adjust our
gaze.
Repent of
making the
gifts greater
than the
giver.
Turn from
seeking joy in
the things that
do not last
and look in
faith, walk
by faith, trust
in the one who
gives life in
all its
fullness now
and forever
more.
We are to
be like the
old Christian
who said
this,
when Christ
calls me
home, I
shall go with
the gladness
of a boy
bounding away
from school.
Are you
waiting for
glory?
I can't
wait.
Let's
pray.
Father,
thank you
for your
word
that speaks
truth and
reality
into our
troubles
and into
our trials.
You are
so good.
Would you
please help
us by your
spirit
to loosen
our grip
on the
things that
we see
and that
we may
adjust our
gaze
and look
at what
is unseen
and what
is yet to
come.
May our
eyes be
fixed on
Christ,
the one
who makes
glory possible,
the one
who is
our glorious
joy.
Thank you
that as we
trust you,
you keep
us and
you will
bring and
use all
that we
face to
ensure we
reach glory,
a glory
that far
outweighs
anything in
this world.
Thank you,
Jesus.
Amen.
We're going
to sing
together.
God moves
in a
mysterious
way,
his wonders
to perform,
his plants,
his footsteps
in the sea
and rides
upon the
storm.
I invite you
to sing
as we
entrust
our lives
afresh to
the one
who has
our life
in his
hands.
Let's sing,
let's sing
to encourage
one another
that we
may not