WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.440 Well, lovely to be with you. Here's a question I want you to think about this morning. I wonder 00:00:05.440 --> 00:00:13.339 what your ambitions are in life. What do you really want out of life? What sort of person 00:00:13.339 --> 00:00:18.900 do you want to become? It so happens that it's my birthday tomorrow, and I have to be 00:00:18.900 --> 00:00:24.199 honest, I'm now nearer 50 than I am 40. And in a sense, as I reflect on that, I'm just 00:00:24.199 --> 00:00:31.820 beginning to wrestle with, what do I want my life to look like with the 20, 30, 40 years 00:00:31.820 --> 00:00:40.039 I might have left? For some of you, well, you're nearer 20 than 30. A whole range of opportunities 00:00:40.039 --> 00:00:49.100 lie in front of you. What do you really want? What are you running after? A number of years 00:00:49.100 --> 00:00:53.500 ago, I was struck by this quote from John Stott, who was a great church leader of the 00:00:53.500 --> 00:01:00.140 20th century. And he said this in his 80s. He says, I'm sometimes asked whether at my 00:01:00.140 --> 00:01:09.340 age I have any ambitions left. I always now reply, yes, my overriding ambition is that I 00:01:09.340 --> 00:01:16.219 may become a little bit more like Christ. It's quite striking, isn't it? Coming towards 00:01:16.219 --> 00:01:23.120 the end of his life, he says, the thing I really want is I want to be a little bit more like 00:01:23.120 --> 00:01:29.039 Jesus. Now, can I say, if we're here this morning and we wouldn't yet call ourselves a Christian, 00:01:29.799 --> 00:01:34.859 the Christian message isn't try your best to be like Jesus. In some ways, the Christian message is 00:01:34.859 --> 00:01:44.019 you can't on your own. You all of us will need the Lord Jesus to die for us. But if we are 00:01:44.019 --> 00:01:49.359 Christians, I hope there's something in you as you read that, maybe it's the spirit within you saying, 00:01:49.539 --> 00:01:59.159 yes, actually, that is what I want. As I relate to people, as I pursue my life, it would be lovely 00:01:59.159 --> 00:02:05.640 if I did so more like Jesus. Because let's be honest, that would be really good for us as a church. 00:02:06.379 --> 00:02:13.159 I'm sure church life is good. But wouldn't church life be even better if as we relate to each other, 00:02:13.159 --> 00:02:21.039 we're all relating to each other like Jesus would. Wouldn't that be great for the surrounding area, 00:02:21.139 --> 00:02:30.060 for Edinburgh? If as we live in our communities, as we do our jobs, we relate to people as Jesus does. 00:02:31.740 --> 00:02:37.500 Actually, wouldn't that be great just for ourselves? I mean, let's be honest, Jesus is the best human 00:02:37.500 --> 00:02:44.819 being who's ever lived. The one who did life best. So wouldn't it be great even for ourselves 00:02:44.819 --> 00:02:54.139 if we were more and more like Jesus? Because the Bible at times tells us to live like Jesus. 00:02:55.580 --> 00:03:02.659 Love one another, Jesus says. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 00:03:02.659 --> 00:03:10.620 Or actually, in 1 John, we read this, whoever lives in Jesus must walk as he did. 00:03:11.560 --> 00:03:18.599 We're called to be like Jesus. Now, as I say that, I wonder what's going on within you. 00:03:19.620 --> 00:03:24.019 Because it might be for some of us, we're saying, yeah, I do want that, but I can't. 00:03:25.139 --> 00:03:30.620 You know, how on earth can little me be like Jesus? Don't you know the stuff that I wrestle 00:03:30.620 --> 00:03:40.360 with and struggle with? How can I be like Jesus? Well, in that long passage that was read to us, 00:03:40.400 --> 00:03:46.560 there are actually two references, two ways in which we are able to become like Jesus. 00:03:47.219 --> 00:03:52.840 And so I'm not going to work all the way through the passage, but pick on two verses in particular 00:03:52.840 --> 00:03:57.180 that we're going to focus on. In chapter 3, verse 18, we read this, 00:03:57.180 --> 00:04:13.460 In other words, chapter 3, verse 18 is saying we're being made like Jesus as we do something. 00:04:14.800 --> 00:04:18.699 Or towards the end of the passage, chapter 4, verse 10 and verse 11, 00:04:18.699 --> 00:04:24.000 we see that the life of Jesus may be revealed in our body. 00:04:25.039 --> 00:04:28.659 That something of what Jesus is like will be revealed in us. 00:04:29.519 --> 00:04:34.079 Again, it's there in verse 11, his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 00:04:34.439 --> 00:04:38.360 So a lot's going on in the passage, but what's going on twice is, 00:04:39.360 --> 00:04:43.419 here's how it's possible to be like Jesus. 00:04:43.420 --> 00:04:51.439 And firstly, we see that we become like Jesus as we gaze on the glory of Jesus. 00:04:52.020 --> 00:04:56.060 We become like Jesus as we gaze on the glory of Jesus. 00:04:57.180 --> 00:05:02.319 Now, 2 Corinthians 3 is all about the new covenant. 00:05:03.379 --> 00:05:07.680 And the context of the new covenant is this, about 600 years before Jesus, 00:05:07.680 --> 00:05:14.600 Jeremiah, the prophet, is speaking to God's people when they're at a low ebb. 00:05:15.600 --> 00:05:19.879 They're about to be taken off to exile far from home in Babylon. 00:05:20.680 --> 00:05:24.519 They're there because of the ways they've failed, because of their various sins. 00:05:25.639 --> 00:05:29.019 And in that context, Jeremiah makes a promise. 00:05:29.960 --> 00:05:33.240 The days are coming, God says, when I will make a new covenant, 00:05:34.019 --> 00:05:37.259 where I will be their God and they will be my people. 00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:41.579 Where there'll be a new relationship with God, where they will all know him. 00:05:42.259 --> 00:05:44.199 Know him from the inside. 00:05:45.939 --> 00:05:49.519 And that will be possible, because I will forgive their wickedness. 00:05:50.100 --> 00:05:52.319 I will remember their sins no more. 00:05:52.639 --> 00:05:55.540 And there's a great promise of a new agreement with God's people, 00:05:55.620 --> 00:05:56.660 where they will be forgiven. 00:05:57.540 --> 00:05:59.540 Where God will live inside them. 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:01.960 Where they will know him. 00:06:01.959 --> 00:06:06.719 And basically that promise hangs around for 600 years or so. 00:06:06.819 --> 00:06:09.379 A promise of a new agreement between God and people. 00:06:10.680 --> 00:06:12.620 Until one Passover. 00:06:13.919 --> 00:06:16.859 And there's a man eating a meal with his friends. 00:06:18.079 --> 00:06:21.659 And during that meal, he takes some wine. 00:06:21.660 --> 00:06:25.460 And he says, this cup is the new covenant. 00:06:26.240 --> 00:06:27.480 In my blood. 00:06:29.160 --> 00:06:32.420 And as Jesus takes that cup, essentially he's saying to him, 00:06:32.439 --> 00:06:35.460 Do you remember those promises 600 years ago through Jeremiah? 00:06:36.460 --> 00:06:40.300 A new agreement between God and people where he's going to live in them 00:06:40.300 --> 00:06:42.400 and they'll know him and they'll be completely forgiven. 00:06:42.500 --> 00:06:43.240 Do you remember that? 00:06:43.240 --> 00:06:45.600 But it's now. 00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:47.920 It's now. 00:06:49.740 --> 00:06:51.639 And as my blood is shed on the cross, 00:06:51.720 --> 00:06:54.860 so a whole new agreement between God and people is opened up. 00:06:55.900 --> 00:07:00.180 Whereby whoever you are, you can say, I know God. 00:07:01.720 --> 00:07:05.819 Because the barrier between you and God is about to be swept away. 00:07:06.639 --> 00:07:08.600 And in 2 Corinthians 3, Paul says, 00:07:08.740 --> 00:07:10.759 I have the ministry of the new covenant. 00:07:10.759 --> 00:07:16.060 I get the privilege of proclaiming all that God has done. 00:07:16.420 --> 00:07:18.379 All that Jesus achieved. 00:07:20.120 --> 00:07:22.680 And as you work your way through 2 Corinthians 3, 00:07:22.740 --> 00:07:25.099 you find these different privileges we have. 00:07:26.199 --> 00:07:28.399 We have the privilege of the Spirit. 00:07:29.459 --> 00:07:31.319 It's the ministry of the Spirit, verse 8. 00:07:31.560 --> 00:07:35.560 Which means that in the new covenant, God comes to live inside us. 00:07:36.659 --> 00:07:37.899 So the Christian life isn't. 00:07:37.899 --> 00:07:41.639 There are these commands up there and I've got to try really hard to keep them. 00:07:42.819 --> 00:07:43.099 No, no. 00:07:43.199 --> 00:07:46.299 The Christian life is God has put his commands in my heart. 00:07:47.259 --> 00:07:49.019 And I get to live them out. 00:07:49.759 --> 00:07:51.199 That's what the Christian life is. 00:07:51.239 --> 00:07:52.519 It's life by the Spirit. 00:07:53.939 --> 00:07:58.019 Or Paul says this ministry means we're righteous, not condemned. 00:07:58.019 --> 00:08:06.079 You do know that as God looks down, if we're in Jesus, there is a smile on his face, not a frown. 00:08:07.879 --> 00:08:09.639 Because we're made right with him. 00:08:11.099 --> 00:08:13.839 We're righteous, not condemned. 00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:16.859 We live under his smile. 00:08:16.860 --> 00:08:23.100 And actually 2 Corinthians 3 is basically saying, if you're joining, join to Jesus. 00:08:23.220 --> 00:08:24.900 Are you enjoying these privileges? 00:08:26.319 --> 00:08:28.580 Enjoying the fact that God's Spirit lives in you. 00:08:29.620 --> 00:08:34.300 Enjoying the fact that we're declared in the right with God, whatever this last week has been like. 00:08:35.600 --> 00:08:37.039 We have these privileges. 00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:43.199 I remember a few years ago, traveling up from London, I think it was to Edinburgh actually. 00:08:43.860 --> 00:08:51.319 And there was a sort of special offer at the time, which meant a first class rail ticket was about £5 more expensive than the second class one. 00:08:51.519 --> 00:08:53.019 So I thought, I'm going to treat myself. 00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:56.959 So I remember getting this first class rail ticket in London to Edinburgh. 00:08:57.179 --> 00:09:01.240 And that meant at King's Cross, you could have access to the first class lounge. 00:09:01.240 --> 00:09:08.000 But I sort of peered through the door and there were lovely things like newspapers and free coffee and comfortable seats. 00:09:08.220 --> 00:09:09.379 And it looked great. 00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:13.519 But everybody in there was dressed in a really smart suit, sort of looking impressive. 00:09:14.539 --> 00:09:15.659 And I wasn't. 00:09:16.659 --> 00:09:19.320 I remember thinking, am I really allowed in there? 00:09:20.360 --> 00:09:24.480 Am I really allowed these sort of privileges that come with first class travel? 00:09:24.560 --> 00:09:27.620 Or should I basically go and sit on the platform like everybody else? 00:09:27.620 --> 00:09:43.139 And we really get these wonderful privileges of feeling righteous, of knowing God, of having God's spirit living within us. 00:09:43.220 --> 00:09:45.360 Can I say they are yours if you join to Jesus? 00:09:46.980 --> 00:09:48.299 We can go in there. 00:09:49.539 --> 00:09:50.919 We can enjoy them. 00:09:52.379 --> 00:09:57.259 I think lots of Christians, we just carry around a kind of low-lying sense of guilt all the time. 00:09:58.460 --> 00:10:00.580 A low-lying sense of condemnation. 00:10:03.060 --> 00:10:05.799 And 2 Corinthians 3 is saying you don't need to feel condemned. 00:10:07.580 --> 00:10:10.120 You can feel forgiven and free and righteous. 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:13.620 It's the privilege that Jesus has won for us. 00:10:13.620 --> 00:10:16.779 And by the way, my point isn't, oh no, I already felt guilty. 00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:18.740 Now I feel guilty about feeling guilty. 00:10:18.740 --> 00:10:24.320 My point is we receive all that the Lord Jesus has won. 00:10:25.419 --> 00:10:28.360 And we delight to be righteous in his eyes. 00:10:29.960 --> 00:10:35.980 But Paul says the greatest privilege, the greatest privilege of all, comes in verse 18. 00:10:35.980 --> 00:10:41.620 We all, with unveiled faces, contemplate the Lord's glory. 00:10:41.759 --> 00:10:46.080 We're being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory. 00:10:46.659 --> 00:10:53.460 And Paul's picking up a story from the Old Testament where Moses went up to see God. 00:10:53.580 --> 00:10:55.940 I think it was the second time he's given the Ten Commandments. 00:10:55.940 --> 00:11:02.140 And as he sees God's glory, sees it, Moses' face begins to shine. 00:11:02.980 --> 00:11:05.460 So it kind of reflects God's glory. 00:11:06.660 --> 00:11:09.800 But as he goes down the mountain, the glory begins to fade. 00:11:09.860 --> 00:11:14.200 And he has to put a veil over his face because God's people couldn't look on that glory. 00:11:14.200 --> 00:11:20.980 But Paul is saying now, the veil is taken away. 00:11:22.300 --> 00:11:26.020 Whenever anyone turns to the Lord, verse 16, the veil is taken away. 00:11:26.320 --> 00:11:29.080 There isn't anything now between us and God's glory. 00:11:29.220 --> 00:11:34.400 We get to see it in the face of Jesus. 00:11:36.480 --> 00:11:41.420 And Paul says, as we behold, as we contemplate the Lord's glory, verse 18, 00:11:41.419 --> 00:11:44.099 we are transformed. 00:11:45.319 --> 00:11:49.139 We are made to be like Jesus. 00:11:51.120 --> 00:11:54.719 Have you ever noticed that you often become like the person you admire? 00:11:56.099 --> 00:11:59.139 You know, maybe you admire somebody for their, I don't know, their dress sense. 00:11:59.199 --> 00:12:03.500 And you kind of start to buy similar clothes because you want to become like the person you admire. 00:12:04.879 --> 00:12:06.459 I mentioned John Stodd earlier. 00:12:06.559 --> 00:12:10.860 He was a great preacher down in All Souls in London for about 20 or 30 years. 00:12:10.860 --> 00:12:15.039 And it was often said that the younger preachers ended up imitating him. 00:12:15.620 --> 00:12:18.080 You know, they used the same language and the same mannerisms. 00:12:18.240 --> 00:12:20.500 They admired him, so became like him. 00:12:21.379 --> 00:12:25.279 Funnily enough, none of the young preachers at the church I pastored ended up sounding anything like me. 00:12:25.580 --> 00:12:29.419 But often you do become like the person you admire. 00:12:29.419 --> 00:12:39.459 And Paul says, as you behold the glory of Jesus and adore him and admire him, 00:12:40.279 --> 00:12:43.019 you will be changed to be like him. 00:12:43.019 --> 00:12:51.799 Because to look at Jesus is the greatest view in the universe. 00:12:51.799 --> 00:12:56.679 I don't know where the place you love being is. 00:12:56.819 --> 00:13:01.879 Funnily enough, my favorite place, actually not too far from here, just the wrong side of the border, is Berwick-upon-Tweed. 00:13:01.959 --> 00:13:02.679 I grew up there. 00:13:03.519 --> 00:13:09.099 And there's a certain place in Berwick where you just stand on the walls and you get to the highest point of the walls. 00:13:09.100 --> 00:13:14.460 And you can look there and there is sort of Lindisfarne and Bamburg all along the coast. 00:13:14.540 --> 00:13:15.860 And it's a sort of beautiful scene. 00:13:15.940 --> 00:13:18.980 And there's the lighthouse and there's the North Sea coming in. 00:13:19.860 --> 00:13:23.720 And then you turn around and you can see the River Tweed and the three bridges. 00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:25.800 And you look further and there are Cheviets behind. 00:13:25.899 --> 00:13:27.220 I just love that view. 00:13:28.680 --> 00:13:31.420 And to be honest, whenever I'm there, I just don't want to stop looking. 00:13:31.519 --> 00:13:33.160 It's so stunning and so beautiful. 00:13:33.159 --> 00:13:42.980 Well, if you're like that, you don't want to take your eyes off, think of looking at the glory of Jesus. 00:13:46.039 --> 00:13:51.779 Yeah, we go to Bethlehem and we see the glory of his incarnation. 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:56.939 We listen to the Sermon on the Mount and we see the glory of his wisdom. 00:13:58.000 --> 00:13:59.679 We see him going to the leper. 00:13:59.679 --> 00:14:01.399 But I am willing, be cleaned. 00:14:01.479 --> 00:14:03.419 And we see the glory of his compassion. 00:14:04.859 --> 00:14:07.459 We see him facing the storm. 00:14:07.759 --> 00:14:09.079 Calm, be still. 00:14:09.159 --> 00:14:12.000 And it falls flat and we see the glory of his power. 00:14:12.539 --> 00:14:18.319 We go up the Mount of Transfiguration and we see his shining face and we see the glory of his majesty. 00:14:19.159 --> 00:14:23.979 We see him weeping at the tomb of Lazarus and we see the glory of his humanity. 00:14:23.980 --> 00:14:29.639 We see him washing his disciples' feet and we see the glory of his humility. 00:14:30.420 --> 00:14:33.820 We see him in the Garden of Gethsemane in agony praying, 00:14:34.019 --> 00:14:36.139 Father, not my will but yours be done. 00:14:36.180 --> 00:14:38.039 And we see the glory of his obedience. 00:14:38.840 --> 00:14:42.320 We see him hanging on the cross and we see the glory of his love. 00:14:42.600 --> 00:14:46.340 We see him emerging from the empty tomb and we see the glory of his resurrection. 00:14:46.580 --> 00:14:48.080 And there is nobody like him. 00:14:48.080 --> 00:14:52.860 And the greatest thing we can ever do is gaze on his glory. 00:14:54.420 --> 00:14:57.280 And Paul says that is the great privilege we have. 00:14:58.060 --> 00:15:02.540 We, with unveiled faces, contemplate the Lord's glory. 00:15:03.660 --> 00:15:04.940 You want to be like Jesus? 00:15:06.600 --> 00:15:08.700 Can I urge you to gaze on him? 00:15:09.700 --> 00:15:11.400 To do whatever it takes. 00:15:12.440 --> 00:15:13.720 To read the Gospels. 00:15:13.720 --> 00:15:17.040 And as you read the Gospels, think, what is there to admire here? 00:15:18.279 --> 00:15:19.700 To sing of him. 00:15:20.300 --> 00:15:21.700 To pray to him. 00:15:22.019 --> 00:15:27.120 To do whatever you can to go after Jesus. 00:15:28.820 --> 00:15:34.100 Because Paul says that's the way we are transformed into his image. 00:15:34.100 --> 00:15:41.779 And that's why the ministry that Paul has, he goes on to talk in chapter 4. 00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:47.960 Above all else, the thing that I want to do is to proclaim from the Scriptures that Jesus is Lord. 00:15:49.480 --> 00:15:52.460 Because as I proclaim Jesus is Lord, verse 6, 00:15:52.800 --> 00:15:54.159 that's the way God who said, 00:15:54.360 --> 00:15:55.540 let light shine out of darkness, 00:15:55.700 --> 00:15:57.580 made his light shine in our hearts 00:15:57.580 --> 00:16:00.500 to give us the light of knowledge, the knowledge of God's glory. 00:16:00.820 --> 00:16:03.540 How are our hearts changed that the lights are turned on? 00:16:03.539 --> 00:16:04.559 How does that happen? 00:16:05.839 --> 00:16:07.699 It's displayed in the face of Christ. 00:16:09.319 --> 00:16:13.399 As you behold Jesus, so God turns the light on in our hearts. 00:16:14.980 --> 00:16:17.860 And our lives are changed. 00:16:19.860 --> 00:16:23.259 Remember a conversation with a friend of mine, also a church leader. 00:16:23.539 --> 00:16:25.959 To be honest, both of us were going through a rough time. 00:16:26.059 --> 00:16:27.719 We were just struggling a bit as Christians. 00:16:27.719 --> 00:16:32.120 And we were talking about the various ways our hearts were just a bit cold and flat. 00:16:33.539 --> 00:16:35.059 I remember my friend saying to me, 00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:37.379 Andy, we know the answer to this, don't we? 00:16:38.659 --> 00:16:40.199 And I remember thinking, no, we don't. 00:16:40.259 --> 00:16:41.519 That's why we're having the conversation. 00:16:42.819 --> 00:16:45.079 But he said, no, no, we know the answer to this. 00:16:46.439 --> 00:16:48.199 Go hard after Jesus. 00:16:49.539 --> 00:16:50.980 Go hard after Christ. 00:16:51.099 --> 00:16:55.459 Do whatever it takes to get Jesus in front of your gaze. 00:16:55.460 --> 00:16:59.480 Because that's the way we're changed. 00:16:59.600 --> 00:17:02.700 As we contemplate the Lord's glory, we're transformed. 00:17:04.620 --> 00:17:11.200 Now, one of the reasons I love this is because I guess when you heard we were going to talk about becoming like Jesus, 00:17:11.319 --> 00:17:13.819 you were imagining something really hard and challenging. 00:17:13.819 --> 00:17:19.939 And basically, this is an invitation to come and look at the most beautiful view in the universe. 00:17:21.480 --> 00:17:23.259 There are more challenging things than that. 00:17:24.759 --> 00:17:27.399 It's an invitation to gaze on that which is beautiful. 00:17:27.879 --> 00:17:29.779 Oh, yeah, there'll be discipline required. 00:17:31.059 --> 00:17:34.659 There'll be discipline to actually get Jesus in front of our eyes. 00:17:34.660 --> 00:17:44.240 But that's the privilege we have, to gaze on the most excellent of men and to be transformed. 00:17:44.360 --> 00:17:45.580 How do we become like Jesus? 00:17:46.180 --> 00:17:48.560 As we gaze on the glory of Jesus. 00:17:49.620 --> 00:17:55.680 But as you work your way through the passage, there's a second way in which we become like Jesus. 00:17:55.779 --> 00:17:59.920 We become like Jesus as we die like Jesus. 00:17:59.920 --> 00:18:04.940 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus. 00:18:05.640 --> 00:18:10.279 So that the life of Jesus might be revealed in our body. 00:18:10.900 --> 00:18:18.920 You see, in verse 7 onwards, Paul essentially talks about our experience as Christians. 00:18:19.720 --> 00:18:24.900 He says we have this treasure, and this treasure is the fact that we know God through Jesus. 00:18:24.900 --> 00:18:31.920 We have this treasure, the great privilege of being a Christian in jars of clay. 00:18:33.200 --> 00:18:35.820 In other words, to be a Christian is a glorious thing. 00:18:36.920 --> 00:18:40.759 But that experience is wrapped up in people who are weak. 00:18:41.880 --> 00:18:43.820 You imagine a little clay pot. 00:18:45.280 --> 00:18:45.680 Weak. 00:18:46.700 --> 00:18:47.180 Small. 00:18:48.220 --> 00:18:48.860 Unimpressive. 00:18:49.900 --> 00:18:50.540 Fragile. 00:18:50.759 --> 00:18:51.680 Easily broken. 00:18:51.680 --> 00:19:00.259 And Paul says this great privilege of being a Christian is put within people who get sick. 00:19:01.140 --> 00:19:02.940 In people who get tired. 00:19:03.840 --> 00:19:06.120 In people who struggle with depression. 00:19:06.279 --> 00:19:09.140 In people who go up and down emotionally. 00:19:10.960 --> 00:19:15.920 God has put this treasure in jars of clay. 00:19:17.060 --> 00:19:19.660 In those who are weak. 00:19:19.660 --> 00:19:24.580 And he explains sometimes what that's like. 00:19:24.700 --> 00:19:25.200 Verse 8. 00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:28.080 We're hard pressed on every side. 00:19:28.620 --> 00:19:29.640 But not crushed. 00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:31.120 Perplexed but not in despair. 00:19:31.360 --> 00:19:32.700 Persecuted but not abandoned. 00:19:32.900 --> 00:19:34.460 Struck down but not destroyed. 00:19:36.040 --> 00:19:37.920 This is what life is like. 00:19:39.900 --> 00:19:41.580 Do you ever feel hard pressed? 00:19:42.380 --> 00:19:47.400 As though the sort of walls are closing in on you because of just the different pressures and demands on life. 00:19:47.400 --> 00:19:52.580 Hard pressed and yet somehow we're just about able to keep going and not be crushed. 00:19:55.660 --> 00:19:56.180 Perplexed. 00:19:56.400 --> 00:19:58.660 There are times when you wonder what God is doing. 00:19:59.620 --> 00:20:01.720 And why he hasn't answered that prayer. 00:20:02.740 --> 00:20:07.900 And yet not in despair because somehow we do know that he's good and must be doing what is right. 00:20:10.280 --> 00:20:10.759 Persecuted. 00:20:10.759 --> 00:20:14.279 There are times when we just face opposition. 00:20:14.420 --> 00:20:16.119 Perhaps we're the only Christian in our families. 00:20:16.420 --> 00:20:19.680 And the rest of the family just doesn't understand us. 00:20:20.359 --> 00:20:23.960 But not abandoned because God has promised never to leave us. 00:20:24.819 --> 00:20:25.519 Struck down. 00:20:25.619 --> 00:20:27.000 There are times we're just exhausted. 00:20:27.099 --> 00:20:28.079 Can we keep going? 00:20:29.740 --> 00:20:31.119 And yet not destroyed. 00:20:31.279 --> 00:20:34.099 We're able just to keep our foot going in front of the other. 00:20:34.099 --> 00:20:36.740 And that's what life is often like. 00:20:37.500 --> 00:20:41.699 Glory of being a Christian but in those who feel hard pressed at times. 00:20:42.319 --> 00:20:43.679 And confused at times. 00:20:43.799 --> 00:20:45.079 And weak at times. 00:20:47.019 --> 00:20:49.259 Now have you ever wondered why it's like that? 00:20:50.099 --> 00:20:52.159 Have you ever wondered why life isn't easier? 00:20:54.419 --> 00:20:56.119 Paul says there's a purpose to it. 00:20:56.399 --> 00:20:59.359 Won't you imagine with me super Christian for a moment? 00:20:59.359 --> 00:21:03.479 You know, super Christian has never had any health issues. 00:21:03.619 --> 00:21:04.719 Got boundless energy. 00:21:04.879 --> 00:21:06.339 Knows how to talk to everybody. 00:21:06.719 --> 00:21:07.799 Is super confident. 00:21:08.839 --> 00:21:12.059 And super Christian manages to achieve really impressive things. 00:21:12.119 --> 00:21:14.579 And everybody around says, gosh, super Christian. 00:21:14.859 --> 00:21:16.139 Aren't they amazing? 00:21:18.199 --> 00:21:24.139 And super Christian begins to think, yeah, I am. 00:21:24.140 --> 00:21:29.380 And Paul says, that's not the way it's ever going to work. 00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:33.660 God's not going to use super Christians. 00:21:34.040 --> 00:21:35.340 He uses jars of clay. 00:21:35.460 --> 00:21:35.680 Why? 00:21:35.780 --> 00:21:38.120 To show that the power is from God and not from us. 00:21:39.600 --> 00:21:43.120 So that actually we end up looking at each other and think, good grief, God can even use them. 00:21:45.080 --> 00:21:46.360 That's the way he's made life. 00:21:48.800 --> 00:21:50.440 Can I say this passage means the world. 00:21:50.440 --> 00:21:52.980 So remember my first experience of Christian leadership. 00:21:52.980 --> 00:21:58.059 It was when I was a student and I was involved in leading one of the Christian groups at university. 00:21:59.539 --> 00:22:01.799 And I remember it feeling incredibly hard. 00:22:01.940 --> 00:22:05.620 It was the sort of pressure of student life, of work that I had to do. 00:22:05.700 --> 00:22:07.400 There's a pressure of leading the Christian union. 00:22:08.319 --> 00:22:13.640 And it was around that time that I was wrestling with some of the sexuality questions I was talking about yesterday. 00:22:14.740 --> 00:22:19.079 And I remember as I put all those things together, I just got to the stage, I just can't do this anymore. 00:22:19.079 --> 00:22:22.939 It was the 90s, so email didn't exist. 00:22:23.079 --> 00:22:29.079 So I actually wrote my letter of resignation from the Christian union leadership and left it on my desk. 00:22:29.799 --> 00:22:31.000 Did that on a Saturday night. 00:22:31.079 --> 00:22:32.859 It happened to be Sunday the next day. 00:22:33.019 --> 00:22:34.939 And to be honest, I didn't really want to go to church. 00:22:35.079 --> 00:22:36.639 But, you know, that was my routine. 00:22:36.779 --> 00:22:37.699 So I went to church. 00:22:37.700 --> 00:22:40.819 And I heard 2 Corinthians 4 preached. 00:22:41.900 --> 00:22:45.580 We have this treasure in jars of clay to show the powers from God and not from us. 00:22:45.660 --> 00:22:46.900 We're hard pressed but not crushed. 00:22:47.180 --> 00:22:50.259 And I suddenly realized this sense of being overwhelmed was normal. 00:22:51.660 --> 00:22:53.059 It's actually the way God does it. 00:22:54.180 --> 00:22:57.980 It keeps us weak to show that the power's from him. 00:22:59.340 --> 00:23:01.819 And so I got back to the letter of resignation. 00:23:02.340 --> 00:23:05.799 Actually, in the Lord's providence, I suspect that was an incident that changed my life. 00:23:05.799 --> 00:23:09.059 I doubt I would have ended up as a pastor had I resigned at that point. 00:23:10.599 --> 00:23:12.159 This passage means the world to me. 00:23:13.700 --> 00:23:16.099 And I hope it encourages you, actually. 00:23:17.460 --> 00:23:21.779 Because my guess is around the room there are people who are well aware of their jars of clay 00:23:21.779 --> 00:23:23.559 and yet think, gosh, I should feel stronger. 00:23:26.700 --> 00:23:28.639 And Paul is saying, no, no, that's normal. 00:23:30.019 --> 00:23:32.259 That's the way I've made it. 00:23:32.259 --> 00:23:32.359 Yes. 00:23:35.799 --> 00:23:37.500 Because there's a purpose here. 00:23:38.859 --> 00:23:39.460 Do you notice? 00:23:40.240 --> 00:23:43.240 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus. 00:23:44.159 --> 00:23:46.559 So the life of Jesus may be revealed in our body. 00:23:46.899 --> 00:23:49.319 This jar of clay experience. 00:23:50.399 --> 00:23:52.759 This sickness we often go through. 00:23:52.899 --> 00:23:53.859 This weakness. 00:23:54.099 --> 00:23:57.000 This sense of not feeling emotionally on top of things. 00:23:57.000 --> 00:24:02.079 Paul says that kind of weakness we shouldn't be surprised by 00:24:02.079 --> 00:24:06.880 because we are following a saviour who in weakness went to the cross. 00:24:09.259 --> 00:24:11.579 Who went through suffering and pain. 00:24:12.819 --> 00:24:16.599 Who as he went to the cross would really have looked like a jar of clay. 00:24:16.599 --> 00:24:25.319 And as we follow that pattern, the death of Jesus, so it works a kind of death in us. 00:24:26.759 --> 00:24:28.240 A death to pride. 00:24:29.459 --> 00:24:31.099 A death to self-sufficiency. 00:24:32.059 --> 00:24:34.419 A death to the sense we can do it ourselves. 00:24:34.539 --> 00:24:37.359 It works in us a death, this jar of clay experience. 00:24:37.359 --> 00:24:40.399 And as we die, what comes out? 00:24:41.959 --> 00:24:43.679 The life of Jesus. 00:24:45.579 --> 00:24:51.459 That as our self is weakened and the edges are rubbed off and we have to depend on him more, 00:24:52.919 --> 00:24:55.079 so the life of Jesus is seen. 00:24:56.399 --> 00:24:58.959 And we become more like him. 00:24:58.960 --> 00:25:05.000 And notice, actually, as Jesus' life is revealed in our body, verse 10 and verse 11, 00:25:05.579 --> 00:25:08.240 so actually that brings benefit to others. 00:25:08.559 --> 00:25:11.440 Verse 12, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. 00:25:11.660 --> 00:25:17.160 In other words, as we get weaker and Jesus is revealed, 00:25:18.180 --> 00:25:20.840 so actually that ends up having benefit for others. 00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:24.600 As they see Jesus in us and are attracted by that. 00:25:25.059 --> 00:25:27.140 That was Paul's ministry to the Corinthians. 00:25:27.140 --> 00:25:28.400 That's what he did. 00:25:28.960 --> 00:25:35.640 And the result was the Corinthians coming to life. 00:25:38.039 --> 00:25:43.000 One of the privileges, again, I had as a pastor was kind of seeing this, 00:25:43.100 --> 00:25:45.299 perhaps particularly in the generation above me. 00:25:46.900 --> 00:25:50.700 We always used to have a group of ladies who were in their 80s. 00:25:50.759 --> 00:25:52.180 They were always sitting around there. 00:25:53.579 --> 00:25:57.799 And they, by this point, were facing real physical weakness. 00:25:57.799 --> 00:26:01.740 Many of them had been through bereavement and were widowed. 00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:10.259 And yet, there they were singing praise songs to Jesus with faces that were shining. 00:26:10.259 --> 00:26:16.000 And it was because of a combination of these two things over the years. 00:26:16.839 --> 00:26:21.200 Jars of clay, and yet, they'd spent years and years beholding the glory of Jesus. 00:26:22.539 --> 00:26:26.960 And so their faces shone with the glory of Jesus. 00:26:26.960 --> 00:26:31.660 So how do we do this? 00:26:33.660 --> 00:26:38.380 Can I encourage us to remember the but? 00:26:39.980 --> 00:26:42.799 Do you remember how Paul describes this experience? 00:26:43.480 --> 00:26:44.960 Hard-pressed but not crushed. 00:26:44.960 --> 00:26:47.220 Perplexed but not in despair. 00:26:47.460 --> 00:26:48.860 Persecuted but not abandoned. 00:26:49.259 --> 00:26:50.640 Struck down but not destroyed. 00:26:50.920 --> 00:26:53.700 If you like, giving myself over to death. 00:26:53.819 --> 00:26:57.160 Or facing a kind of mini-death day by day in my weakness. 00:26:57.519 --> 00:27:02.380 But the life of Jesus is being revealed. 00:27:02.380 --> 00:27:08.020 One of my heroes is the pioneer missionary Hudson Taylor. 00:27:08.200 --> 00:27:10.480 He was a pioneer missionary in the 19th century to China. 00:27:11.680 --> 00:27:12.720 Immensely fruitful. 00:27:14.060 --> 00:27:18.120 In many ways, set up missionary endeavor in China for generations to come. 00:27:18.560 --> 00:27:21.980 And yet, as you read his life story, wracked by weakness. 00:27:23.340 --> 00:27:25.060 Actually, in what should have been the primate's life, 00:27:25.160 --> 00:27:28.720 he spends five years flat on his back because of his physical difficulties. 00:27:28.720 --> 00:27:33.420 Loses a wife and three children to illness in China. 00:27:33.579 --> 00:27:36.500 Goes through actually emotional turmoil at times. 00:27:38.059 --> 00:27:40.600 And yet, listen to some of his early prayer letters. 00:27:40.759 --> 00:27:43.259 He arrived in China and faced loneliness and so on. 00:27:43.279 --> 00:27:43.900 He said this. 00:27:44.400 --> 00:27:49.799 My need now is great, but God is greater and more near. 00:27:50.160 --> 00:27:50.600 Pray for us. 00:27:50.640 --> 00:27:54.519 At times I seem altogether overwhelmed with the internal and external trials 00:27:54.519 --> 00:27:55.539 connected with our work. 00:27:55.539 --> 00:27:59.899 But, but, he has said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. 00:27:59.940 --> 00:28:00.599 Do you see the but? 00:28:01.759 --> 00:28:03.240 I'm a jar of clay. 00:28:03.659 --> 00:28:08.539 I'm hard pressed, but God is still with me. 00:28:09.460 --> 00:28:10.639 And he is greater. 00:28:11.579 --> 00:28:14.519 And he won't let me go. 00:28:14.519 --> 00:28:20.019 And so, can I encourage us? 00:28:21.559 --> 00:28:25.000 Some of us will feel acutely under pressure at the moment. 00:28:26.599 --> 00:28:29.599 But can I urge us, don't resent those things. 00:28:30.639 --> 00:28:32.859 Those things that you wish were so different. 00:28:32.980 --> 00:28:36.079 Those times when you wish, I wish I wasn't a jar of clay. 00:28:36.079 --> 00:28:41.779 Those will often be the things that God is using to make you like Jesus. 00:28:43.359 --> 00:28:46.059 And for his life to be revealed in your body. 00:28:47.460 --> 00:28:48.539 Don't resent them. 00:28:49.720 --> 00:28:51.359 But remember to say, but. 00:28:52.839 --> 00:28:55.859 But even in the pain, God is doing something. 00:28:56.220 --> 00:28:58.000 Even in the pain, I don't need to be crushed. 00:28:58.099 --> 00:29:02.480 Even in the pain, I'm being made like Jesus. 00:29:02.480 --> 00:29:02.799 Jesus. 00:29:04.620 --> 00:29:05.220 Friends. 00:29:06.900 --> 00:29:10.019 I'm convinced that actually this will be going on. 00:29:10.880 --> 00:29:13.160 Maybe we feel, I'm not really like Jesus yet. 00:29:13.240 --> 00:29:15.740 But can I encourage us to be confident? 00:29:17.279 --> 00:29:19.120 He is doing this work. 00:29:20.079 --> 00:29:21.759 We can be like him. 00:29:22.880 --> 00:29:25.079 Like him as we gaze on him. 00:29:25.620 --> 00:29:28.539 Like him as we suffer and die like him. 00:29:28.539 --> 00:29:37.740 And that will be our experience in this life until the day when we will see him. 00:29:39.119 --> 00:29:40.319 And do you remember what John says? 00:29:40.460 --> 00:29:43.940 When we see him, we will be like him. 00:29:45.240 --> 00:29:47.159 One day we'll be perfectly like Jesus. 00:29:48.299 --> 00:29:51.599 In the meantime, we have the privilege of becoming more like him. 00:29:52.339 --> 00:29:56.639 As we gaze on him and even as we feel weak like him. 00:29:56.640 --> 00:30:02.600 And because of that, we can say, it is a glorious thing to be a Christian. 00:30:03.900 --> 00:30:05.240 Because we have treasure. 00:30:06.520 --> 00:30:07.800 Even in jars of clay. 00:30:09.040 --> 00:30:09.860 Let's pray together. 00:30:17.660 --> 00:30:20.540 Lord Jesus, we gaze on you. 00:30:20.539 --> 00:30:27.639 And as we see you, we praise you that we are seeing the most beautiful view in the universe. 00:30:28.500 --> 00:30:30.200 The most excellent of men. 00:30:31.240 --> 00:30:35.319 And so we gaze on you and as we gaze on you, we thank you that we're becoming like you. 00:30:36.359 --> 00:30:38.279 Help us to delight in that privilege. 00:30:38.279 --> 00:30:44.539 Even in just the weaknesses and the pains and the clay-like experiences of this life. 00:30:44.839 --> 00:30:46.379 Help us to trust in those times. 00:30:46.519 --> 00:30:48.500 You are making us more like your son. 00:30:48.500 --> 00:30:53.619 We praise you, Lord, for the sheer privilege of belonging to you. 00:30:54.220 --> 00:30:56.099 Make us more like you, Lord Jesus. 00:30:56.220 --> 00:30:58.059 Until the day when we see you, we pray. 00:30:59.160 --> 00:31:00.259 For your name's sake. 00:31:01.259 --> 00:31:01.619 Amen. 00:31:01.619 --> 00:31:01.839 Amen. 00:31:01.839 --> 00:31:01.880 Amen.