We're going to be in 2 Corinthians chapter 4,
verse 7, just continuing on through 2 Corinthians.
We're making our way through it pretty quick.
2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 7. While everybody's
turning to that, remind y 'all I gave y 'all
a paper that Revival kicks off on August the
10th. We've got Dogwood Cross that's going to
be playing music for us this year. Evangelist
Gene Hoyt is going to be bringing the message
every day. So we'll start that on the 10th and
it'll end on the 13th. So make sure you put that
on your calendars and fight some people for that.
2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 7 is where we
will start. But before we do, let's pray. God,
we come to you tonight. I pray that you would
just help our minds to be focused on your word.
I pray that you would help us not to be distracted
by the worries and things of the world that maybe
we brought in here, dear Lord. I pray that you
just would... Help us to pay attention, dear
Lord, that your Holy Spirit would speak to us
tonight, that your word would encourage us and
help us to see what we need to see. I pray that
your Holy Spirit would just be among us, and
I pray that everything that is said here today
will be for your glory, and I pray that your
words, dear Lord, will do the work in our life.
I pray that you would take away any fear or pride
that's within me and just help me, God, to be
faithful to preach and teach in a way that brings
glory and honor to you. And I ask these things
in Jesus' name. Amen. Now, Paul has been kind
of making a defense for himself throughout the
first little bit of the book of 2 Corinthians.
He's been really bringing home the point that...
he is doing the work of God, that the people
need to listen to him, that they don't need to
be really led astray by others, that they need
to stay focused and they need to stay on track
for doing the Lord's work. That's a very brief
generalization of the first few chapters, but
for time's sake, we won't go over it too much.
But we will continue on in 2 Corinthians 4, verse
7. Now we have this treasure in clay jars so
that this extraordinary power may be from God
and not... Now, it's interesting here he uses
the word treasure. It would sound as though he's
been talking about treasure. Now we have this
treasure. What treasure is he talking about?
Well, he hadn't said anything about treasure.
He hadn't used the word treasure in the verses
previous. We see at the beginning of chapter
4, he talks about the ministry that he and those
who are with him have and that they are... or
have been faithful to the ministry, to bring
about the gospel to those who would listen, to
those who would be receptive. And he had talked
about, in the verses right before this, about
letting a light shine in the darkness. And that
light is Jesus Christ. And that those who have
accepted Jesus Christ have the light and the
knowledge and the grace of Jesus Christ. And
Paul had received that, and many others had received
that. Many in Corinth, his audience, had received
that knowledge. received that light and i think
that that's probably the treasure that he's talking
about he's talking about the power of jesus christ
he's talking about grace he's talking about forgiveness
he's talking about just the ability to call on
jesus in our times of need that in the name of
jesus that many miracles even in paul's day were
still being done and even still today i believe
god does miracles and so i believe the treasure
that he's talking about here is the treasure
of jesus christ but what does he say of this
treasure he says now we have this treasure in
clay jars or jars of clay that this extraordinary
power may be from God and not from us. What does
he mean that this treasure is in jars of clay?
Some of you may have heard of jars of clay before,
if not from this passage. There was a popular
Christian group back when I was a kid called
Jars of Clay. I don't know if they're still performing
or not. They may or may not still be. But when
I was young, that was a Christian group, and
that's where they got their name from, I'm assuming,
probably from this verse. That Paul says, look,
we have this treasure in... jars of clay. Now
he's using that terminology to talk about us
as human beings. What Paul is saying is we are
weak. We are like clay jars. Now, clay jars would
have been everywhere in Paul's day. We don't
see clay jars too much now. Most of our jars
are probably glass, and they break too sometimes.
But they're not as brittle as clay jars are.
Clay jars, while they would have served their
purpose, they were very easy to break. They were
weak. They were not strong. They could carry
what was in them. They could carry the water,
but it was easy for them to be broken. And Paul
uses this example to talk about... humanity,
to talk about us, that we are weak, that our
clay jars, that our human bodies, that everything
that we are, we are just weak as human beings.
But even though we are weak, God still puts this
amazing power within us. We still experience
this extraordinary power of Jesus Christ. And
what's the result of that? That those of us who
are weak are able to do great things, but it's
not It's not on our own because people look at
us and they say, well, that's just old so -and
-so or that's just Miss so -and -so. Well, there's
nothing really spectacular about them. They don't
look super strong. They're not super well -educated.
They're not this, that, and the other. But yet
normal, ordinary people in their own strength
wouldn't be able to do anything. But with the
power of God, God uses ordinary people to do
extraordinary things. Even though we are just
weak vessels, the power of God is shown through
us in the ways that God works through us. And
that's the point that Paul is making here. So
that the extraordinary power may be from God
and not from us. And so we run into a problem
when pride comes into our life and we begin to
boast and we think that everything we do is a
result of our strength and our power. But we
come to find out pretty quickly that there are
things that we're going to run up on in life
that are beyond our strength and beyond our power.
And who do we turn to then? Well, if we've been
trusting in our own strength and we think we
are in control, when everything begins to fall
apart, then we will crumble. But if we've been
trusting in God... We recognize our weak state.
We recognize that we don't have the power to
overcome things. And so when tragedy strikes
and difficulty hits and hard times and afflictions
come, there's a power that's within us that we
cling to, that we seek, that we draw power from,
and that is the power of Jesus Christ, the hope
that we have in Jesus Christ, the power of the
Word of God. Verse 8, we are pressured in every
way but not crushed. We are perplexed but not
in despair. We are persecuted but not abandoned.
We are struck down but not destroyed. Now that
is a beautiful couple of verses. He says we are
pressured in every way but not crushed. Now sometimes
we feel that way in our life. We just, the world
and life is hard. And the stresses in life and
sickness and health and just marriages and work
and school and just life is hard. And sometimes
we just feel the pressures of life just pressing
in on us. And when you press on something long
enough, it crushes it. But what does Paul say?
He says, look, we are pressed in every way. We
feel the pressure of life. We feel the pressure
of serving the Lord. We feel the pressure of
just everyday life. And even though we are pressed
and pressed and pressed, and it seems as though
we should be crushed, we are not crushed. Why?
Because they're trusting in the Lord. God gives
them the ability to withstand whatever pressures
may come in the world. We are perplexed but not
in despair. That is to say, sometimes things
don't make sense. We don't understand what's
going on. We don't understand why this is happening
to us. We don't understand why God allows this.
We don't understand why there's evil in the world.
We don't understand why there's so much hardship
and sickness in our lives. We don't understand.
And when we don't understand what's going on,
it's easy to feel despair. There are plenty of
people in this world who despair. Because they
don't trust in the Lord. They've trusted in their
wealth, and they've trusted in their power, and
they've trusted in everything they've got. And
then it begins to fall, and then they begin to
despair. What am I going to do? Everything is
falling apart. It's horrible. Life is horrible.
And despair is a bad place to be, but not for
the Christian. Even when despair begins to creep
into our life, hopefully we're calling out to
the Lord. Hopefully we're seeking the Lord's
Word. So that even though when we are perplexed,
we are not in despair. Even when the things around
us don't make sense and we call out to God and
say, God, my life is so hard and it seems like
everything's falling apart and I don't understand
this, dear Lord, but I'm not going to give up.
God, I still have hope in you because I know
that you're good and I know that you're in control.
So Paul says, even though we are perplexed as
Christians, we do not despair. We are persecuted,
but not Now, Paul knew what he was talking about
when he was talking about persecution. We don't
really experience that here in the United States.
We can talk pretty freely about Jesus to anybody
we want, and they may or may not listen to us,
and that's fine, but we're not going to have
to face any real persecution. We don't have to
worry about getting beat. We don't have to worry
about being in prison. We don't have to worry
about being killed. And there are certainly brothers
and sisters in... Christ around the world who
do experience those things, who are in prison,
who are beaten, who are mocked, who are killed.
And Paul knew about that type of persecution.
But Paul says, even if we are persecuted, we
know that God has not abandoned us. No matter
how bad things may be, we know that we have not
been abandoned. And that's a good thing for us
to remember in our life. Now, maybe we don't
experience persecutions for the gospel, or maybe
we do. But there are certainly times in our life
that things get really tough, and we wonder if
God's even there. Is God even listening? Does
God even care? Does God even know? Is there even
a God? Some of these things even come through
our mind in the midst of our hardship. But what
does Paul say? Look, even in the hard times,
he says, we know that God has not abandoned us.
And he continues on and he says, we are struck
down but not destroyed. So even in the worst
situations, whoever comes against us is not the
one who is in control of our life. It is God
who is ultimately in control. And we may not
understand why things occur the way they do,
especially the really difficult things, but Paul,
what he's saying here is we trust in the Lord.
And everything that comes against us, we do not
despair. We know God is with us. We know that
we will not be destroyed. And even if our lives
are taken from us, God will raise us from the
dead. Now that's the hope of the Christian. Paul
wasn't looking just in the moment. We can get
caught up in that sometimes. Paul was looking
at the big picture because he knew ultimately
he was going to spend eternity with the Lord.
He knew that even if his life was given to serve
the Lord, to serve other people, he knew that
death would not get the final say. And so Paul
had his hope in something far greater than anything
in this world. And it's because of that that
he can say the things that he says here. I have
been pressured. I don't understand everything.
Life is difficult. And even if somebody tries
to beat me down, I will not be destroyed. Verse
10. We always carry the death of Jesus in our
body so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed
in our body. For we who live are always given
over to death because of Jesus, so that Jesus'
life may also be revealed in our mortal body.
Now that's the interesting wording there. We
always carry the death of Jesus in our body so
that the life of Jesus may be revealed. I think
what he's referring to there is suffering. I
think he's saying, look, Jesus suffered. And
Jesus said we're going to have to suffer. Now
that's not a popular thing. We don't like to
hear that. We would rather hear that Jesus died
and everything's going to be great and fine and
there's nothing bad ever going to happen to us
and there are plenty of preachers who will preach
that message. You can find lots of them online
and on TV. And while God does bless us and he
does want to take care of us, God never promises
us that everything is going to be okay. And then
when you read the words of Jesus, you really
see just the opposite. That Jesus says, if you're
going to live for me, it is not going to be easy.
It is really going to cost. It's really going
to be a struggle. It's really going to be hard
to fight against the temptations and to stand
up for what is right and to stand up against
the world who disagrees with the truth of the
gospel of Jesus Christ. And so for the life of
Jesus, especially there at the end, there was
great suffering, suffering unto death. And I
think that's what Paul is referring to here.
We carry the death of Jesus in our body. We know
that we are going to have to suffer. But not
only does he say, are we going to suffer for
Jesus, but we're also carrying the life of Jesus.
That is that through our suffering, we're going
to do the work of the Lord. We're going to be
a light to the world. We're going to tell people
the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are going to share
with them who Jesus is and what he has done for
them so that they may have hope. So that even
in our suffering and even in our death, Jesus
Christ will be glorified and others may have
eternal life. through Jesus Christ. I think that's
what Paul is saying in those verses there. Verse
12. So death works in us, but life in you. I
think what Paul is saying is, look, we've suffered
for you. We've suffered and we have worked hard
to minister to you. And we have tirelessly traveled
here and there. And I'm writing these letters
back to you, people of Corinth. We are suffering
for you. And for what reason? So that that may
bring life in you. May our suffering may result
in good for you. May our suffering result in
blessings to you. And why is Paul doing it? Because
he's got to serve its heart, as we saw a couple
of weeks ago. Paul, his desire is to serve these
people, is to serve the Lord and to see them
have life in Jesus Christ. Verse 13. And since
we have the same spirit of faith in keeping with
what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke.
We also believe. Therefore, speak. Now, he's
referencing here Psalm 116, verse 10. If you
want to flip back there, you can. Psalm 116,
verse 10. It's a good psalm. You can read it.
We won't read it all tonight. But we'll flip
back and see the verse that he's referencing,
which is pretty close exactly to what we just
read. Psalm 116 verse 10. This is a psalm of
deliverance. We don't really know who wrote it.
That's the case for a lot of the psalms. And
it doesn't really matter who wrote it. We can
certainly relate to these psalms and the words
that they say. We can relate to it in our life.
Whatever the psalmist was going through, we have
seasons in our life that we need God to deliver
us from our enemies or our situations, whatever
it may be. And in Psalm 116 verse 10, the psalmist
here says, I believe even when I said I am severely
afflicted. So we see the same idea as to what
we see in 2 Corinthians. This idea of being afflicted.
And even in that affliction, Paul says, look,
I believe. I believe in the Lord. Even though
times are hard, I believe in the Lord. Even though
times are hard, I trust in the Lord. And so because
I believe, I will continue to speak. Even in
my affliction, even in my hardship, because I
believe, I will continue to do the work of the
Lord. Verse 14. We know that the one who raised
the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus
and present us with you. Indeed, everything is
for your benefit, so that grace extended through
more and more people may cause thanksgiving to
increase to God's glory. So the ultimate goal
here of Paul is to bring glory to God. The ultimate
goal is that he loves these people of Corinth.
He wants them to grow in the Lord. He wants God
to receive all the glory. He wants them to grow
to be as strong in the Lord as he is. That they
would recognize their weakness. That they would
recognize that they are but jars of clay. But
that the power of Jesus Christ is so powerful.
That whatever they go up against in life, that
Jesus will give them the power to be encouraged
in that. And that word is good for us too. That
message is good for us too. That we need to be
reminded that we are pretty insignificant on
our own. Even on our best days, we're pretty
weak. But Jesus is strong. And so the power of
Jesus can give us great power. The power of Jesus
can give us the ability to overcome a lot of
things in this world that otherwise we would
not be able to overcome. So maybe tonight we
are some of those who feel like we are being
crushed. And we can take hope in the fact today
that if we would trust in Jesus, even if we are
being pressed in on, we will not be crushed.
Even if we are perplexed today. Even if there
are things that we do not understand, we do not
have to despair today. That even if it feels
as though God has abandoned us, he has not abandoned
us. Jesus didn't come and die on a cross just
to leave us stuck in the middle of our hardships
right now, but he's with us. And it may not always
feel like it. But when our heart begins to doubt
or begins to wonder or begins to question, we
need to be like the psalmist in 116 verse 10.
It says, God, I believe, therefore I will speak,
even in my affliction, dear Lord, even if my
enemies are against me, even if my life is falling
apart, even if I'm heartbroken and in pain, God,
I'm going to trust that you know what you are
doing. And that's a good message for us tonight,
that we don't have to be in despair. but we can
trust Jesus Christ to give us the strength to
overcome. Let's pray. God, we thank you for these
good words. I pray that you would help us to
hear these words and to live by these words.
God, I pray that your Holy Spirit would just
work in our hearts and work in our minds, that
you would help us to seek you with all of our
heart and not just be hearers of the word, but
to be doers of the word. I thank you for each
one that's here. I pray that we would take these
words to heart, and I pray that you would grow
them in us this week. And I ask these things
in Jesus' name. Amen.