WEBVTT

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We're going to be in 2 Corinthians chapter 4,

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verse 7, just continuing on through 2 Corinthians.

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We're making our way through it pretty quick.

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2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 7. While everybody's

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turning to that, remind y 'all I gave y 'all

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a paper that Revival kicks off on August the

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10th. We've got Dogwood Cross that's going to

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be playing music for us this year. Evangelist

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Gene Hoyt is going to be bringing the message

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every day. So we'll start that on the 10th and

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it'll end on the 13th. So make sure you put that

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on your calendars and fight some people for that.

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2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 7 is where we

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will start. But before we do, let's pray. God,

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we come to you tonight. I pray that you would

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just help our minds to be focused on your word.

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I pray that you would help us not to be distracted

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by the worries and things of the world that maybe

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we brought in here, dear Lord. I pray that you

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just would... Help us to pay attention, dear

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Lord, that your Holy Spirit would speak to us

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tonight, that your word would encourage us and

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help us to see what we need to see. I pray that

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your Holy Spirit would just be among us, and

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I pray that everything that is said here today

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will be for your glory, and I pray that your

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words, dear Lord, will do the work in our life.

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I pray that you would take away any fear or pride

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that's within me and just help me, God, to be

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faithful to preach and teach in a way that brings

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glory and honor to you. And I ask these things

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in Jesus' name. Amen. Now, Paul has been kind

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of making a defense for himself throughout the

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first little bit of the book of 2 Corinthians.

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He's been really bringing home the point that...

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he is doing the work of God, that the people

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need to listen to him, that they don't need to

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be really led astray by others, that they need

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to stay focused and they need to stay on track

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for doing the Lord's work. That's a very brief

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generalization of the first few chapters, but

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for time's sake, we won't go over it too much.

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But we will continue on in 2 Corinthians 4, verse

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7. Now we have this treasure in clay jars so

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that this extraordinary power may be from God

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and not... Now, it's interesting here he uses

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the word treasure. It would sound as though he's

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been talking about treasure. Now we have this

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treasure. What treasure is he talking about?

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Well, he hadn't said anything about treasure.

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He hadn't used the word treasure in the verses

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previous. We see at the beginning of chapter

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4, he talks about the ministry that he and those

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who are with him have and that they are... or

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have been faithful to the ministry, to bring

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about the gospel to those who would listen, to

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those who would be receptive. And he had talked

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about, in the verses right before this, about

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letting a light shine in the darkness. And that

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light is Jesus Christ. And that those who have

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accepted Jesus Christ have the light and the

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knowledge and the grace of Jesus Christ. And

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Paul had received that, and many others had received

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that. Many in Corinth, his audience, had received

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that knowledge. received that light and i think

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that that's probably the treasure that he's talking

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about he's talking about the power of jesus christ

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he's talking about grace he's talking about forgiveness

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he's talking about just the ability to call on

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jesus in our times of need that in the name of

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jesus that many miracles even in paul's day were

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still being done and even still today i believe

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god does miracles and so i believe the treasure

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that he's talking about here is the treasure

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of jesus christ but what does he say of this

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treasure he says now we have this treasure in

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clay jars or jars of clay that this extraordinary

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power may be from God and not from us. What does

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he mean that this treasure is in jars of clay?

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Some of you may have heard of jars of clay before,

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if not from this passage. There was a popular

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Christian group back when I was a kid called

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Jars of Clay. I don't know if they're still performing

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or not. They may or may not still be. But when

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I was young, that was a Christian group, and

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that's where they got their name from, I'm assuming,

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probably from this verse. That Paul says, look,

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we have this treasure in... jars of clay. Now

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he's using that terminology to talk about us

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as human beings. What Paul is saying is we are

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weak. We are like clay jars. Now, clay jars would

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have been everywhere in Paul's day. We don't

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see clay jars too much now. Most of our jars

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are probably glass, and they break too sometimes.

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But they're not as brittle as clay jars are.

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Clay jars, while they would have served their

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purpose, they were very easy to break. They were

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weak. They were not strong. They could carry

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what was in them. They could carry the water,

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but it was easy for them to be broken. And Paul

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uses this example to talk about... humanity,

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to talk about us, that we are weak, that our

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clay jars, that our human bodies, that everything

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that we are, we are just weak as human beings.

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But even though we are weak, God still puts this

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amazing power within us. We still experience

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this extraordinary power of Jesus Christ. And

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what's the result of that? That those of us who

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are weak are able to do great things, but it's

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not It's not on our own because people look at

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us and they say, well, that's just old so -and

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-so or that's just Miss so -and -so. Well, there's

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nothing really spectacular about them. They don't

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look super strong. They're not super well -educated.

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They're not this, that, and the other. But yet

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normal, ordinary people in their own strength

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wouldn't be able to do anything. But with the

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power of God, God uses ordinary people to do

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extraordinary things. Even though we are just

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weak vessels, the power of God is shown through

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us in the ways that God works through us. And

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that's the point that Paul is making here. So

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that the extraordinary power may be from God

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and not from us. And so we run into a problem

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when pride comes into our life and we begin to

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boast and we think that everything we do is a

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result of our strength and our power. But we

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come to find out pretty quickly that there are

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things that we're going to run up on in life

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that are beyond our strength and beyond our power.

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And who do we turn to then? Well, if we've been

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trusting in our own strength and we think we

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are in control, when everything begins to fall

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apart, then we will crumble. But if we've been

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trusting in God... We recognize our weak state.

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We recognize that we don't have the power to

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overcome things. And so when tragedy strikes

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and difficulty hits and hard times and afflictions

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come, there's a power that's within us that we

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cling to, that we seek, that we draw power from,

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and that is the power of Jesus Christ, the hope

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that we have in Jesus Christ, the power of the

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Word of God. Verse 8, we are pressured in every

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way but not crushed. We are perplexed but not

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in despair. We are persecuted but not abandoned.

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We are struck down but not destroyed. Now that

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is a beautiful couple of verses. He says we are

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pressured in every way but not crushed. Now sometimes

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we feel that way in our life. We just, the world

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and life is hard. And the stresses in life and

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sickness and health and just marriages and work

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and school and just life is hard. And sometimes

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we just feel the pressures of life just pressing

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in on us. And when you press on something long

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enough, it crushes it. But what does Paul say?

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He says, look, we are pressed in every way. We

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feel the pressure of life. We feel the pressure

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of serving the Lord. We feel the pressure of

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just everyday life. And even though we are pressed

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and pressed and pressed, and it seems as though

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we should be crushed, we are not crushed. Why?

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Because they're trusting in the Lord. God gives

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them the ability to withstand whatever pressures

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may come in the world. We are perplexed but not

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in despair. That is to say, sometimes things

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don't make sense. We don't understand what's

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going on. We don't understand why this is happening

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to us. We don't understand why God allows this.

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We don't understand why there's evil in the world.

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We don't understand why there's so much hardship

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and sickness in our lives. We don't understand.

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And when we don't understand what's going on,

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it's easy to feel despair. There are plenty of

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people in this world who despair. Because they

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don't trust in the Lord. They've trusted in their

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wealth, and they've trusted in their power, and

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they've trusted in everything they've got. And

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then it begins to fall, and then they begin to

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despair. What am I going to do? Everything is

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falling apart. It's horrible. Life is horrible.

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And despair is a bad place to be, but not for

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the Christian. Even when despair begins to creep

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into our life, hopefully we're calling out to

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the Lord. Hopefully we're seeking the Lord's

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Word. So that even though when we are perplexed,

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we are not in despair. Even when the things around

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us don't make sense and we call out to God and

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say, God, my life is so hard and it seems like

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everything's falling apart and I don't understand

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this, dear Lord, but I'm not going to give up.

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God, I still have hope in you because I know

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that you're good and I know that you're in control.

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So Paul says, even though we are perplexed as

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Christians, we do not despair. We are persecuted,

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but not Now, Paul knew what he was talking about

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when he was talking about persecution. We don't

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really experience that here in the United States.

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We can talk pretty freely about Jesus to anybody

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we want, and they may or may not listen to us,

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and that's fine, but we're not going to have

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to face any real persecution. We don't have to

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worry about getting beat. We don't have to worry

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about being in prison. We don't have to worry

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about being killed. And there are certainly brothers

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and sisters in... Christ around the world who

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do experience those things, who are in prison,

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who are beaten, who are mocked, who are killed.

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And Paul knew about that type of persecution.

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But Paul says, even if we are persecuted, we

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know that God has not abandoned us. No matter

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how bad things may be, we know that we have not

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been abandoned. And that's a good thing for us

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to remember in our life. Now, maybe we don't

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experience persecutions for the gospel, or maybe

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we do. But there are certainly times in our life

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that things get really tough, and we wonder if

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God's even there. Is God even listening? Does

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God even care? Does God even know? Is there even

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a God? Some of these things even come through

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our mind in the midst of our hardship. But what

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does Paul say? Look, even in the hard times,

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he says, we know that God has not abandoned us.

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And he continues on and he says, we are struck

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down but not destroyed. So even in the worst

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situations, whoever comes against us is not the

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one who is in control of our life. It is God

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who is ultimately in control. And we may not

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understand why things occur the way they do,

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especially the really difficult things, but Paul,

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what he's saying here is we trust in the Lord.

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And everything that comes against us, we do not

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despair. We know God is with us. We know that

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we will not be destroyed. And even if our lives

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are taken from us, God will raise us from the

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dead. Now that's the hope of the Christian. Paul

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wasn't looking just in the moment. We can get

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caught up in that sometimes. Paul was looking

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at the big picture because he knew ultimately

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he was going to spend eternity with the Lord.

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He knew that even if his life was given to serve

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the Lord, to serve other people, he knew that

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death would not get the final say. And so Paul

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had his hope in something far greater than anything

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in this world. And it's because of that that

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he can say the things that he says here. I have

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been pressured. I don't understand everything.

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Life is difficult. And even if somebody tries

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to beat me down, I will not be destroyed. Verse

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10. We always carry the death of Jesus in our

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body so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed

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in our body. For we who live are always given

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over to death because of Jesus, so that Jesus'

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life may also be revealed in our mortal body.

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Now that's the interesting wording there. We

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always carry the death of Jesus in our body so

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that the life of Jesus may be revealed. I think

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what he's referring to there is suffering. I

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think he's saying, look, Jesus suffered. And

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Jesus said we're going to have to suffer. Now

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that's not a popular thing. We don't like to

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hear that. We would rather hear that Jesus died

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and everything's going to be great and fine and

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there's nothing bad ever going to happen to us

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and there are plenty of preachers who will preach

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that message. You can find lots of them online

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and on TV. And while God does bless us and he

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does want to take care of us, God never promises

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us that everything is going to be okay. And then

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when you read the words of Jesus, you really

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see just the opposite. That Jesus says, if you're

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going to live for me, it is not going to be easy.

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It is really going to cost. It's really going

00:13:45.759 --> 00:13:48.080
to be a struggle. It's really going to be hard

00:13:48.080 --> 00:13:50.440
to fight against the temptations and to stand

00:13:50.440 --> 00:13:52.740
up for what is right and to stand up against

00:13:52.740 --> 00:13:55.039
the world who disagrees with the truth of the

00:13:55.039 --> 00:13:58.360
gospel of Jesus Christ. And so for the life of

00:13:58.360 --> 00:14:01.259
Jesus, especially there at the end, there was

00:14:01.259 --> 00:14:04.179
great suffering, suffering unto death. And I

00:14:04.179 --> 00:14:06.500
think that's what Paul is referring to here.

00:14:06.559 --> 00:14:10.120
We carry the death of Jesus in our body. We know

00:14:10.120 --> 00:14:13.029
that we are going to have to suffer. But not

00:14:13.029 --> 00:14:15.549
only does he say, are we going to suffer for

00:14:15.549 --> 00:14:18.669
Jesus, but we're also carrying the life of Jesus.

00:14:18.909 --> 00:14:21.909
That is that through our suffering, we're going

00:14:21.909 --> 00:14:24.149
to do the work of the Lord. We're going to be

00:14:24.149 --> 00:14:26.190
a light to the world. We're going to tell people

00:14:26.190 --> 00:14:28.509
the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are going to share

00:14:28.509 --> 00:14:31.389
with them who Jesus is and what he has done for

00:14:31.389 --> 00:14:34.110
them so that they may have hope. So that even

00:14:34.110 --> 00:14:37.570
in our suffering and even in our death, Jesus

00:14:37.570 --> 00:14:41.169
Christ will be glorified and others may have

00:14:41.169 --> 00:14:44.470
eternal life. through Jesus Christ. I think that's

00:14:44.470 --> 00:14:47.950
what Paul is saying in those verses there. Verse

00:14:47.950 --> 00:14:53.250
12. So death works in us, but life in you. I

00:14:53.250 --> 00:14:55.870
think what Paul is saying is, look, we've suffered

00:14:55.870 --> 00:14:58.980
for you. We've suffered and we have worked hard

00:14:58.980 --> 00:15:03.700
to minister to you. And we have tirelessly traveled

00:15:03.700 --> 00:15:05.600
here and there. And I'm writing these letters

00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:08.419
back to you, people of Corinth. We are suffering

00:15:08.419 --> 00:15:11.480
for you. And for what reason? So that that may

00:15:11.480 --> 00:15:15.299
bring life in you. May our suffering may result

00:15:15.299 --> 00:15:18.580
in good for you. May our suffering result in

00:15:18.580 --> 00:15:22.200
blessings to you. And why is Paul doing it? Because

00:15:22.200 --> 00:15:24.720
he's got to serve its heart, as we saw a couple

00:15:24.720 --> 00:15:28.299
of weeks ago. Paul, his desire is to serve these

00:15:28.299 --> 00:15:31.779
people, is to serve the Lord and to see them

00:15:31.779 --> 00:15:37.639
have life in Jesus Christ. Verse 13. And since

00:15:37.639 --> 00:15:41.299
we have the same spirit of faith in keeping with

00:15:41.299 --> 00:15:45.600
what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke.

00:15:46.139 --> 00:15:50.990
We also believe. Therefore, speak. Now, he's

00:15:50.990 --> 00:15:55.470
referencing here Psalm 116, verse 10. If you

00:15:55.470 --> 00:15:58.809
want to flip back there, you can. Psalm 116,

00:15:58.809 --> 00:16:04.370
verse 10. It's a good psalm. You can read it.

00:16:04.389 --> 00:16:07.789
We won't read it all tonight. But we'll flip

00:16:07.789 --> 00:16:09.490
back and see the verse that he's referencing,

00:16:09.629 --> 00:16:13.029
which is pretty close exactly to what we just

00:16:13.029 --> 00:16:18.879
read. Psalm 116 verse 10. This is a psalm of

00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:21.860
deliverance. We don't really know who wrote it.

00:16:21.860 --> 00:16:24.580
That's the case for a lot of the psalms. And

00:16:24.580 --> 00:16:26.340
it doesn't really matter who wrote it. We can

00:16:26.340 --> 00:16:29.379
certainly relate to these psalms and the words

00:16:29.379 --> 00:16:32.220
that they say. We can relate to it in our life.

00:16:32.340 --> 00:16:35.080
Whatever the psalmist was going through, we have

00:16:35.080 --> 00:16:38.399
seasons in our life that we need God to deliver

00:16:38.399 --> 00:16:41.379
us from our enemies or our situations, whatever

00:16:41.379 --> 00:16:47.190
it may be. And in Psalm 116 verse 10, the psalmist

00:16:47.190 --> 00:16:52.389
here says, I believe even when I said I am severely

00:16:52.389 --> 00:16:56.690
afflicted. So we see the same idea as to what

00:16:56.690 --> 00:17:01.429
we see in 2 Corinthians. This idea of being afflicted.

00:17:01.759 --> 00:17:05.900
And even in that affliction, Paul says, look,

00:17:06.019 --> 00:17:09.000
I believe. I believe in the Lord. Even though

00:17:09.000 --> 00:17:11.599
times are hard, I believe in the Lord. Even though

00:17:11.599 --> 00:17:15.039
times are hard, I trust in the Lord. And so because

00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:18.660
I believe, I will continue to speak. Even in

00:17:18.660 --> 00:17:21.180
my affliction, even in my hardship, because I

00:17:21.180 --> 00:17:25.519
believe, I will continue to do the work of the

00:17:25.519 --> 00:17:30.529
Lord. Verse 14. We know that the one who raised

00:17:30.529 --> 00:17:34.549
the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus

00:17:34.549 --> 00:17:39.390
and present us with you. Indeed, everything is

00:17:39.390 --> 00:17:43.049
for your benefit, so that grace extended through

00:17:43.049 --> 00:17:46.390
more and more people may cause thanksgiving to

00:17:46.390 --> 00:17:50.549
increase to God's glory. So the ultimate goal

00:17:50.549 --> 00:17:54.910
here of Paul is to bring glory to God. The ultimate

00:17:54.910 --> 00:17:58.349
goal is that he loves these people of Corinth.

00:17:58.589 --> 00:18:02.089
He wants them to grow in the Lord. He wants God

00:18:02.089 --> 00:18:05.210
to receive all the glory. He wants them to grow

00:18:05.210 --> 00:18:08.569
to be as strong in the Lord as he is. That they

00:18:08.569 --> 00:18:10.630
would recognize their weakness. That they would

00:18:10.630 --> 00:18:13.549
recognize that they are but jars of clay. But

00:18:13.549 --> 00:18:16.529
that the power of Jesus Christ is so powerful.

00:18:17.000 --> 00:18:20.460
That whatever they go up against in life, that

00:18:20.460 --> 00:18:24.799
Jesus will give them the power to be encouraged

00:18:24.799 --> 00:18:28.799
in that. And that word is good for us too. That

00:18:28.799 --> 00:18:31.799
message is good for us too. That we need to be

00:18:31.799 --> 00:18:35.259
reminded that we are pretty insignificant on

00:18:35.259 --> 00:18:38.500
our own. Even on our best days, we're pretty

00:18:38.500 --> 00:18:42.519
weak. But Jesus is strong. And so the power of

00:18:42.519 --> 00:18:45.970
Jesus can give us great power. The power of Jesus

00:18:45.970 --> 00:18:48.569
can give us the ability to overcome a lot of

00:18:48.569 --> 00:18:50.910
things in this world that otherwise we would

00:18:50.910 --> 00:18:55.069
not be able to overcome. So maybe tonight we

00:18:55.069 --> 00:18:57.009
are some of those who feel like we are being

00:18:57.009 --> 00:19:00.309
crushed. And we can take hope in the fact today

00:19:00.309 --> 00:19:02.829
that if we would trust in Jesus, even if we are

00:19:02.829 --> 00:19:05.170
being pressed in on, we will not be crushed.

00:19:05.769 --> 00:19:08.579
Even if we are perplexed today. Even if there

00:19:08.579 --> 00:19:11.880
are things that we do not understand, we do not

00:19:11.880 --> 00:19:16.960
have to despair today. That even if it feels

00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:20.680
as though God has abandoned us, he has not abandoned

00:19:20.680 --> 00:19:23.019
us. Jesus didn't come and die on a cross just

00:19:23.019 --> 00:19:25.759
to leave us stuck in the middle of our hardships

00:19:25.759 --> 00:19:28.819
right now, but he's with us. And it may not always

00:19:28.819 --> 00:19:31.759
feel like it. But when our heart begins to doubt

00:19:31.759 --> 00:19:33.920
or begins to wonder or begins to question, we

00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:36.519
need to be like the psalmist in 116 verse 10.

00:19:36.579 --> 00:19:39.660
It says, God, I believe, therefore I will speak,

00:19:39.779 --> 00:19:43.119
even in my affliction, dear Lord, even if my

00:19:43.119 --> 00:19:46.059
enemies are against me, even if my life is falling

00:19:46.059 --> 00:19:49.799
apart, even if I'm heartbroken and in pain, God,

00:19:49.960 --> 00:19:52.700
I'm going to trust that you know what you are

00:19:52.700 --> 00:19:55.900
doing. And that's a good message for us tonight,

00:19:56.119 --> 00:19:58.859
that we don't have to be in despair. but we can

00:19:58.859 --> 00:20:01.220
trust Jesus Christ to give us the strength to

00:20:01.220 --> 00:20:04.059
overcome. Let's pray. God, we thank you for these

00:20:04.059 --> 00:20:06.880
good words. I pray that you would help us to

00:20:06.880 --> 00:20:10.359
hear these words and to live by these words.

00:20:10.420 --> 00:20:12.339
God, I pray that your Holy Spirit would just

00:20:12.339 --> 00:20:14.400
work in our hearts and work in our minds, that

00:20:14.400 --> 00:20:16.839
you would help us to seek you with all of our

00:20:16.839 --> 00:20:19.440
heart and not just be hearers of the word, but

00:20:19.440 --> 00:20:23.019
to be doers of the word. I thank you for each

00:20:23.019 --> 00:20:25.000
one that's here. I pray that we would take these

00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:27.319
words to heart, and I pray that you would grow

00:20:27.319 --> 00:20:29.440
them in us this week. And I ask these things

00:20:29.440 --> 00:20:31.380
in Jesus' name. Amen.