1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,960 We open the Word of God together today to 2 Corinthians chapter 4. 2 00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:15,440 I'll begin reading in verse 3. 3 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:23,960 2 Corinthians 4, beginning in verse 3, And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled 4 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:29,960 to those who are perishing, in whose case the God of this world has blinded the minds 5 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:35,800 of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, 6 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:38,640 who is the image of God. 7 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:45,480 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants 8 00:00:45,480 --> 00:00:47,760 for Jesus' sake. 9 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:53,320 For God who said, Light shall shine out of darkness, is the one who has shown in our 10 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:59,800 hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 11 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:05,160 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power 12 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:08,120 may be of God and not from ourselves. 13 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:15,240 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed, perplexed but not despairing, persecuted but 14 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:23,200 not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed, always carrying about in the body the dying 15 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:29,080 of Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 16 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:34,880 For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, that the life 17 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:39,280 of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 18 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:43,560 So death works in us but life in you. 19 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:47,680 But having the same spirit of faith according to what is written, I believe therefore I 20 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:54,720 spoke, we also believe therefore also we speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus 21 00:01:54,720 --> 00:02:01,000 will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you. 22 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:05,160 For all things are for your sakes, that the grace which is spreading to more and more 23 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:11,200 people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God. 24 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:16,160 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man 25 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:19,560 is being renewed day by day. 26 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:25,680 For momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond 27 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:32,240 all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are 28 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:33,880 not seen. 29 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:39,640 For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 30 00:02:39,640 --> 00:02:45,200 For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building 31 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:50,960 from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 32 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:57,280 For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, 33 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:01,620 inasmuch as we having put it on shall not be found naked. 34 00:03:01,620 --> 00:03:08,400 For indeed while we are in this tent we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to 35 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:15,720 be unclothed, but to be clothed, in order that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 36 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:24,240 Now he who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge. 37 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:29,160 Therefore being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body 38 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:35,440 we are absent from the Lord, for we walk by faith not by sight, we are of good courage, 39 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:42,960 I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. 40 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:50,600 I want to talk today about the theme living for what lasts. 41 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:55,700 Most everyone wants his life to count for something. 42 00:03:55,700 --> 00:04:02,640 God made us to desire and to enjoy meaning in life. 43 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:11,280 And every life is filled with that potential, that is to have significance in this world. 44 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:21,320 We can choose to live out life circumstances in a way that unleashes meaning or which wastes 45 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:23,600 potential. 46 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:27,440 It's up to us to decide. 47 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:35,040 God wants life to have significance, and in His Word He has given us truth which helps 48 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:40,160 us live for what lasts. 49 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:44,680 Live your life for what lasts, my friend. 50 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:48,880 Don't be robbed of life. 51 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:55,480 Have a life with meaning by living for what lasts. 52 00:04:55,480 --> 00:05:01,680 The text that we have read today gives us understanding of four basic facts that will 53 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:04,840 help us do exactly that. 54 00:05:04,840 --> 00:05:13,480 If you and I can grasp these four facts, it will help us to live for what is lasting. 55 00:05:13,480 --> 00:05:15,560 Fact number one is this. 56 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:23,480 We need to understand that the greatest treasure in life is the gospel. 57 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:27,480 The greatest treasure in life is the gospel. 58 00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:30,920 There are other treasures in life to be had. 59 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:36,780 For example, relationships with family, with friends. 60 00:05:36,780 --> 00:05:38,540 Those are treasures. 61 00:05:38,540 --> 00:05:40,640 They are precious to us. 62 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:45,280 Likewise, there is the treasure of time. 63 00:05:45,280 --> 00:05:50,980 Time being the very basic element out of which life is composed. 64 00:05:50,980 --> 00:05:53,200 This treasure can't be possessed. 65 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:58,880 It can only be used a second at a time. 66 00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:01,280 And then there is the treasure of material things. 67 00:06:01,280 --> 00:06:03,240 Yes, I would include that as a treasure. 68 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:05,540 I don't think that that's wrong. 69 00:06:05,540 --> 00:06:10,680 There is nothing inherently evil about material things. 70 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:17,620 It depends upon our motives for having them and how they are used in life. 71 00:06:17,620 --> 00:06:23,720 There are other treasures in life, but the greatest treasure is the gospel. 72 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:32,100 Without question, the most precious treasure is a message, something intangible. 73 00:06:32,100 --> 00:06:45,120 It is the truth which can save a person from an eternity in hell separated from God. 74 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:53,760 The greatest treasure there is, is the message of Christ crucified for our sins, buried and 75 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:59,480 then raised again on the third day according to the Scriptures. 76 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:09,000 It is the hearing of that message and personal trust in the living Christ which saves the 77 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:19,560 soul and which then also unlocks the possibility for a life to have significance, that is eternal 78 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:25,680 meaning in this world. 79 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:32,960 Satan is unalterably opposed to that happening. 80 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:41,640 He does not want a person to hear the gospel and to believe on Jesus Christ for the saving 81 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:47,520 of his soul and for his life to have eternal significance. 82 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:49,160 He is opposed to that. 83 00:07:49,160 --> 00:07:55,460 And so he blinds the minds of those who are perishing. 84 00:07:55,460 --> 00:08:04,040 As is said in verse 3, if our gospel is veiled, and the implication is, and it is, it is veiled 85 00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:06,680 to those who are perishing. 86 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:11,120 Notice it is not those who will someday perish. 87 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:18,280 But he is saying that these are those who are presently perishing. 88 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:21,320 That is the state in which they live. 89 00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:23,000 That is the condition of their souls. 90 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:24,920 Now who are these? 91 00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:28,800 Who are perishing, he explains in verse 4. 92 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:31,560 The unbelieving. 93 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:37,480 Satan has blinded the minds of the unbelieving. 94 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:47,080 Those who are perishing are those who have not believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. 95 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:53,520 Satan causes a blindness upon the heart so that a person is unable to perceive and to 96 00:08:53,520 --> 00:09:01,960 see the glory of God revealed in the person of his Son. 97 00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:08,280 And Satan's purpose in causing that supernatural blindness is to keep that individual, that 98 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:16,560 son, that daughter of Adam, from being saved from eternal hell, from having a life in this 99 00:09:16,560 --> 00:09:19,720 world that impacts eternity. 100 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:23,040 Satan does not want that. 101 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:30,240 We can thank God that he sovereignly causes the light to shine to us. 102 00:09:30,240 --> 00:09:36,920 In verse 6 it says, for God who said, light shall shine out of darkness, referring there 103 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:44,760 to the original creation, when God said, let there be light, and sovereignly by his own 104 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:49,400 power he brought light into existence. 105 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:58,000 That same God has created spiritual light and has said, let there be light in that heart. 106 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:04,960 And that light then shines into the heart of the one who up to that point has been blinded 107 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:06,760 in his sin. 108 00:10:06,760 --> 00:10:13,240 And the result is that he sees Christ, he understands his sinfulness in need of Christ, 109 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:15,000 and trusts in the Savior. 110 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:22,160 It is because of that sovereign work of God that any of us are saved today. 111 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:27,800 It is that work of God which then gives us the most priceless treasure that exists, the 112 00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:30,500 gospel. 113 00:10:30,500 --> 00:10:35,220 And it is a privilege, as Paul points out here in this text, to minister that gospel 114 00:10:35,220 --> 00:10:37,260 to others. 115 00:10:37,260 --> 00:10:40,120 What a privilege we have to do that. 116 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:48,440 To share the only message that exists in all of the universe by which a man or a woman 117 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:55,440 may find cleansing and forgiveness of sin, and by which he might establish a right relationship 118 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:58,880 with God that saves the soul. 119 00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:04,600 This one message is the gospel, and that is the message that you and I are privileged 120 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:06,600 to proclaim to others. 121 00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:15,000 Now, because the unbelieving are in supernatural blindness, not just the deadness, the darkness 122 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:22,360 of their own hearts, but a supernatural blindness, because they're in that condition of perishing, 123 00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:28,840 it requires supernatural power in us to share this message. 124 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:35,560 And that's why the apostle says in verse 7, we have this treasure, the gospel, in earth 125 00:11:35,560 --> 00:11:43,360 and vessels, that's all we are, talking about our bodies made up of the basic elements, 126 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:44,360 earth and vessels. 127 00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:50,120 He says we have this treasure in plain earth and vessels. 128 00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:51,120 Why? 129 00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:57,920 That the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves, so that 130 00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:01,960 it might be clear that it's God at work in us. 131 00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:03,720 That's why. 132 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:14,400 We must have supernatural enabling from God to share the gospel effectively. 133 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:21,140 It is interesting that this treasure is one that we can share with others and yet not 134 00:12:21,140 --> 00:12:24,680 experience any loss of its value to ourselves. 135 00:12:24,680 --> 00:12:27,440 Isn't that something? 136 00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:29,680 How many treasures are there like that? 137 00:12:29,680 --> 00:12:35,840 Which you can give away freely and yet never lose for yourself. 138 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:37,640 That's what the gospel is. 139 00:12:37,640 --> 00:12:43,160 The greatest treasure in life is the gospel. 140 00:12:43,160 --> 00:12:49,480 If I want to live for that which lasts, it begins right here at this point we're at this 141 00:12:49,480 --> 00:12:50,480 morning. 142 00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:57,720 I must understand that the gospel is the greatest treasure in life and I must build my life 143 00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:04,600 upon it by trusting in the Savior of the gospel. 144 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:11,160 And then I want to invest my life in proclaiming this message to others. 145 00:13:11,160 --> 00:13:16,760 And whatever resources God may give me in this world, I am wise. 146 00:13:16,760 --> 00:13:19,240 I am living for what lasts. 147 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:25,820 When I use those resources to share the gospel, whether it be across the street or across 148 00:13:25,820 --> 00:13:33,760 the ocean, when I use what God gives to me to share this message, I am living for what 149 00:13:33,760 --> 00:13:39,960 lasts and what has eternal impact. 150 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:45,880 Live for what lasts. 151 00:13:45,880 --> 00:13:51,960 Then if I want to live for what lasts, I come to a second fact that I must understand. 152 00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:59,200 I must understand that the normal experience of life for the believer is suffering. 153 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:08,760 The apostle says we are afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, struck down, always carrying about 154 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:13,400 in the body the dying of Jesus. 155 00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:17,480 Paul is pointing here not to a hangnail. 156 00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:21,240 He's not talking about an ingrown toenail that's giving him problems in life. 157 00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:24,680 That's not the kind of suffering he's talking about. 158 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:32,360 He's talking about that suffering that comes to him because he seeks to be a faithful believer 159 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:36,120 in Jesus Christ. 160 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:40,440 Affliction and persecution. 161 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:45,640 You and I must understand that that is a normal experience of life if we're going to live 162 00:14:45,640 --> 00:14:47,760 for what lasts. 163 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:50,400 Peter testifies to this truthfulness. 164 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:58,520 Beloved, do not be surprised, he says, at the fiery ordeal among you which comes upon 165 00:14:58,520 --> 00:15:06,960 you for your testing as though some strange, some foreign thing were happening to you. 166 00:15:06,960 --> 00:15:13,880 In other words, the implication is it is not foreign when a fiery ordeal of persecution 167 00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:17,840 comes to your life. 168 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:24,360 And yet today, the day in which we live, there are some Christians who hear a message that 169 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:28,960 says a Christian should never hurt. 170 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:32,200 A Christian should never be sick. 171 00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:38,260 A Christian should never experience loss or have a need. 172 00:15:38,260 --> 00:15:44,600 It is the prosperity gospel which is a perversion of the true gospel. 173 00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:49,480 It is a lie and it's a false teaching. 174 00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:54,660 If you believe that message, you do not believe what the Bible teaches. 175 00:15:54,660 --> 00:16:05,260 The Bible teaches that suffering is the norm for this life, not health and wealth and prosperity, 176 00:16:05,260 --> 00:16:07,720 just the opposite of that. 177 00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:14,480 Paul affirms later as he writes to Timothy, all, all who desire to live godly in Christ 178 00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:18,880 Jesus will be persecuted. 179 00:16:18,880 --> 00:16:27,000 Maybe not all the time, maybe not every moment of his life, but he will suffer persecution. 180 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:37,080 If we want to live for the lasting, we must not seek to avoid or to escape suffering. 181 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:41,500 That is the normal tendency of a human who is living for the here and now. 182 00:16:41,500 --> 00:16:46,720 Do anything at any cost to avoid suffering. 183 00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:54,000 But if we want to live for that which lasts, we have to understand that suffering is just 184 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:56,120 a part of this life. 185 00:16:56,120 --> 00:16:58,120 It's a normal experience. 186 00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:04,840 We must see suffering as God's plan for us and a way in which He is glorified in our 187 00:17:04,840 --> 00:17:10,480 lives as He was glorified in His Son who suffered. 188 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:15,720 Now the apostle gives us a couple of insights into suffering in this text. 189 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:21,640 He says, even if it is prolonged, it is bearable. 190 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:30,680 Notice that he says in verse 17, for momentary light affliction. 191 00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:33,440 That's how he puts it. 192 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:39,960 Even if prolonged, suffering is bearable. 193 00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:41,000 Why? 194 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:43,040 Because he says it's momentary. 195 00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:49,520 Now that word doesn't mean a second or a minute, obviously, but what it means is that it is 196 00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:53,920 a short amount of time when compared to something else. 197 00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:57,400 Now what is Paul comparing it to? 198 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:01,080 Well, eternity. 199 00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:07,320 If you and I are persecuted every day that we live in this world, that is a short amount 200 00:18:07,320 --> 00:18:14,840 of time that is momentary when compared to the stretch of eternity before us. 201 00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:20,360 When after 10,000 years, it's only like we've just begun. 202 00:18:20,360 --> 00:18:21,720 It's momentary. 203 00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:25,440 And not only that, he says, suffering is light. 204 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:27,400 It is light. 205 00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:35,400 It is not crushing to the point of causing us complete collapse. 206 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:36,400 Why is that? 207 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:39,720 Because Christ is there to protect us. 208 00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:42,280 He is there to gauge that suffering. 209 00:18:42,280 --> 00:18:47,160 He is there to guard us in the midst of it and to protect us. 210 00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:53,160 The apostle says we are afflicted in every way but not crushed. 211 00:18:53,160 --> 00:18:54,560 Why? 212 00:18:54,560 --> 00:19:00,320 Because that suffering is light in the sense that Christ is there to bear it with us. 213 00:19:00,320 --> 00:19:03,160 We are not bearing it alone. 214 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:09,800 We may be perplexed, but we need not despair because Christ is there with us. 215 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:16,280 We may be persecuted, but we are never forsaken by him who said, I will never leave you. 216 00:19:16,280 --> 00:19:19,180 We may be struck down, but we will not be destroyed. 217 00:19:19,180 --> 00:19:26,920 We cannot be destroyed because Christ is in us the hope of glory. 218 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:32,400 The first thing that he wants us to understand about this normal experience of life is that 219 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:39,800 even if prolonged, it is bearable because Christ is with us. 220 00:19:39,800 --> 00:19:45,200 I read some testimonies this last week in a magazine I get of some of the believers 221 00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:52,080 in Russia who have suffered and been persecuted by the government there for their faith. 222 00:19:52,080 --> 00:20:00,240 Inevitably, they speak in the terms that Paul uses here of the years of deprivation, the 223 00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:07,200 years of separation from loved ones, that those are all bearable because Christ is with 224 00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:08,200 them in it. 225 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:13,440 And they are glad to be counted worthy to suffer for his namesake. 226 00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:20,440 There's a second insight that we need to get here though, and that is though it be painful, 227 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:22,760 it is productive. 228 00:20:22,760 --> 00:20:29,960 Notice he says this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory 229 00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:35,600 far beyond all comparison. 230 00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:39,520 This suffering, he says, is producing something. 231 00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:46,880 And that word there implies that it's prolonged, that it's working out something over the length 232 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:49,480 of time. 233 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:55,720 He says even if it be painful, and it is, it is producing in our lives. 234 00:20:55,720 --> 00:20:56,720 What is it producing? 235 00:20:56,720 --> 00:21:05,520 Well, in verse 10 he suggests that it's producing the life of Jesus being manifested in us. 236 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:13,040 That our bodies as they are being put to death through persecution, that that is the very 237 00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:19,160 way in which the life of Jesus is released from us. 238 00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:24,960 So even if it be painful, suffering is productive. 239 00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:32,820 The life of Christ is being released as an aroma to the glory of God. 240 00:21:32,820 --> 00:21:39,880 Even if we go to the extremity of laying down our lives for Christ, the very act of complete 241 00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:48,560 death is a way of releasing perfume as it were in praise to God. 242 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:54,920 A sweet smelling sacrifice of incense to him. 243 00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:59,800 Not only does it produce the life of Christ being manifested in us, but it produces daily 244 00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:08,760 renewal for he tells us in verse 16, though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man 245 00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:13,800 is being renewed day by day. 246 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:18,320 So though it be painful, it's productive, it's producing in me renewal in the inner 247 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:20,040 man. 248 00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:27,240 Though the outer man, the body is decaying, and the seeds of its own decay and destruction 249 00:22:27,240 --> 00:22:34,360 are planted from birth, though it is decaying, it's in that process. 250 00:22:34,360 --> 00:22:38,840 The inner man is in another process going in the opposite direction. 251 00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:44,420 While the outer man is decaying and going downhill, the inner man is being strengthened 252 00:22:44,420 --> 00:22:48,400 and renewed and built up. 253 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:50,240 Suffering is productive. 254 00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:55,080 But then there's an ultimate sense in which it produces glory. 255 00:22:55,080 --> 00:23:04,020 He says it is producing for us an eternal weight of glory, far beyond all comparison. 256 00:23:04,020 --> 00:23:08,200 That is out of proportion to the suffering we have. 257 00:23:08,200 --> 00:23:13,060 That suffering is producing glory that is massive. 258 00:23:13,060 --> 00:23:20,320 Glory that cannot even be rightly compared to that little bit of pain that we go through. 259 00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:26,880 So understand that it is a normal experience of life for the Christian to suffer. 260 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:33,400 But that suffering, even if it be painful, is productive. 261 00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:42,020 Even if it's prolonged, it's bearable. 262 00:23:42,020 --> 00:23:49,260 The near absence of widespread persecution in our culture is the exception in the experience 263 00:23:49,260 --> 00:23:52,080 of the church. 264 00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:58,160 Did you know that every year right now in contemporary Christian history, every year 265 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:06,440 in the world, there are 300,000 martyrs? 266 00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:12,940 In the last 15 years, there have been more martyrs who have laid down their lives for 267 00:24:12,940 --> 00:24:20,920 Jesus Christ than in all of church history up to that point. 268 00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:26,980 I believe that this age is near its end and it's ending with suffering that is unparalleled 269 00:24:26,980 --> 00:24:30,660 for the church of Jesus Christ. 270 00:24:30,660 --> 00:24:35,560 Just because our personal experience happens to be different doesn't change the worldwide 271 00:24:35,560 --> 00:24:36,560 picture. 272 00:24:36,560 --> 00:24:46,520 And frankly, I believe that our culture is headed for rapid change. 273 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:55,400 And I believe that there will be suffering for Jesus Christ in your lifetime and in mine 274 00:24:55,400 --> 00:24:59,920 in our culture. 275 00:24:59,920 --> 00:25:06,520 That's even to the point of laying down our lives. 276 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:08,000 But think of something less than that. 277 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:21,240 What would happen, for example, to this ministry if there were no more tax deduction for giving? 278 00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:27,080 Suppose that distinct advantage were taken away from me, from you. 279 00:25:27,080 --> 00:25:34,680 What would happen in that test to our giving? 280 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:42,240 In the context of where we've lived, that would be a form of persecution. 281 00:25:42,240 --> 00:25:50,040 I wonder how many would come to church if coming and identifying with biblical Christianity 282 00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:57,340 meant the loss of a job or the loss of the possibility of promotion at least or perhaps 283 00:25:57,340 --> 00:26:01,640 the inability to get an education. 284 00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:09,720 That happens every week in Romania where people's identity is checked as they come into church 285 00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:12,720 and their names are put on the computer that the government keeps. 286 00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:20,120 And those people are denied from that point on certain expectations in life. 287 00:26:20,120 --> 00:26:21,120 Why? 288 00:26:21,120 --> 00:26:25,920 Because they simply identify with a Bible teaching church. 289 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:36,480 What would you do in your classroom or in a paper you might be writing if standing up 290 00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:43,680 for what God says is the truth meant the loss of a credit or a grade? 291 00:26:43,680 --> 00:26:47,480 You say, well, that's not too significant. 292 00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:52,520 Well, no, particularly if you're not in the class or getting the grade. 293 00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:59,760 But if you're in high school or you're in college in a university setting, if you stand 294 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:04,040 up for the truth of God in a classroom and that's going to cost you a course that you 295 00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:10,600 need to graduate, you might think twice about standing up for Christ. 296 00:27:10,600 --> 00:27:11,600 At least that once. 297 00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:17,640 What's that going to hurt? 298 00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:23,080 If you and I set avoidance of suffering as a priority, we will not live for that which 299 00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:25,800 lasts. 300 00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:32,520 Living for that which lasts means accepting suffering as a normal experience of life as 301 00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:36,520 a committed follower of Jesus Christ. 302 00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:41,880 I have to understand that if I'm going to live for what lasts. 303 00:27:41,880 --> 00:27:48,720 And then thirdly, I must understand that the important realities of life are the invisible 304 00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:52,200 and the eternal. 305 00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:57,320 Paul says we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not 306 00:27:57,320 --> 00:27:59,780 seen. 307 00:27:59,780 --> 00:28:04,560 The things seen are temporal, the things not seen are eternal. 308 00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:12,380 There is no idea in the world, I think, which runs so counter to our world's values. 309 00:28:12,380 --> 00:28:18,760 And to say that that which is invisible is therefore eternal and most important. 310 00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:25,220 And that which is visible is temporal and therefore less important. 311 00:28:25,220 --> 00:28:29,880 That does not compute with our world. 312 00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:35,680 We naturally focus on the realities that are seen because those are the things that make 313 00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:39,400 up our everyday routine of life. 314 00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:41,960 It's not necessarily wrong to be that way. 315 00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:44,320 It depends on the extent that we're that way. 316 00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:47,240 For example, people. 317 00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:49,840 People are seen. 318 00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:53,720 Family and friends, we focus on them and we should. 319 00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:58,600 It's right that we carry on those relationships. 320 00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:02,320 Places are seen. 321 00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:05,920 And some of us devote ourselves to places. 322 00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:10,920 It may be the home we live in here in the cities or it could be the home at the lake, 323 00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:14,020 but we devote ourselves to places. 324 00:29:14,020 --> 00:29:17,560 Those are things that are seen. 325 00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:21,040 What about possessions? 326 00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:22,840 Well there are times we look at our possessions. 327 00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:24,120 Anything wrong with that? 328 00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:25,120 No. 329 00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:27,400 It's the extent to which we do it. 330 00:29:27,400 --> 00:29:33,120 Possessions are a part of life, but they are things which are seen and therefore temporal. 331 00:29:33,120 --> 00:29:37,980 None of those things is going to make it out of this world. 332 00:29:37,980 --> 00:29:40,600 What about our position? 333 00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:44,960 The power that we may have or our prestige? 334 00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:49,920 That's intangible, but it relates to the material. 335 00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:52,960 Is it wrong to think about that or to focus on that? 336 00:29:52,960 --> 00:29:53,960 No. 337 00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:55,420 Again, that's a part of life. 338 00:29:55,420 --> 00:30:01,840 We have to relate that way, but it's the amount of focus that we put on that, perhaps the 339 00:30:01,840 --> 00:30:04,760 counts. 340 00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:07,640 What about our own physical bodies? 341 00:30:07,640 --> 00:30:09,720 Our appearance? 342 00:30:09,720 --> 00:30:15,040 I would imagine that it would be unanimous that everyone here looked in the mirror before 343 00:30:15,040 --> 00:30:17,160 you came to church this morning. 344 00:30:17,160 --> 00:30:18,160 Why? 345 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:21,800 Well, you were concerned about the way you look when you get up in the morning, at least 346 00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:24,400 I am. 347 00:30:24,400 --> 00:30:28,920 I like to get up before my wife so she doesn't even have to look at me until I've been in 348 00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:32,760 the shower and gotten my hair washed. 349 00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:34,320 We're concerned about our appearance. 350 00:30:34,320 --> 00:30:35,960 We're concerned about our well-being. 351 00:30:35,960 --> 00:30:36,960 Anything wrong with that? 352 00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:37,960 No. 353 00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:38,960 We relate to our bodies. 354 00:30:38,960 --> 00:30:40,360 I mean, we're pretty used to them. 355 00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:46,280 That's where we've lived all these years, but perhaps it depends upon the emphasis we 356 00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:48,160 put there. 357 00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:55,080 You see, all of these are realities of life, part of our routine. 358 00:30:55,080 --> 00:31:01,880 But if you think about it, every one of them, whether it be people, relationships, or places, 359 00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:10,360 or possessions, or position, or your physical body, all of those things are temporal. 360 00:31:10,360 --> 00:31:14,100 None of them is going to last. 361 00:31:14,100 --> 00:31:24,600 And so you and I cannot focus the main thrust of our lives on any of these and live for 362 00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:28,160 what lasts. 363 00:31:28,160 --> 00:31:30,360 But there are, of course, those who live for relationships. 364 00:31:30,360 --> 00:31:35,640 I mean, people is the god of their life, and how they impress people, and the applause 365 00:31:35,640 --> 00:31:41,440 of people, and what people think about them, that becomes the dominating factor of life. 366 00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:49,320 And there are those who live for places, for that little home that's being built, or for 367 00:31:49,320 --> 00:31:53,120 that property that we enjoy. 368 00:31:53,120 --> 00:32:00,120 Places become very, or vacations, trips, those become the major focus of life to some people. 369 00:32:00,120 --> 00:32:01,120 Places. 370 00:32:01,120 --> 00:32:02,120 Possessions. 371 00:32:02,120 --> 00:32:05,800 Do we need to talk about that? 372 00:32:05,800 --> 00:32:08,520 What about position, prestige, and power? 373 00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:11,440 Oh, yes, there are many who live for that. 374 00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:12,880 That's the main focus of their life. 375 00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:14,880 What about the physical body? 376 00:32:14,880 --> 00:32:15,960 Yes. 377 00:32:15,960 --> 00:32:21,200 You see these health nuts all the time out here, running up and down the streets. 378 00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:23,080 I enjoy reading a little column in the paper. 379 00:32:23,080 --> 00:32:24,080 I don't even know when it is. 380 00:32:24,080 --> 00:32:30,860 I catch it occasionally, and it's a little blurb about somebody in St. Paul who is usually 381 00:32:30,860 --> 00:32:35,040 very healthy, and he explains what he has for breakfast, and what he has for lunch, 382 00:32:35,040 --> 00:32:39,320 and what he has for dinner, and his exercise routine, and all of that stuff. 383 00:32:39,320 --> 00:32:43,240 It's easy to see where the main focus of the life is. 384 00:32:43,240 --> 00:32:46,000 The physical being. 385 00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:51,400 There are those who just live for the pleasures of the body, but none of those things will 386 00:32:51,400 --> 00:32:52,400 last. 387 00:32:52,400 --> 00:33:00,640 I'm saying we cannot live for any of those things, and live for what lasts. 388 00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:06,720 We have to live for the invisible. 389 00:33:06,720 --> 00:33:09,720 What is invisible? 390 00:33:09,720 --> 00:33:11,960 God. 391 00:33:11,960 --> 00:33:12,960 God is invisible. 392 00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:18,960 The invisible, the ultimate invisible reality. 393 00:33:18,960 --> 00:33:23,920 When we live for God, we are living for that which is invisible. 394 00:33:23,920 --> 00:33:29,440 The life of Jesus Christ which is in us, Paul speaks about that as we said in verse 10, 395 00:33:29,440 --> 00:33:33,520 the life of Jesus being manifested in our bodies. 396 00:33:33,520 --> 00:33:35,440 Jesus Christ lives in us. 397 00:33:35,440 --> 00:33:36,440 That's invisible. 398 00:33:36,440 --> 00:33:38,440 We don't see Him. 399 00:33:38,440 --> 00:33:41,780 We don't see His life, but it's there. 400 00:33:41,780 --> 00:33:49,640 When you and I allow His life to be manifested in us, we are living for the invisible. 401 00:33:49,640 --> 00:33:54,400 Our own immortality is the main thrust of Paul's statement here. 402 00:33:54,400 --> 00:34:00,460 He goes on to say in chapter 5 that even if our bodies, this earthly tent is torn down, 403 00:34:00,460 --> 00:34:05,800 we have a building from God eternal in the heavens, another house. 404 00:34:05,800 --> 00:34:12,040 He's talking about it would seem here the spiritual body that we will inhabit. 405 00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:16,560 It could be the resurrection body we'll ultimately have, but it could be also the intermediate 406 00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:21,600 covering for our souls between the time we die and the time we will have our resurrection 407 00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:24,720 bodies in the future. 408 00:34:24,720 --> 00:34:27,080 He talks here about our own immortality. 409 00:34:27,080 --> 00:34:34,200 In fact, Paul goes so far as to say as he does in verse 8, we would prefer to be absent 410 00:34:34,200 --> 00:34:44,720 from the body, this physical reality, and to be present with the Lord. 411 00:34:44,720 --> 00:34:48,280 He talks about being at home with the Lord in verse 8. 412 00:34:48,280 --> 00:34:49,280 That's heaven. 413 00:34:49,280 --> 00:34:50,280 That's a reality. 414 00:34:50,280 --> 00:34:51,280 It's invisible. 415 00:34:51,280 --> 00:34:56,640 It's not a part of you, but it's a reality. 416 00:34:56,640 --> 00:34:57,640 Here's the point. 417 00:34:57,640 --> 00:35:02,560 You and I will not live for that which is lasting until we understand what the invisible 418 00:35:02,560 --> 00:35:06,940 realities are. 419 00:35:06,940 --> 00:35:17,280 Live for the lasting by grasping the important realities that are unseen and eternal. 420 00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:21,440 Don't live for the visible and the temporal. 421 00:35:21,440 --> 00:35:26,880 If you do, down the road at the end of life you're going to see you've missed it. 422 00:35:26,880 --> 00:35:30,600 It will be too late. 423 00:35:30,600 --> 00:35:35,880 And finally, if you and I are going to live for the lasting, we must understand the judgment 424 00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:41,480 seat after life is certain. 425 00:35:41,480 --> 00:35:48,920 Verse 10 of chapter 5, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. 426 00:35:48,920 --> 00:35:53,960 Notice in this verse that it says it will be an occasion for examining whether we lived 427 00:35:53,960 --> 00:35:54,960 for the lasting. 428 00:35:54,960 --> 00:35:57,520 It's an occasion for examination. 429 00:35:57,520 --> 00:36:00,720 That's what the judgment seat is all about. 430 00:36:00,720 --> 00:36:06,960 It's not to determine heaven or hell because only believers are at this judgment. 431 00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:12,920 In fact, there is never a judgment after life where the saved and the lost are there together 432 00:36:12,920 --> 00:36:17,560 and God somehow parts them. 433 00:36:17,560 --> 00:36:19,960 When death comes, there's an immediate separation. 434 00:36:19,960 --> 00:36:23,480 The lost go to their place, the saved go to their place. 435 00:36:23,480 --> 00:36:30,080 But one day, all of the saved, all of the believers will stand before Jesus Christ at 436 00:36:30,080 --> 00:36:33,300 His examination seat. 437 00:36:33,300 --> 00:36:38,640 And there we will be examined to see how we have lived for the lasting. 438 00:36:38,640 --> 00:36:44,420 The deeds in the body or through the body will be looked at. 439 00:36:44,420 --> 00:36:49,640 Both those that are good and those that are good for nothing will be looked at. 440 00:36:49,640 --> 00:36:57,400 It will not only be an occasion for examination, but it will be an opportunity to receive reward. 441 00:36:57,400 --> 00:37:03,960 As he says, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body. 442 00:37:03,960 --> 00:37:12,480 The word recompensed means to receive back one's due. 443 00:37:12,480 --> 00:37:18,360 In other words, someday I'm going to stand before Christ and in some manner, unknown to 444 00:37:18,360 --> 00:37:21,640 me at this point, He is going to look at my total life. 445 00:37:21,640 --> 00:37:26,120 It's just all going to be there, bam. 446 00:37:26,120 --> 00:37:33,080 And immediately manifested, made clear, will be how much I have lived for the lasting. 447 00:37:33,080 --> 00:37:37,360 The good and the good for nothing will be obvious. 448 00:37:37,360 --> 00:37:43,740 And I will be recompensed and rewarded, that is, for what has pleased Him. 449 00:37:43,740 --> 00:37:45,480 And I may also suffer loss. 450 00:37:45,480 --> 00:37:47,200 The loss of what? 451 00:37:47,200 --> 00:37:49,640 Well, certainly not salvation. 452 00:37:49,640 --> 00:37:56,080 But we can suffer the loss of reward. 453 00:37:56,080 --> 00:38:00,800 Notice also in this verse that it will involve everyone who belongs to Christ. 454 00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:02,840 This is not just for pastors. 455 00:38:02,840 --> 00:38:05,120 It is not just for lay people. 456 00:38:05,120 --> 00:38:08,080 It's not just for deacons or elders. 457 00:38:08,080 --> 00:38:10,960 It's for every believer. 458 00:38:10,960 --> 00:38:17,520 Throughout this age, we must all appear, that each one. 459 00:38:17,520 --> 00:38:21,760 So notice that it's both universal, it's all, and it's individual. 460 00:38:21,760 --> 00:38:22,760 It's each one. 461 00:38:22,760 --> 00:38:29,000 We will all be there, but it's an individual accounting. 462 00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:37,600 I will be encouraged to live for the lasting when I understand the certainty of this examination 463 00:38:37,600 --> 00:38:46,680 and the opportunity that I have to be rewarded then by my Christ, my Lord. 464 00:38:46,680 --> 00:38:53,360 If I want to live for that which lasts, I have to understand these four basic facts 465 00:38:53,360 --> 00:38:58,980 that Paul talks about in our text. 466 00:38:58,980 --> 00:39:04,720 Last weekend, I was privileged to perform the marriage for my sister and her husband. 467 00:39:04,720 --> 00:39:07,160 It was a great occasion. 468 00:39:07,160 --> 00:39:12,240 It also afforded me an opportunity to be at home at a time when I could walk over the 469 00:39:12,240 --> 00:39:18,720 farm and see it because the leaves are not all out on the trees. 470 00:39:18,720 --> 00:39:21,400 I don't have to keep looking down for rattlesnakes this time of year. 471 00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:24,960 I can walk and not have to worry about that. 472 00:39:24,960 --> 00:39:29,840 So I took advantage of that and walked over the farm where so much of my life has been 473 00:39:29,840 --> 00:39:32,420 centered. 474 00:39:32,420 --> 00:39:38,360 Home to me has meant that 240 acres in Kansas. 475 00:39:38,360 --> 00:39:43,200 In some respects, when I hear the word home, that's still the first place that pops into 476 00:39:43,200 --> 00:39:44,720 mind. 477 00:39:44,720 --> 00:39:52,840 When I say home, that brings to your mind some place as it does to mine. 478 00:39:52,840 --> 00:39:57,960 I walked over across the creek and up the hill to the south, perhaps a half a mile from 479 00:39:57,960 --> 00:40:00,360 the farmhouse. 480 00:40:00,360 --> 00:40:04,400 I stood there on the hill overlooking most of that acreage. 481 00:40:04,400 --> 00:40:13,600 As I did so, I reflected on my life and I was reminded of the fact that loved ones who 482 00:40:13,600 --> 00:40:20,480 have lived there were temporary in this world. 483 00:40:20,480 --> 00:40:27,720 Some whom I have loved and who I have identified with that piece of ground, that home, that 484 00:40:27,720 --> 00:40:30,600 place are not there anymore. 485 00:40:30,600 --> 00:40:33,600 They're temporary. 486 00:40:33,600 --> 00:40:40,840 I recognized as I looked at other farms in the neighborhood that I could see that some 487 00:40:40,840 --> 00:40:45,880 of the friends that I have known in years past are no longer there. 488 00:40:45,880 --> 00:40:50,080 Those friendships have proved uncertain. 489 00:40:50,080 --> 00:40:55,480 And in the 25 years or so that have expired since I left there, there have been a lot 490 00:40:55,480 --> 00:41:01,480 of changes. 491 00:41:01,480 --> 00:41:04,840 There are some new fences. 492 00:41:04,840 --> 00:41:09,160 Some of the old landmarks have worn down. 493 00:41:09,160 --> 00:41:16,500 Some of the trees I used to climb as a kid have long ago fallen and rotted away. 494 00:41:16,500 --> 00:41:21,720 Places change. 495 00:41:21,720 --> 00:41:30,540 And I was reminded that what we possess and enjoy and call our own one day can even as 496 00:41:30,540 --> 00:41:39,320 quickly as the next day no longer be there. 497 00:41:39,320 --> 00:41:51,780 If you think about it, nearly everything in life is temporary. 498 00:41:51,780 --> 00:42:02,600 The only wise thing that I can do or that you can do is determine what lasts, what is 499 00:42:02,600 --> 00:42:10,440 really important, and then to live for that. 500 00:42:10,440 --> 00:42:15,040 Let's pray. 501 00:42:15,040 --> 00:42:24,000 As you examine your heart today, as I examine mine, I wonder if there are some improper 502 00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:33,000 priorities that you need to acknowledge to God. 503 00:42:33,000 --> 00:42:36,200 Is there a wrong focus somewhere in your life? 504 00:42:36,200 --> 00:42:43,360 Maybe it's a relationship or it's some possession or a place. 505 00:42:43,360 --> 00:42:48,200 Maybe it's your power, the prestige of your position. 506 00:42:48,200 --> 00:42:51,320 Maybe it's your own physical body you've been living for, but there's been a wrong 507 00:42:51,320 --> 00:42:57,020 focus. 508 00:42:57,020 --> 00:43:01,600 Maybe you have to acknowledge to God that there's been a waste of the opportunities 509 00:43:01,600 --> 00:43:04,680 of life. 510 00:43:04,680 --> 00:43:11,420 If that's the case, if you've not been living for that which lasts, would you talk to God 511 00:43:11,420 --> 00:43:23,000 about it right now? 512 00:43:23,000 --> 00:43:42,080 And then would you determine by the grace of God to live and die, to spend and invest, 513 00:43:42,080 --> 00:43:54,000 and if need be, suffer for that which will count forever? 514 00:43:54,000 --> 00:44:00,120 Lord we are created beings and we are physical, material beings as well as spiritual, eternal 515 00:44:00,120 --> 00:44:02,120 beings. 516 00:44:02,120 --> 00:44:11,580 And even for those of us who have received Jesus Christ and who possess by your grace 517 00:44:11,580 --> 00:44:21,200 the treasure of the gospel, it's easy for us to live for the temporal and the visible. 518 00:44:21,200 --> 00:44:31,960 Lord, as we relate to that part of the visible world that we must because we are here, I 519 00:44:31,960 --> 00:44:36,680 pray that you will keep us from putting too much emphasis and too much focus on those 520 00:44:36,680 --> 00:44:38,880 things. 521 00:44:38,880 --> 00:44:48,080 But teach us, rather, to live for the lasting so that when we come to that judgment seat, 522 00:44:48,080 --> 00:45:00,400 as certainly we will, we may receive and be recompensed a reward. 523 00:45:00,400 --> 00:45:05,840 Lord we give ourselves afresh to you this morning to live under your Lordship that you 524 00:45:05,840 --> 00:45:16,280 might show us individually what it means to live for the important and the eternal. 525 00:45:16,280 --> 00:45:19,360 With our bowed heads let's sing again that chorus. 526 00:45:19,360 --> 00:45:43,000 O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to thee, for thou in thine atonement didst give 527 00:45:43,000 --> 00:45:52,200 thyself for me.