MPC, 8th July 2001.2 Corinthians 4 - "Gory Now... Glory Later"
Gary Hanson MPC, 8th July 2001.
About a month ago I was talking to my father in-law Bill.
Now, as many of you know, Bill was a Prisoner Of War for the last three and a half years of World War 2.
I asked him because I wanted to know … What helped them as P.O.W's. to endure that terrible ordeal?
His answer was short … but I got the picture straight away.
He said, "I'd left behind a new wife. So the thing that kept me going was, I KEPT THINKING OF HOME."
He'd been married only a few months … before he went to war.
Bill had shared where his strength had come from, but I reckon if you asked any Ex. P.O.W. that question … the answer would be the same.
The thing that helped them make it through the Pain, Suffering and persecution, was their thoughts of home.
A thin mat to sleep on … for those who could sleep …brought thoughts of the warm bed with pillows. The comforts of home.
As they tucked into their ration of rice … served up with whatever happened to fall or crawl into the pot as it was cooking …they thought of the steak dinner with veges. The comforts of home.
They watched each other waste away due to sickness and starvation.
It was tough … but they hung in there, because of the hope of finally going home.
And when that time finally came … what a celebration!
As we look at this passage today we meet someone who in many ways was just like these men … The apostle Paul.
As a genuine apostle, Paul knew what it was like to DO IT TOUGH. But he KEPT GOING. Day in day out he preached the Gospel … and even though he was often persecuted for doing it, he never lost heart. Because, he says, he was able to see past the troubles of his life, to his heavenly home.
It was a tough job. Easy to give up. But nothing is going to shake him from doing what he's doing. See how he starts in verse 1
"Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, WE DO NOT LOSE HEART."
You see …God had given Paul this special job to do. And part of it was to encourage others to join him in the battle.
And it really was like war ….
Everywhere he goes, there's opposition … especially here in Corinth. Paul's really got his work cut out for him.
False teachers are constantly opposing him. We heard a bit about these fellows last week.
Running about peddling their own distorted version of the Gospel, and at the same time criticising Paul's, and making accusations about him.
In the end, they're SMOOTH TALKERS. But their smooth talk is full of deception. It's not really the gospel at all. The message they're pushing is EASY ON THE EARS. Popular. But it's a DISTORTION.
And so Paul says to the church at Corinth, BE CAREFUL. He says, if you want to know what a true minister of the Gospel's like …Don't look at these guys!
He makes statements about himself, but he's really talking about them.
Read what he says in verse 2. He says …
"We have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every mans conscience in the sight of God."
Now … it not clear exactly what their grievance with Paul is, but you get a bit of an idea as you read on.
It seems like they've missed the point of his Gospel altogether, and they've levelled the blame at him.
It helps if you remember - like Stuart said last week…. that here in Corinth, public speaking was the way to get the praise and recognition of men. The GREAT GREEK ORATORS were their HEROES. Admired by everyone. And that's just what these false teachers wanted.
And as Stuart said last week … They were in it for the glory … and for profit.
Now … COMPARE THAT with Paul.
He's not only got a different Gospel … but a different attitude as well.
And it seems these imposters just don't get it.
Instead of using fancy impressive words, Paul's gospel is CLEAR. And simple. The only people who don't get it are the people who DON'T WANT TO GET IT. Who don't see the GLORY OF THE CROSS.
Paul says to the Corinthians … The only reason people don't get it is because Satan has blinded them to the truth.
Read verses 3&4 That's what he's saying. We've set forth the truth plainly. And so,
"Even if our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The GOD OF THIS AGE has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."
So Paul keeps preaching the TRUTH. Without modifying it to suit POPULAR OPINION. While these other guys … present themselves as leaders to the church, BUT CHANGE THE GOSPEL. They changed it to suit themselves. And their ambition.
But it wasn't the Gospel that needed changing!
Paul goes on to say … that before we can even begin to understand the Gospel, or be the people God wants us to be, there's got to be a change in our hearts.
It's not something that happens just by hearing the facts. It's something that God Himself causes to happen. And until it does … we're in the dark.
Paul says there in verse 6 Read along with me …
"For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made His light to shine in our hearts, to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."
He says to the Corinthians, when this happens and you understand what the Gospel's really all about, you'll see that these guys have got it all wrong.
The true messenger of the Gospel doesn't look anything like them. The true Gospel messenger doesn't want to glorify himself, but Jesus.
He doesn't look for what … others can do for him, but what he can do for others.
And so Paul spells it out very clearly. Verse 5. He says, it's not about ME. It's about JESUS. He says,
"For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake."
Paul wanted them to see that when it came to preaching the Gospel, the message was the important thing. That Jesus Christ is LORD. He's the one to look at.
He says … Now don't get the wrong idea about us. We've got no special powers or abilities to boast about. All this is from God … we're just His messengers.
He draws this great little picture to explain what he's saying.
It reminds me of the story of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Remember how these scrolls were found in a cave near the Dead Sea?
Pretty soon it was discovered that they were priceless portions of the Old Testament.
They'd been stored for a couple of thousand years … Not in containers made of silver or gold … encrusted with precious stones so that everyone said … "Wow what beautiful containers!" No! … They were found in ordinary old jars of clay.
And Paul says, this is what the true messenger of the Gospel's like.
It's not about looking good or sounding impressive … in fact … it's better if your not even noticed at all. Because the message is more important than the messenger.
We're nothing special, he says … we're like clay pots.
The sort that get chipped and broken … and nobody even cares.
But we've got this precious treasure inside.
Look at Verse 7 He writes ..
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us."
So what Paul was telling the church at Corinth was …rather than being selfseeking; truth distorting men who behave shamefully,
the true messenger of the Gospel is one who glorifies Christ and serves others. Oh … and something else …. he's prepared to suffer for it.
For Paul, there was no place he went … that he really called home.
Paul took the Gospel to the street … to the tent makers shop … to the smelly sea port … Because that's where the people were who needed to hear it.
He knew the blood, the blisters and sweat that it takes … to get a hard job done.
Just an ordinary bloke … who met people face to face with the Gospel,
and often suffered for it. But he didn't give up.
There was blood, there was sweat, but there were no tears …
Because there was something Paul was looking forward to…
and he's working up to tell these Corinthians what it is.
In verses 8 & 9 he writes
"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."
And see in verse 16 … he repeats what he said right back in verse 1
"Therefore we do not lose heart" He says, "Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day."
And Paul doesn't keep them guessing about what keeps him going.
It's no secret. Just like those prisoners of war.
He says…" When things get tough for us"… beaten, stoned or just verbally abused,
"We don’t lose heart …. we look towards home."
These false messengers of the Gospel in Corinth were after glory and the praise of men. They wanted recognition and applause.
Paul tells them … The true messenger of the Gospel can expect the opposite. Opposition, Persecution, Criticism.
It's going to be Gory now Glory later.
Paul says … It's tough, but don't lose heart … it won't last. And what's coming is so great … you'll hardly believe it.
Read with me from verse 16 again
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
Paul wanted nothing more than to preach the Gospel to those who needed to hear it. But they didn't always want to hear it!
And more than once they made this clear to Paul by throwing stones at him. But he didn't give up.
Like those P.O.W.'s when things got tough … he thought of home.
Paul's a great example isn't he … of a true messenger of the Gospel?
But you know … Paul was only following the example of someone else.
His example … was Jesus himself.
After all … wasn't it Jesus who left behind the glory of heaven to become a man?
Didn't Jesus, the king of all creation come as a humble servant of men ... To suffer and die to bring freedom from sin and the promise of eternal life?
Didn't Jesus look forward to the day when that special fellowship with His Father in heaven would be restored?
His glorious home coming.
Jesus is the perfect example of the Gospel messenger … because He's the one it's all about.
I want to ask you this morning … have you understood that? If you're looking for the EASY LIFE, maybe you've signed up with the wrong army.
Because EVERY follower of Jesus is a messenger of the Gospel. And that's not necessarily a popular job.
What sort of messenger are you?
You might be just a Sunday follower of Jesus … when if you're like Paul, you'll be a messenger of the Gospel wherever we find yourself.
Here's a quick check list.
Are you looking for your glory or for Jesus'?
Are you serving yourself or others?
When the going gets tough, are you prepared to stick with it?
I heard a story recently, about two football teams facing each other in the season final.
One team was suffering an embarrassing defeat.
The leading team was awesome (Maroon), crushing every attempt to break their defence. As one of their players sprinted away for what would surely be another try, a defender ran him down, tackling him just short of the line.
As both men started to get up, the man with the ball felt the hand of his opponent (Blue) pushing his face into the ground.
The crowd watched and waited. How would he react?
He slowly turned his head and looked up at his opponent and began to smile broadly, dirt and turf still hanging from his mouth.
Then he got up and played the ball.
He knew what he was there for. When he walked onto the field he knew it was going to be tough. That's the name of the game.
And when push came to shove, it helped know that the victory was already won … and the celebration was soon to come.
Do we know what we're here for? We're here to be messengers of the Gospel. A tough job!
Paul say's, "Don't lose heart … look toward home."
The game's already won … and the celebration's soon to come.