Do not lose Heart

Introduction

After a busy break, I have to say it’s good to be back together. I’m convinced that December 1- January 1st is the closest thing to a roller coaster that we experience each year.

It’s busy, ball games are happening, we need to find gifts for loved ones, we have multiple places where we’re expected to be, and if we’re honest there’s not enough time to be all of those places.

The Christmas holidays bring out so many emotions. Many Great, but some that are difficult.

Some receive joy, others have Joy taken from them.

Then we have the new year. It’s the time for Resolutions, Change, a reset of sorts.

We’re going to do better.

I’m going to get in shape

I’m going to read more

I’m going to be a better person

I’m going to get closer to God

And we do for the first few weeks. We go and we go and we go, but eventually all of that energy and excitement starts to fade.

We get tired and we feel beat up.

It’s not that we lose the desire to do better, we just get overwhelmed. The stuff that had been on hold over the break come back, and our heads start spinning.

This morning I heard a great illustration, When we buy a new baseball/softball glove, we get excited! We can just imagine all of the plays that this glove is going to help us make. We have great plans for this glove.

But there’s some work that has to happen first, right? In order for that glove to do what it’s supposed to do, it has to be broken in. It will have to be bent. It will have to be stretched, it will have to be conditioned, and for some it will even be put into the an oven and experience extreme heat!

Tonight, I want us to see that In the same way that we work on that glove, God works on us.

Text

2 Corinthians 4:16–18 ESV

16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Body

The Training

In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul talks about how He feels tired and beat up.

He says in Vs. 8-10 that we as Christians experience;

Affliction in every way

confusion

persecution

physical pain

emotional pain

We are not exempt from feeling the same things that everyone around us feel.

It’s easy, and even natural, to look at all of these things as bad. And to be fair, they can be bad.

Having a condition or sickness isn’t fun.

Neither is trying to understand why things happen around us.

Or feeling pressured to do something that you know wouldn’t please the Lord.

Depression isn’t good. Anxiety isn’t good. Suicidal thoughts aren’t good.

But these things are real, and they exist. These are just a few of the things that we go through each and every day.

Believe it or not. Paul felt these things. In the 2 Corinthians 1:8 Paul admits it.

2 Corinthians 1:8 ESV

8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.

It’s in these heat of these things that we find our faith tested, don’t we?

There are times that things seem to hard. The sacrifice doesn’t seem worth the cost. There doesn’t seem to be an end in sight, so why not take an easier road?

Why not give up?

Paul Answers that question in Verse 16. I call this the game.

The Game

In every family, you’ve got the “sugar coaters” and the “straight shooters”.

The sugar coaters will talk to you for what seems like days. Complimenting you and rambling on trying to find a way to tell you something difficult without hurting your feelings.

The Straight Shooters waste no time telling you what they think.

Most of the time we look at these people as rude or even unkind, but i’ve found that this isn’t always the case. I’ve found that those people often believe that they are helping by being direct. Sometimes they are and sometimes they’re not.

but here, Paul shoots us straight by telling us that no one is exempt from pain, confusion, or affliction. The true test of one’s faith is what we do with it.

2 Corinthians 4:16 ESV

16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

After all of the time that we put into that Glove, it may not seem as pretty, or perfect, as it was when we first bought it.

The fire was hot. The bending was uncomfortable, the stretching caused the leather to break a little.

But after being “broken in” it is now ready for the game. It is flexible enough to make catches that would’ve been impossible when it was new and “pretty”.

The Want

God is molding us into who he wants us to be. but there is a big difference between us and the Glove.

You see, unlike the Glove, we have a choice in how we respond to these things.

When we go through trials. When we start getting tired. When we feel like the world is using us as a punching bag.

You get to decide whether you keep taking these punches for no reason, or if you will seek the Lord so that he can mold you into who you are meant to be. A tool used by God to expand His kingdom.

One of the biggest sayings in all of sports is “you’ve gotta want it more.”

My question for y'all tonight is, how bad do you want it?

How bad do you want the Blessings of God?

How bad do you want for your life to mean something?

How bad do you want a real relationship with Jesus?

I heard some of you say you want these things, but the trajectory of your life and the decisions you’ve made tell a different story.

The Trophy

Guys, if i’m being honest. This past month has left me feeling beat up and tired too. Between Parents having health issues (Jessica’s dad may have to have his leg amputated soon if things don’t get better), vehicles breaking down (On Christmas eve eve on the way to do Christmas with my family Jessicas transmission went out), and the normal expectations of life, there have been a lot of moments where i have felt overwhelmed. Moments when I’ve just wanted to lock myself in my house, lock the door, and act like i’m not home. I’m not saying that for you to feel bad for me, but i say it so that you know that your are not alone.

But our trials, our temptations, our fears, our pain. They don’t have to be pointless.

2 Corinthians 4:17–18 ESV

17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

For the Christian, these things we go thru serve the same purpose as breaking in that glove. With each passing trial we can become more useful to God. We can use our stories to impact others. We can talk about the Mercy and Love of God to people who are going through things with Authority because we’ve gone through things too.

Most of All, We can go through our lives knowing that it’s for something bigger than us. That our lives have purpose.

Earlier, I mentioned 2 Corinthians 4:8-10, I told you that these were the things that Christians experience:

Affliction in every way

confusion

persecution

physical pain

emotional pain

but i left a few things out.

2 Corinthians 4:8–9 ESV

8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

I know that your lives are demanding a lot from you. and i know you’re being pulled in all different directions.

As we begin 2024, I want to Challenge you to ask yourselves 2 Questions:

Do I really believe that Jesus is able to give my life purpose and mold me into the best version of myself?

How badly do I want Him to do it?

If you are struggling with if He can, I would love to talk to you.

If you’re realizing right now that you haven’t been all in on Jesus, then come down, pray, give him full reign to mold you, and let Him change your life tonight.