We Faint Not- Part 2
We Faint Not • Sermon • Submitted
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· 10 viewsThere were some powerful truths in the life of the early Christians which would not allow them to faint from the work they had been called to do. We need also to acknowledge these truths.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
This morning we saw three reason why we must continue to live for and serve the Lord and not faint.
We have been called and commissioned by God, Satan is still active and has not surrendered, and the gospel still has the same power to save all who will call upon Christ.
It is God who will strengthen and enable us when we feel ourselves growing faint and we shall be able to continue to live for Christ in His strength.
We can keep on moving forward because we know:
God Shall Sustain Us(Vs. 8-9)
God Shall Sustain Us(Vs. 8-9)
Paul and his companions had endured many difficult trials and had faced persecution and opposition on a constant basis.
He had experienced hardships and difficulties that most Christians will never face and yet he was determined not to faint in the face of such adversity.
As we live and labor for the Lord we may also face difficulty, persecution, opposition and hardship, and yet, like Paul, we should be confident that the Lord shall sustain us in whatever adversity we may face.
Paul spoke of being troubled on every side which paints a picture of someone surrounded by the enemy and yet he says that he was not distressed.
We may find ourselves seemingly surrounded by the enemies of Christ at times and yet we need not be distressed because God is with us.
And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
Paul then goes on to say that he and his co-laborers were at times perplexed, meaning literally that they were at a loss. There may be times when we see what God allows and the direction the seeming prosperity of the wicked and yet we need not sink into despair.
Despair here is a state of hopeless defeat, and Paul says that though they were at times perplexed they never sunk into despair certainly because they knew that though they may not understand it all God was still at work!
He states that they were persecuted and the same is true for you and I and for all who follow Christ...
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
Yet Paul states that though they may have been persecuted they were never forsaken. They were never left alone for God kept His promise...
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Finally he states that there were times when they were cast down- literally they were knocked down, badly injured. Yet he says they were not destroyed.
Each time they were knocked down they rose up again and continued to carry out the ministry which had been committed to them. We may at times get knocked down by the enemy but we must rise up and continue to carry out our commission.
God is Glorified in Our Suffering (Vs. 10-15)
God is Glorified in Our Suffering (Vs. 10-15)
As we go through trials and endure suffering we trust that God will use our suffering to make Christ known and to bring glory to Himself.
We must recognize that the chief aim of our life is not prosperity or pleasure, but that God would be glorified.
Paul and his companions understood that their suffering had a higher purpose and as a result many were won to Christ.
Imagine how Paul’s resolve in the midst of such persecution and affliction must have been received by the unbelieving. They must have wondered what had such a hold upon Paul that he would not renounce his faith to end the suffering.
So long as it was “for Jesus’ sake” Paul and his companions would confidently endure suffering, persecution, and afflictions.
For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
Paul and Peter both had much to say regarding suffering for the believer. It was their endurance in suffering which was responsible for much of their success in ministry.
Their suffering had brought new life to the believers in Corinth. Paul and his co-laborers believed that God would deliver them and would also use their suffering for His glory. The speaking Paul mentions was their speaking to God of their afflictions trusting that He would deliver them out of them all.
There was an abounding sound of thanksgiving to God ringing out from Corinth because of Paul and his companions’ willingness to suffer for Jesus’ sake.
Our Suffering Is Only Temporary (Vs. 16-18)
Our Suffering Is Only Temporary (Vs. 16-18)
Paul and his companions did not faint because they recognized that any suffering that they were called upon to endure in this life was only temporary.
Our outward man, our flesh is always dying whether by the persecution of the enemies of God or by the natural processes of aging. Yet as the outward man grew weaker and progressed towards death, the inward man is renewed each day and will one day be released into life eternal.
Notice Paul’s description of their suffering as “light affliction.” You and I would say “Paul have you gone mad?”
Yet in the eyes of the apostle Paul and many of the great servants of God, any suffering we face in this life cannot be thought to be more than a “light affliction” when it is compared with the glory that shall one day be ours as we share in the eternal inheritance reserved for Jesus Christ and His children.
When we suffer for Jesus’ sake we gain eternal rewards that shall never pass away.
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
We must not get so focused on the temporal that we lose sight of the eternal. Our eyes should be ever on eternity! Paul and his companions were not worried about the temporal world except with relation to what it would mean for the eternal.
They understood that their life in this world was but a preparation for eternity.
How would our lives be changed if we had this same eternal perspective? How would we live differently if we could only grasp that our life upon earth is to be lived “for Jesus’ sake” so that we may not have regrets when we enter into eternity.
Would we be more willing to suffer and sacrifice for the cause of Christ if we knew that it was through suffering that we are best able to glorify God and to bring men to Christ?
Conclusion
When we understand that God sustains us, that our suffering provides us with an opportunity to glorify God, and that it is but a momentary light affliction when compared with the glory we shall someday enjoy how we must not faint in the time of adversity!
We must stay the course regardless of how dark the day, regardless of how harsh the opposition, regardless of the suffering we may be called upon to endure, we cannot quit and we cannot faint from the work which God has called us to do!
Are you living in light of these truths, have you been on the verge of fainting? Will you recommit yourself today to the Lord and to carrying out His call?