Never Give Up

2 Corinthians 4:1–18 NLT

Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way,* we never give up. We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this. If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.* This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you. But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.”* We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus,* will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are* being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

The New Covenant in Christ Gives Us Hope

In verse 1 the Apostle Paul begins by telling the church at Corinth that the Lord has given us as believers a new way so we should never give up. The new way or what we call the new covenant is the ministry of the Spirit and righteousness referenced in 3:8 and it was mercifully given to us through Christ Jesus in contrast to the old way which was the law given by God to Moses at Mt. Sinai.

What Paul means is that the Law which God gave to Moses was so glorious that Moses’s face shown and the people couldn’t even look upon it. But the law also lead to death because the people failed to keep the law so therefore they were condemned under the law. However the new covenant which is the covenant of the Spirit sealed by the blood of Christ leads us as believers to being in a right relationship with God and is therefore far more glorious than the Law given to Moses.

Paul is reminding the Corinthians as well as us that our victory is already won through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ so despite our circumstances we must never give up.

Listen to this preacher morning and let it really sink in that no matter what you are dealing with today, no matter how much you hurt, no matter how bad the devil is attacking you, no matter how little control you feel that you have over your life, not matter how desperate you are, no matter how much you feel the weight and pressure of your situation sitting on your chest to the point you can barely breathe, NO MATTER WHAT YOU ARE GOING THROUGH THIS MORNING THE VICTORY IS ALREADY WON THROUGH CHRIST JESUS SO DON’T GIVE UP BUT KEEP PUSHING FORWARD FOR THE GLORY OF GOD AND YOU WILL BE ABSOLUTELY BLOWN AWAY BY THE WONDER WORKING POWER AND LOVE JESUS WILL DEMONSTRATE IN YOUR LIFE. GOD LOVES YOU! Can I get an Amen this morning!

A Call to Holy Living and Accurate Teaching

In Verse 2 Paul defends his ministry by stating that he and those in his ministry reject anything shameful or underhanded and don’t try to trick anyone and never distort the word of God.

This is something that some believers and unfortunately some ministers as well can struggle with at times.

One reason is that there is such a pressure at times to lead a sinner to salvation or to see the Spirit move powerfully in a situation that some believers say comments that are not biblically accurate even if they have the best of intentions.

Worst yet are those without good intentions that blatantly will cave to social or cultural pressures to grow their ministry or avoid conflict with society or even for personal gain and therefore distort or water down the word of God to suit their audiences.

Paul is making it clear that his ministry does not fall into these categories but rather he tells the truth before God and declares that all honest people will agree with this statement.

In verse 3 Paul states that if the Good News of Jesus he preaches is behind a veil meaning that if some people do not understand it, then that is not because the message was not clear or that anything was hidden from them but rather because satan who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of the unbeliever.

This is something we also need to be aware today. Our job is to cast the seed of the word of God and while we do study the Bible, pray, follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and prepare to preach, evangelize, teach or witness there will be unfortunately many times that people are blinded to the truth of the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

These people can be blinded in different ways but satan is always behind it. In our time we see many false teachers and sinful temptations in the world and we must not let the lack of conversion of some people discourage us or make us feel like we are not doing a good job or not called to share.

As Christians, we are all called and told by Jesus in the great commission to share the Good News and when we are obedient the Lord is pleased with us.

In verses 5 and 6 Paul drives the point home further by declaring that he and his ministry team did not go around preaching about themselves but rather always pointing people to Christ.

Exhorting to people that Jesus Christ is the Lord and that as ministers and believers we are humble and that we are simply servants of Jesus.

Lastly, just as the Father said “Let there be light” and there was light during the creation of the earth, when Jesus ascended to heaven and left us with the Holy Spirit, there is now a new light that shines through the darkness in our hearts and minds so that we can know God’s glory that is in Christ Jesus and can shine that light to the world around us.

Said simply to be effective in our witness it is very important to know the word of God, operate in the Holy Spirit, have an active prayer life and to live our lives free from sin and above reproach. This will help people to see the light and love of Christ clearly through us for the Glory of God!

Suffering is Temporary but Glory is Forever

In verses 7-18 Paul is explaining his suffering is temporary and gives way to eternal glory. He tells the church at Corinth this because there were some there as there are some in our day that will say if the Lord blesses than why do bad things happen to you? Paul is making it clear to them and us that as Jesus told us we will have trouble in this world but that we can have hope because Jesus has overcome the world and as His followers we will share in His eternal glory. Hallelujah!

Verse 7 begins by contrasts the great light which is the Holy Spirit and our faith in Jesus which shines in our hearts, yet our physical bodies are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.

Verse 8 goes on to say that we get pressed on every side by troubles but not crushed that we get confused or perplexed but don’t despair. We feel like we are being hunted at times but that never abandoned by God. That through our sufferings we share in the death of Christ.

Let me declare to you this morning that there is not a hurt, a hang up, a fear, a lie or demon in hell that can separate you from the love of Christ!

When you suffer remember Jesus suffered.

When you are hurting remember that Jesus hurt.

When you feel unloved remember that people treated Jesus poorly as well.

But through it all Jesus did not waiver in His love for you and for me and for every mother’s child and just as He has victory over death hell and the grave you too have victory this morning.

You are more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus!

And while the world may shake you it can never break you!

Somebody praise Jesus this morning! Hallelujah!

The word of God is powerful. Often times I speak with people who love the Lord, but difficult or unpleasant situations keep happening to them. It is easy to tell the spiritually mature and Spirit filled people because through it all they keep praising the Lord.

You see part of our spiritually maturity is the realization that Jesus did not have a comfortable trouble-free life while here on earth and that as we seek to become more Christ like that we should not get upset if troubles come our way.

At least part of the time our suffering draws us closer to Jesus and gives us a better appreciation for how much He gave for us even if we cannot truly comprehend it.

Other times the Lord will use us to endure so that others can see that they are not alone and have a renewed hope in Christ.

Said simply the question is not if but rather when we will face hard times as believers.

In verses 10-12 Paul goes into more detail sharing that he and his ministry team have had to worship and preach Jesus under the threat of death in many cases. We can see this several times in the book of Acts for example. But that this sacrifice has resulted in eternal life for others who get to hear the Gospel message and be saved so it was worth it.

Everything you are dealing with is Father-filtered and is meant to be used for His glory. Count it an honor when you suffer for the cause of Christ. When we see our situations through this lens it gives us greater purpose and motivation to keep pressing forward because it is not about our pain but rather it is about glorifying God and sharing His hope with others through our situations pleasant or difficult.

In verse 13 there is another example of the motivation to not give up and keep moving forward doing the good work for the Lord. Paul refers to Psalm 116:10 which states “I believed, even when I spoke: I am greatly afflicted.”

The motivation to keep on going when one is suffering is the knowledge that God the Holy Spirit who raised Jesus who is God in the Flesh from the dead will also raise up the followers of Christ to unite us with Himself just as Christ is united with the Father in heaven.

So as believers are saved it brings God more and more glory and He is pleased with us when we share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others, and they receive salvation as well.

Verse 16 reiterates the point, that this is the reason for our motivation to keep serving the Lord whether times are good or difficult.

Our bodies are mortal and are dying but our spirits are renewed daily.

I can never emphasize enough how important it is every day several times a day just to make time to praise God and thank Him for all He has done for you and those who know Him.

Jesus was in paradise and did not have to come to earth and be humbled as a man, to suffer and die and pay the price for a crime he did not commit just so that sinners like me and you could know Him and have a relationship with Him and be pardoned from the penalty of our sins. That we could receive His Holy Spirit and do great works and teach His word so that others may be saved.

This daily remembrance should help put every situation into perspective.

As Paul teaches us in verses 17 and 18 our hardships though difficult are temporary but our reward in eternity is forever and also another person’s judgement is forever so the work for the Lord is so much bigger than our individual experiences good or bad while we are here on earth.

I want to encourage you this morning that whatever it is you are going through God is bigger.

He is not a million miles away, but He is right there with you and has been right there with you through it all.

That when we put our focus on Him, we will still have situations to deal with no doubt, but they will be put into perspective as temporary and our reward in Christ as forever.

This gives us hope to carry on and that our lives are not in vain.

And the best part is we can share our hope with others so that they can have peace on earth and eternity in heaven.

Hallelujah! Give Him praise in the house this morning!

Alter Call

I am going to ask everyone in the house this morning to please make their way down to the altar for worship and prayer. Please come quickly from all around the house this morning.

As a Christian we need blessings. This is not a moment to be embarrassed but this is a moment to say I love Jesus; I trust Jesus and I believe that he hears my prayers and my worship!

Come let us gather around this morning.

And for all of those watching online may the Lord bless you and remember our joy is in in Jesus!