Do not lose heart

Introduction

Homecoming is a special time of year where it is both a remembrance of the loved ones who have passed on from this life and a reunion of friends and family. Today is both a visit to see once again the place our loved ones were laid to rest and a commitment to maintain this place. As I was reading different passages this week, there was one that stood out to me that touched on the ups and downs of life and the hope that carries us through it all. Listen to 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1

2 Corinthians 4:13–5:1 NRSV

13 But just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture—“I believed, and so I spoke”—we also believe, and so we speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us with you into his presence. 15 Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. 16 So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. 17 For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, 18 because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. 1 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

1. Believe and Speak - Paul mentions in verse 13 a reminder that by the spirit of faith, he believed and therefore he spoke about what he believed. We too start by believing and when we believe that same spirit of faith that helped us to believe also helps us to speak about what we believe.

2. What do we believe? - Paul, the Corinthian church and every other Christian believes this one truth perfectly. This is what we believe - Jesus died on the cross for our sins yet was not left in the grave. No, Jesus was raised from the dead to be the first of us to be raised from the dead. We believe this about ourselves. We believe this about our loved ones. We all will be raised into new bodies in heaven to be reunited in God’s heavenly kingdom.

3. Grace - God has extended this grace to you - we share it with others and the same spirit of faith that helped us to believe, helps others to believe. Grace abounds more and more, resulting in more and more thanksgiving and praise for God who has done all of this.

4. Today’s troubles and trials - We believe in this future in heaven with our loved ones and God but what about today. Today does not quite feel like heaven does it. Paul says in verse 16-17

2 Corinthians 4:16 NRSV

16 So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.

2 Corinthians 4:17 NRSV

17 For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure,

He says we don’t need to link our current state, our current bodies with what to expect from hear on. our pains and trials today will not last forever. Sickness and suffering may hurt today but we rely on God to strengthen us each day to endure. Each day God renews our strength to get through today’s trials. In other words, we are not without hope for today. We know our future is secure but today’s troubles can seem overwhelming. Today, God can strengthen you and renew you. This all prepares us from the future in God’s presence. When we are used to relying on God daily, then we know what being in God’s presence in eternity is like.

5. Look at what is unseen and eternal - What we see with our physical eyes can seem overwhelming and bleak. We see our loved ones laid to rest from disease, age, accidents, and the many other ways in which this life can end. If we only accept what we can see with our own eyes then there is no hope.

Listen again to what Paul says in verse 18.

2 Corinthians 4:18 NRSV

18 because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.

What we see with our eyes today is only temporary. What we believe is not what we can see but what we believe in. We have not seen with our own eyes heaven, yet we believe in Heaven. We have not seen Jesus with our own eyes but we believe in Jesus. These are the eternal we believe in. the same is true in verse 5:1

2 Corinthians 5:1 NRSV

1 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

This body we are given, this flesh is temporary. This body which has been afflicted by disease, suffering, and sorrows, is not the eternal body. Therefore our hope in eternity is not in the body we are in now but the one we are raised into in God’s presence in eternity.

When we survey the graveyard outside, we all know our earthly bodies are temporary. We can see this with our own eyes. What we believe is the eternal bodies which we will be raised into and reunited with all in God’s presence in heaven. This is what we are believing and placing our faith in. God’s grace carries us into heaven for eternity.

Amen