Surprised By Hope

INTRODUCTION:

For the past month we’ve been looking at passages related to our 21 days of prayer and fasting.

The theme of our 21 days of prayer and fasting was summed up in the word “breakthrough.”

Last week we saw how Peter’s one experience with the risen Christ changed his life forever.

The same can be true for us. ONE moment in the presence of God can radically change your life forever.

It can create the kind of breakthrough you need to overcome the challenges placed in front of you.

To cap off this season I wanted to preach a message that I believe ties on these things together out of 2 Corinthians 4.

A SURPRISING POWER

I entitled the message “Surprised by Hope” because there are certain things about our hope in Jesus that produce surprising effects in our day to day life.

Hope in Christ has the power to change you in some surprising ways.

We’re going to see that dynamic through the life of the apostle Paul in his 2nd letter to the church at Corinth.

In this letter he provides an explanation for how his hope in Jesus gave him a ground for boasting in his weaknesses and persevering through his suffering.

His hope in Jesus produced some counter intuitive effects in his daily life.

What Is Hope?

We defined hope last week as an expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. To hope is to cherish a desire with eager expectation.

And all hope - regardless of the object - is future focused.

For the expecting mom and dad who have hope of a coming baby - their future hope has immediate implications on what they buy, how they eat, where they live and more.

For the single but looking man or woman their hope in a married life has immediate implications for who they date, how they date and what they do or don’t allow into their life as a single person.

Hope - regardless of its object - is focused on the future. But a proper focus on the future gives you perspective for your past and power for the present.

That principle is particularly true when it comes to Christian hope. Our hope in Christ is a “living hope.” It unleashes in us a power for positive change.

And a proper focus on what Jesus will "one day,” has surprising power over how you live “TODAY.”

That’s the surprising power of hope. Hope is not just a dry academic belief in some ethical system or some historical events.

Christian hope is a vibrant relationship with a living person that is headed towards a particular future that unleashes surprising power to overcome your present challenges.

Our Hope & Your Suffering

I don’t know about you, but there are certain days where I just need to reminded of the power of hope.

Every weekend when I look out at this room I think about all of the struggles and hurts many of you have gone through and/or are going through.

It’s overwhelming to think about. And that’s just the stories I’m aware of. There’s all kind of suffering in this room I’m NOT aware of.

From the chronic pain of autoimmune disorders to the pain of things like cancer and heart disease.

From the relational struggles of a strained marriages to the emotional wounds inflicted by a prodigal son/daughter.

From anxiety surrounding your finances to insecurities about your worth as an individual.

There are all different kinds of personal struggles represented in this room: depression, grief, loneliness and addiction.

Hope Can Make a Difference

Our church is full of REAL people with REAL hurts in need of REAL hope that can make a REAL difference. Today’s passage offers that kind of hope.

It’s a reminder of the amazing power we’ve received from God’s Spirit and the precious promise he has given to those who persevere to the very end.

Read the Text

Let’s read our passage: 2 Corinthians 4:6-17

2 Corinthians 4:6–17 (CSB)

6 For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us.

8 We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; 9 we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed.

10 We always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be displayed in our body. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’s sake, so that Jesus’s life may also be displayed in our mortal flesh. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life in you.

13 And since we have the same spirit of faith in keeping with what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke, we also believe, and therefore speak. 14 For we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you. 15 Indeed, everything is for your benefit so that, as grace extends through more and more people, it may cause thanksgiving to increase to the glory of God.

16 Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. 17 For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory.

Hope in God’s promise for your future unleashes God’s power in your weakness and advances God’s purpose through your pain.

Put your hope in Jesus and the PLACES where God’s power begin to manifest will absolutely begin to surprise you.

You’ll experience a surprising new power in your weakness resulting in a total new perspective.

You’ll also experience a surprising new purpose to your pain and suffering.

All because of what you believe about God’s promise for you future through your faith in Jesus Christ.

UNLEASHED IN A SURPISING PLACE

The first surprising thing about our hope in Jesus is that it unleashed God’s power in our weakness.

2 Corinthians 4:7 (CSB)

7 Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us.

We all know the dynamic of putting something really valuable inside of something not so valuable.

diamond ring in a wooden box

Expensive gun inside a metal case

expensive wine inside a wooden casket

ILLUSTRATION: Old couch full of money from a widowed woman.

Paul seems to making a similar argument about you and I.

God has placed in infinite treasure in earthen vessels. Our bodies are little more than jugs of mud.

The 1st Century Connection

Paul is not trying to be unhelpful with this imagery.

It was actually pretty common in the first century to take your valuable and place them within a jar of clay (or something else you could break ) and burry it in your back yard.

I imagine Paul himself might’ve had a “jar of clay” and that his valuables being placed in that jar - buried in his back yard - began to preach to him: “Paul, I’m an illustration of your life. Your body is this jug of mud and the valuable commodity within represents the power of God in you.”

Don’t misunderstand me. Human beings are valuable and the human body is a valueable thing in the eyes of God.

But the thing that gives us our value doesn’t belong to us. It was placed inside of us by almighty God.

As Paul reflected upon his own life and his own life and ministry he began to see a theme: God demonstrate his extraordinary wisdom and power in things that the world deems foolish and weak.

Paul understood his limitations. But he also understood the limitless power of God. We have our own human weaknesses but the infinite God has none.

Container Versus Content

It’s important we never confuse the value of the container with the value of the content.

It doesn’t matter how much money you think you’re worth on paper. The total value of the chemical compounds in your body don’t amount to much!

In fact I read an article this week that delineated all of the core elements in the human body.

The human body is about 65% oxygen

18% carbon, 10% hydrogen, 3% nitrogen

1.5% calcium, 1% phosphorous

.35% potassium, .25% sulfer, .15% sodium, .15 chlorine

From there the remaining amounts of trace minerals get much smaller but if you somehow extracted those elements out of your human body you could buy them at walmart for under $10.

If you were to take your skin and tan it out to make leather you might could get at little bit more.

When it comes to the chemical value of our human bodies we are pretty much worthless.

Dignified Dirt

We are nothing more than dignified dirt.

Even on our best day. Dressed up, hair done, designer jeans - still dignified dirt. Sooner or later we all end up in a coffin and go back to the dirt.

The container is corruptible but the content in incorruptible.

The container is weak but the thing content within it is strong.

The container can be broken the reality within it is unbreakable.

The container is unimpressive but the reality within it is glorious.

There’s nothing like getting into the presence of greatness to expose your weaknesses. It’s a surprising effect of our hope in Jesus.

And we ALL have weaknesses. We all have limitations.

But the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness.

Our smallness is a platform for God’s greatness! The power isn’t in us but in the one who CALLED us.

What Are You Waiting For?

Notice also that Paul uses the present tense verb “we have” when describing this power. Not “we will have” but “we have.”

It’s a reminder of the already / not yet tension we live with in the kingdom of God.

There are certain things you don’t have to wait until heaven to enjoy.

One of those things is the power and presence of God experienced in your weaknesses.

So many people walk around crippled by fear and anxiety. We walk around shoulders sagging with Insecurity and self-loathing.

Too many people say, “I’m so ordinary, so average and undistinguished. I can’t do anything significant.”

This text reveals the wrongness of that kind of thinking. That is a symptom of a heart that hasn’t fully embraced his/her identity as a vessel for God’s use.

Yes it’s true that on the surface none of us are all that special. But God has chosen to take our unimpressiveness and indwell it with his power and his presence.

Power to Persevere

When you embrace God’s power in your weakness you’ll be surprised by your capacity to persevere.

This is exactly what Paul goes onto say in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9

2 Corinthians 4:8–9 (CSB)

8 We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; 9 we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed.

In other words, no matter how hard people try and destroy me, I can’t lose and they can’t win. They aren’t strong enough to overcome the power of God when I embrace that power through my weakness.

Notice Paul isn’t saying, “because I have God’s power my weaknesses are not longer legitimate or no longer liabilities.” They are still weaknesses and that reality invites real suffering into his life.

However, the power and presence of God enables Paul to persevere through that suffering in a way that nothing else can.

Boast In Your Weakness!

The world loves to boast in the glories of the container. Our boast is the glory of God displayed in human weakness. The mess is the message!

This is exactly what Paul goes on to argue (humorously) later on in the book. This church was dogging on Paul because he wasn’t as polished in public speaking as these so called “super apostles.”

Instead of defending himself by trying to make himself on equal footing with these super apostles he goes the opposite direction and adds more fuel to the fire of just how weak he really is.

He says - oh you think THAT’S WEAKNESS?! Listen to this!

2 Corinthians 11:23–30 (CSB)

23 Are they servants of Christ? I’m talking like a madman—I’m a better one: with far more labors, many more imprisonments, far worse beatings, many times near death.

24 Five times I received the forty lashes minus one from the Jews. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked. I have spent a night and a day in the open sea. 26 On frequent journeys, I faced dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own people, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, and dangers among false brothers; 27 toil and hardship, many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, often without food, cold, and without clothing. 28 Not to mention other things, there is the daily pressure on me: my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?

30 If boasting is necessary, I will boast about my weaknesses.

He goes onto describe his “thorn in the flesh” that he prayed for God to remove three different times but each time God refused him.

Just like we sometimes pray for God to do x, x or z so that we don’t have to be so insecure or self-conscious or whatever else the thing may be.

God’s words to Paul are his words to you and to me.

2 Corinthians 12:9–10 (CSB)

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.”

Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. 10 So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

The Advantage of Weakness

If dependance is the goal - and it is - then weakness is the advantage!

Not to us, Lord. But to YOUR NAME be the glory!

How does God maximize his glory? He puts the treasure of his gifts and his gospel in jugs of mud like you and me.

Your ordinariness is not a liability; it is an asset, if you really want God to get the glory.

No one is too common, too weak, too shy, too inarticulate, too disabled to do what God wants you to do with your gift.

Our Gospel hope changes the way we see our weakness. You’ll be surprised by God’s power in your weakness. That’s number one.

FOR A SURPRISING PURPOSE

So God’s power is unleashed in a surprising place. But that’s not all this passage says.

The hope we have in Jesus also offers us a surprising perspective about God’s purpose in our pain.

Suffering isn’t necessarily God’s punishment for sin. Sometimes, suffering is an invitation to pattern our life after the life of Jesus.

Just as our weakness can be a platform for God’s power, our suffering can be a platform from which we can preach God’s Gospel.

2 Corinthians 4:10–12 (CSB)

10 We always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be displayed in our body. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’s sake, so that Jesus’s life may also be displayed in our mortal flesh. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life in you.

In these verses Paul is giving us an insight into the surprising power of hope on the way we see our suffering.

Our hope In Jesus advances God’s redemptive purpose in our pain and suffering.

The Glory of God in Our Suffering

Without Jesus, in a godless world, the suffering of this world is blind, cold, pitiliess indifference. But that’s not our world.

Our world is not a world without God. God is sovereign over the sufferings we experience and he works all things together for good for those who love him and who are called according to his purpose.

Believing this doesn’t mean you enjoy your suffering or invite it into your life. But it DOES mean you USE your suffering to advance God’s plan.

Because of Jesus, all of our suffering can be used by God to change our character, display God’s glory and point people to Jesus.

Our hope in Christ doesn’t make our suffering enjoyable but it does give it MEANING. You may not like it but at least you can USE it to advance God’s redemptive purpose in the world.

ILLUSTRATION: Imagine your life as that clay jar and the suffering of your life resulting in cracks in that jar. Those cracks aren’t enjoyable but they’re an opportunity for the life giving water of God’s grace to pour out on other people. The harder you get knocked around the more of God’s grace you pour out on everybody else.

ILLUSTRATION: During our T4G trip we met a woman who survived stage four lung cancer. She said her Dr. said she survived cancer so she could be an uber driver.Maybe true! But it’s more than that. God doesn’t just use our healing. He uses our suffering to if we’ll let him!

Embrace Your Suffering!

So many of us run away from our suffering. We think God is punishing us or we did something wrong. Sometimes that’s true but even if it is that’s not where our minds should go.

Instead of letting your suffering discredit your ministry begin to see your suffering as a platform for GREATER ministry. Our mess is our message.

Suffering is an invitation to pattern our life after Jesus and get to know him more. The more we get to know Jesus to more we get to know and experience God.

Our weakness is a platform for God’s Greatness!

Our sufferings are a platform for God’s Gospel!

Preparation For Glory

Paul closes this section with a final surprise.

We’ve been surprised by God’s power in our weakness. Our weakness becomes a platform for his greatness.

We’ve been surprised by God’s purpose in our pain. Our suffering becomes a microphone for his Gospel.

We’ve seen how power God enables our perseverance.

We’ve seen how our suffering advance God’s plans.

Paul’s final surprise is God’s ultimate purpose in all our affliction. God’s ultimate purpose is to prepare us to receive the fullness of His promise.

2 Corinthians 4:16–17 (CSB)

16 Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. 17 For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory.

Whether for himself personally or in encouraging others Paul’s motivation for persevering faith was not found in looking at his present circumstances but rather to the unseen glory of God’s promise in Christ.

If you’re here this morning and you find yourself in a place of suffering these last two verses are worth committing to memory. I find myself speaking these words and praying these words anytime I’m confronted with the reality of suffering.

It’s such an important reminder. Your weaknesses are not a liability. Your suffering is not without meaning.

By God’s design there is a direct relationship between your current challenges and your future glory. God is using them to prepare you for something truly GREAT.

Not Even Comparable

God has destined us for glory. Deep down we know it’s true. That’s why we spend our whole lives chasing after it. It’s why we watch football games and are jealous of famous actors. We were made for glory.

And not just any glory. But glory so powerful, so overwhelming, so consuming that it makes even the worst suffering experienced in this world look like something light and momentary.

Paul says “it’s not even worth comparing the afflictions you experience here with the glory you will experience there.”

It’s not like it will be “kinda sorta close...” Like hang in there and maybe things will get better. What goes around comes around. Karma.

It’s so far beyond that. The glory that’s coming. The glory that is YOURS because of your hope in Jesus is so great the possession of it will make even the worst hells you’ve experienced on this earth be nothing more than an after thought.

That’s POWERFUL!

The ESV actually translates the contrast better.

2 Corinthians 4:17 (ESV)

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

light is contrasted with weight

momentary is contrasted with eternal

affliction is contrasted with glory

The comparison is NO COMPARISON. It is FAR BEYOND what you can even imagine.

CONCLUSION

So if this is true, how should we then live? Paul makes it very clear. This is what it looks like to live with hope.

2 Corinthians 4:18 (CSB)

18 So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Where is your attention? Where is your focus?

Are you focused more on your weakness than God’s power?

Are you focused more on your pain than God’s plan?

Are you focused on getting glory in the here and now or giving God the glory in the here and now so you can enjoy it in the sweet by and by.

These are two fundamentally different ways to live. One way is a life of hope. The other way is a life of pride.

The church in Corinth was shifting from a place of hope. What about you?

Living your life with hope in Jesus isn’t always easy. But it is always worth it. It unleashes a surprising power in a surprising place to advance a surprising purpose.

You cannot even begin to imagine what God might do. But it starts with repentance and faith.