The fourth chapter of Paul's
second epistle to the Corinthians presents us with a tremendous
picture of the contrast between the ministry which Paul received
and the gospel that is part of that ministry, that is delivered
by that ministry, with that which is earthly. He speaks of the
light that shined out of darkness and truly the gospel and the
ministry of that gospel is light which is shone, shone forth and
received by those who dwell in darkness and those who come to
hear this gospel and are saved by this gospel. Know what it
is to have the light within them, who by nature are but darkness. Paul says in verse 7, we have
this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power
may be of God and not of us. We are troubled on every side,
yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in
despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Cast down, but not destroyed. Always bearing about in the body
the dying of the Lord Jesus that the life also of Jesus might
be made manifest in our body. He has This treasure, the ministry,
the gospel, the light of God, Christ himself in an urban vessel. The light has shone out of the
darkness. God has come to dwell in men. The eternal has broken forth. in the midst of that which is
in time. Life has come forth from death. These absolute contrasts are
throughout the chapter and are there to show us the absolute
distinction between that which is of God and that which is of
man. The Gospel is of God, from start
to finish. It has nothing to do with men,
other than that they receive it, other than that the Gospel
was wrought to deliver men, but they play no part in how that
gospel is wrought, in how that gospel is claimed, in how that
gospel is received. It's wrought by God on behalf
of men and given freely to men. It comes to those men who dwell
in darkness as light. It comes to those men who are
dead in the grave, corpses under the ground, unable to move as
life from God which brings them forth. Lazarus come forth. And Lazarus came forth. If you know anything of the power
of God, the power of the gospel, if you make any profession to
believe in Jesus Christ and that profession has any truth in it,
then you will know what it is to have been absolutely dead
before God. A corpse in the grave, darkness,
and to have God come in the gospel. as the light shining out of the
darkness, as the light of God coming to you and bringing unto
you life, because without it you were dead. This is the gospel and this is
what characterizes the ministry of this gospel. the ministry
which Paul had, a ministry which in the eyes of men is as nothing,
a ministry which in the religious world is cast out and rejected
and trampled underfoot, a ministry and a message, a gospel, which
this world has no time for, no place for, no care for. Paul opens, therefore seeing
we have this ministry. As we have received mercy, we
faint not, but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty,
not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully. but by manifestation of the truth,
commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight
of God. Paul and the Apostles had received
this ministry, they had this ministry, as opposed to any other
ministry. And their ministry, they had
received from God. they'd received mercy from God. And in receiving that mercy,
through the Gospel, they received this ministry, as those who were
called of God and sent forth to preach this Gospel. This is
not a ministry they received from men, They were not prepared
by men. They were not sent forth by colleges
or courses, Bible colleges. They were not prepared by men. They received this from God. God prepared them, God taught
them, God revealed these things to them, and God sent them forth
with this ministry. into a religious world, which
had no time for it. Paul had been a Pharisee of the
Pharisees. He'd been of the tribe of Benjamin.
He'd been brought up in the priesthood, knowing the law and the prophets,
walking amongst those in Jerusalem in the temple who were held in
high esteem by men. As regarding ministries, he had
the ministry of the Jews, the Jewish religion. He was high
up in it. Yet when he came to receive this
ministry, he counted everything that he'd received of man. everything
he'd received from the Jews, everything that he'd received
from the religious world in which he was brought up, as dumb, as
nothing, as worthless, as a hindrance to him knowing God, knowing Christ,
knowing the Gospel, and preaching that Gospel as part of this ministry. everything he received from the
religion of men, even if that religion originated originally
from the scriptures, from the traditions, from God, if he received
it of men and not from God himself, if it was merely handed down
to him of men as it was, then he counted that as nothing. as
a hindrance. That was Paul's experience, and
for preaching the gospel that he received of God, for having
this ministry as opposed to the Jews' ministry, as opposed to
the traditions of the elders, as opposed to that which is of
man, that which men esteem, that which men counted as right and
good, that which men said was scriptural, Bible-based in receiving
this ministry and not that ministry. He was rejected and cast out. It wasn't as though the ministry
he'd been brought up in was entirely false in his origins. As a Jew,
he had the scriptures given to him by God, the oracles of God. As a Jew, he followed the precepts
of the law as spoken by God and given to that nation. As a Jew,
he followed in the traditions of the elders passed down to
him. These things had originally been
spoken by God and committed to their care. Yet generation after
generation received these things in the letter without receiving
any revelation from God Himself. And what they had in the letter
led them away from God. It was according to the tradition
of the elders, it was according to the scriptures, it was according
to the ways that they'd been taught outwardly, but they never
saw the truth of God through these things. All that the Jews
had been given, their ministry, was in type and figure pointing
to the coming of a Messiah. All the sacrifices they had could
never wash away the sins of any man, but they pointed to one
sacrifice to come, Jesus Christ. All the priesthood that they
had could never intercede on the part of men. But they pointed
to one great priest himself who could intercede, who could bring
forth and offer a sacrifice, who could deliver those on whose
behalf he represented. They pointed to Christ. All the laws and the rituals
they had. couldn't save one soul, they
showed how sinful man was. But they showed in their rightness
the need for righteousness and a righteousness which must come
from God. All these things were found in
that ministry in which Paul was raised. All these truths were
there to be seen if your eyes were open to see them. It wasn't
that the scriptures that they followed were wrong. They followed
Moses' writings, and he'd been spoken to by God. It wasn't that
the outward form of what they did was totally wrong. They were
following what God had originally commanded. They may have added
to it and elaborated on it, but essentially its root origin was
in that which God sent forth. Yet they couldn't see the meaning,
they couldn't see the truth in these things. If our gospel be
hid, Paul writes, it is hid to them that are lost. If you can't
see the gospel through these things, then you're lost. in whom the God of this world
have blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light
of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should
shine unto them. Paul had the outward forms of
religion, but he, along with everyone else, had had his mind
blinded by the God of this world, that he could not see the light
of God. shining through them. He couldn't
see the gospel through the outward forms of the religion whose traditions
he walked in. It wasn't that the religion he
walked in was totally wrong, it originated from God, but it
was pointing in figure to the gospel and he could never see
the gospel in that ministry. and others like him at the time
of the coming of Christ who had that ministry of the Jews, that
outward ministry. When Christ came, when the fulfillment
of that ministry stood before them, when the type of, the anti-type
of all of those types and figures which they practiced and had
in their forms and rituals stood before them, they couldn't see
him. They were blind to him. They
had their ministry, but they couldn't see what that ministry
was pointing to. When the gospel was made known
unto them, they rejected it. They were blind to it. And they
cast it out. And they took Christ himself,
they cast him out, and they crucified him. And everyone that Christ
gave this ministry to, the gospel to, they did likewise with. So
they stoned Stephen and saw Paul stood alongside as Stephen was
stoned. That's where his ministry got
him to, the ministry he received from men. He rejected the ministry
from God, he rejected the Gospel of God, he rejected God's Son,
he rejected Christ himself, and he rejected those who spoke of
him and preached him. He had them stoned. That was
what he achieved in his own might, in his own strength, with his
own will, in the sphere of religion. Now you who are religious, you
who read your Bible, you who attend meetings, you who seek
to attain unto God, what are you gaining through those things?
Have you seen Christ? Have you seen the Saviour? Have
you seen His truth? Have you received His ministry? Or standing upon Scripture, standing
in your traditions, standing with your ministry received by
men, Are you standing and sanctioning the stoning of Stephen? Are you there casting out this
ministry of this gospel and trampling it underfoot and as it were casting
stones at those who preach it as Saul did? You say you stand
on scripture, so did Saul. He was very, very right according
to his understanding of the Scriptures. He had a better understanding
than you do. He knew them in and out far better
than you or I do. And with that knowledge and with
that understanding, he had Stephen stoned. He consented to it. He stood alongside. Is that what
you're doing with this ministry? And this gospel? And this saviour? Oh, you're so scriptural. Oh,
you know it all. But have you seen Christ in the
gospel? Have you heard his voice? Has the light of God shone in
your heart? Which ministry are you following? The ministry which is of men?
or this ministry which Paul had received of God. There's a huge
difference. They each stand upon the scriptures,
but the one stands merely upon the outward form, the outward
work, and the outward understanding and comprehension. The other,
that ministry despised of man, is that which is of God, which
takes not just the written word, but takes the living word. It
makes the written word to live. It comes of God in power. It
says, this is my beloved son. Hear ye him. And there's a huge
difference. This ministry, this ministry
is rejected by all men. When Christ came, everyone turned
their backs. Even those who followed, even
the disciples, when he needed them at the hour of his crucifixion,
they all, in fear, stood to one side. They all were helpless
to prevent it. And today, How many ministries
are there? How many churches are there? How many denominations are there? How many organizations are there? But is their door open to this
ministry and this gospel? Have they so entrenched themselves
in their traditions and their ways and their understanding,
that when the truth comes and is declared in power, they say,
not that! And they turn aside from it. They trampled it underfoot. They
professed to be stood upon the scriptures. They professed to
be scriptural in their opposition to it. Just like the Jews were. They thought they were doing
right. They thought they were serving God right. But they rejected
it. This ministry is despised. The doors of religion are not
open to it. The pulpits of men are not open
to it. The hearts of men are not open
to it. Here it's the only ministry that
makes known the Gospel that brings life and makes known Christ. And you'll only be saved if you
receive this ministry and this Gospel, this light, this life,
this salvation, this Saviour. Paul contrasts this ministry
with the ministry of men. We have renounced the hidden
things of dishonesty. not walking in craftiness, nor
handling the Word of God deceitfully. Because there was a time and
there is a place when people do handle the Word of God deceitfully. They say they're scriptural,
they think they're serving God, but they're twisting it. That
which speaks of God's grace, they turn into the works of man. That which speaks of salvation
by God's sovereign decree and election, by God's choice, that
God will save this person and he will save them through the
blood of his own Son, and he will save them this way, they
turn into the free will of man. Oh God's done this much. Christ
has done this much. He's come, He's offered up His
life upon the cross. He's shed His blood, but you
must receive it. You must make a decision. You
must take the final step. He's done all of these things,
but it's now up to you to receive it. And with one small little
chink in the armour, one small little addition to the Word of
God, an agreement to so much, oh we believe in God, we believe
he has a son, we believe that son came into this world, we
believe he lived as a man, we believe he died on the cross,
we believe he bore the sins of men, we believe he died, we believe
he rose again. We believe salvation through
the death of Christ. But you must decide to receive
it, otherwise you'll remain where you are. With one small addition,
they undermine the whole thing. They handle the Word of God deceitfully. Do you think that the Sovereign
God, the Sovereign Creator of Heaven and Earth, who spake and
brought the world into being, who sent his Son into this world,
who brought about the birth of his son by a virgin at the very
point in history that he determined it would be, in the very place
he determined it would be, in the very means he determined
it would be. Do you think the God that led
that son as a perfect sacrifice to the cross and laid upon him
the sins of his people and offered him up as a sacrifice for sin
on behalf of his people Do you think that that God will leave
the determination of who are washed in that precious blood
to the will of men? No. He covenanted to save this
one, and that one, and the other one. He looked upon Paul, Saul,
throughout all history, and said, I am going to save him. I'm going to turn him. Though
he will despise this gospel, though by his will he will be
turned against it, though he will do everything he can to
destroy it, I'm going to save him. And God put the sins of
Saul upon his own son, Jesus Christ. And Christ suffered for
Saul's sins, and Christ took Saul's sins away. He washed them
away. And then up One day, on one day,
when Saul was journeying to Damascus, to destroy the church there,
to bring havoc upon the church, to bring havoc upon these followers
of Jesus Christ, when he was determined to blot out This ministry
and the followers of this ministry, the followers of Jesus Christ,
Christ stood in his path. Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou
me? And God shone the light into
the darkness of Saul's heart, Paul's heart, and he turned him. And it caused him to be Paul
from that day on. He changed him, he saved him.
God didn't leave this salvation in the hands of Paul's decision. So Paul was going the opposite
way. And yet God would save him and
turn him. And you might be going the opposite way and you might
be despising this message, this gospel, this ministry. You might
utterly reject it, but if you're God's, you won't be able to stand
in His way. This gospel will come in such
power unto you that you fall down in its path. It will take
you. It will turn you around. It will
wash you in the blood of Jesus Christ. It will put a new heart
within you and cause you to follow. You cannot stand in its path.
And yet today you may try. Saul tried. He despised this
ministry. He tried to blot it out. He was
heading to Damascus to trample it, to destroy it, to stone those
that believed it. He'd do everything in his power
to get rid of it. This heresy in the midst. Yet
he could not. That's just how this ministry
is received. It's how this ministry is treated today. The religious
world, the Christian religious world, has no time for this ministry
and this gospel. Its doors are shut to it. Because,
unable to help itself, this religious world handles
the Word of God deceitfully. Because the minds of all them
within it have been blinded. They take the scriptures and
they cannot see Christ in them. They cannot see the light. They
cannot see this truth. So they reject it when they hear
it. But having received this ministry,
Paul and the apostles renounced the hidden things of dishonesty,
they ceased to walk in the craftiness of religion, they ceased to handle
the Word of God deceitfully. God took them, God made it plain,
God shone upon the pages of Scripture, God revealed Christ unto them
and they could see Him, and they preached Him as He truly is. Once they looked upon the pages
of Scripture and saw one thing, Then God switched the light on. He shone the light upon those
pages. He shone the light in their hearts
and they saw another thing entirely. They saw this Paul that was heading
to Damascus to destroy this ministry. God took and made it known unto
him that he should go forth and preach it. He made known unto
him the gospel. If our gospel be hid, it is hid
to them that are lost, in whom the God of this world hath blinded
the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious
gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto
them. For we preach not ourselves,
but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus'
sake. Our gospel. What a gospel this
is that Paul had received. The gospel of Christ. That's
his gospel. That's his news. That's his message. And it was so different from
that message he had before. So different from that religion
he once walked in. But he knows that. If it's hid,
it's hid to those that are lost. If you can't see it, you're lost. If you can't comprehend it, you're
lost, you're in darkness. Saul was there once, he couldn't
see it, it was hidden from him. He searched all through the scriptures
and never saw this gospel. He never saw it, he couldn't
see it, he knew many things. He knew many things and you can
take the scriptures and you can read them and you can read the
New Testament. You can read of Jesus. You can
read of the crucifixion. And still the gospel be hid from
you. You may be able to say many things with your mouth, with
the lips. You may be able to profess many
things and confess many things. But unless God shows you Christ,
you don't know Him. You may speak of him, but you
don't know him. You may say, well, he did this
and he did that, but you don't know him. It's just a name. It's like going to a history
book and reading about Julius Caesar and being able to recount
who he was and where he lived and what he did and what he achieved.
You know all about him, but you've never met him. You've never seen
him. You've never heard him. You don't
know him. You know about him, but you don't
know him. Once. So, Paul knew about the
Gospel. He knew about the types and figures
pointing to it, but he never knew Christ. He was hid from
Him. Because the God of this world
had blinded his mind. Blinded the mind of them that
believe not. Lest the light of the glorious
Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto
them. The God of this world, Satan. The Devil. The serpent, the deceiver, doesn't
want you to see this Gospel. He doesn't want anyone to see
this Gospel. He doesn't want the light of
the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, to shine
unto you. He doesn't want it to. He doesn't
want you to believe this gospel. He doesn't want you to know Christ. He doesn't want you to know the
truth. He doesn't want you to receive
this ministry. So he goes about doing everything
he can to prevent you ever seeing it. And he's very powerful and
very good at doing that. You who speak of your free will
and your decision, don't you realize what stands in your way? You can never choose to believe
this, because there's one walking around making every effort to
ensure that you never know what to decide to believe. You don't
know the truth. He does everything he can to
ensure that your choice is in the wrong path. Oh, you say,
I've chosen to accept Jesus. Yes, another Jesus. Oh, I've
received the gospel. Yes, another gospel. Oh, I go
to church. Yes, the wrong church. Oh, I'm
in the ministry. The wrong ministry. Your mind is blinded by nature
because the God of this world does not want you to see this
gospel, our gospel. the gospel of Christ who is the
image of God. He doesn't want you to know God. Christ is the image of God. You
see Christ and you see God in the face of Jesus Christ. We
preach not ourselves but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves
Your servants, for Jesus' sake, for God who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, have shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. If you see Him, you see God. You see He who is divine. Now
there are many Christs in religion. There are many Jesuses in religion. There are many things said in
religion and you can hear all they say and receive all they
say and accept all they say and decide to follow in all they
say. But unless you see this Christ,
you will never see God. This ministry. What have you
done with this ministry and this gospel? There is a God in this
world, Satan, who is doing everything he can, every day, to stop you
believing, to stop you seeing. So every time you put your head
on the pillow of your bed at night, he takes your thoughts
along a certain path away from God. And the moment you wake
up in the morning, he puts desires to go here, there, and everywhere,
except towards God. Every moment that you think I'll
pick up the Bible and read it to perhaps learn some truth,
he'll say, no, pick up this book instead. Go watch this, go here,
go there. He'll do everything he can to
take you another way. Every time you think I'll go
and I'll hear this man preach, he'll say, no, don't, go there.
He'll put every obstacle in your path, every enticement in your
way to have you go another way. You can't stop yourself. You
have no strength, you're powerless in his wake. unless God, as he
did with Paul, comes in your path. Off you go! Off you go
the way that this God of this world, this Satan, has enticed
you to. You're determined to go this
way, so off you go, whether it's a religious way or an irreligious
way, whether you're heading off to the football match or whether
you're heading off to some religious meeting. If it's away from God,
off you go, enticed, and it takes God himself, in the person of
Jesus Christ, to come in your pathway, and to stand in your
pathway, and to knock you off your horse to the ground, and
to shine as light out of darkness, and speak unto you by name. So, so, why persecutest thou
me? before you'll ever receive or
believe this gospel. Our gospel. Because you don't
receive it of men. You haven't understood it yourselves. It must come from God. We preach
not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord. and ourselves your
servants for Jesus' sake. It's not of man. And when Paul
received this gospel, he became a servant for Jesus' sake. He never received this gospel
from himself. He never understood it by himself. He never found it by himself.
And he certainly didn't preach himself. He preached Christ Jesus
the Lord. The gospel concerned Christ.
He received it from Christ and he preached Christ. And his only part in all of this
is as a vessel chosen of God, is as a servant of God, he was
sent forth to deliver it. A mouthpiece, a messenger, come
hear he who speak unto me. This gospel came as light out
of darkness for God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness
have shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Because outside
of this gospel there's nothing but darkness. There's not varying
degrees of light. It's not that you might see a
bit of light in this and a bit of light in that. These people
have some truth and those people have some truth and some understanding. There's light and there's darkness. Any understanding you have is
from this light and everything else is darkness. There are those
who go to their grave having lived the most upright and zealous
of lives in religion. having led churches, having preached
to hundreds, having understood the scriptures with great understanding
and intellect in the letter, who never know God and never
saw this light. And all that they have done,
however good it may appear in men's eyes, however good it may
appear in your eyes, it's dark, There is more darkness, there
is more evil, there is more wickedness in the religion of men which
contributes to the blinding of men's hearts than there is in
the sinfulness and wantonness of men in this world. Men indulge
their sins in many ways. But what a sin is that sin of
religion. which led Saul to stone Stephen
and persecute the church. What you do with this ministry
in your heart will be answered for. When you stand before Almighty
God on that day when you pass from this world to the next,
you will be asked, what think ye of Christ? You will be asked
concerning this ministry, Why did you not believe? Why did
you not receive? It's light, not a darkness. And if you do receive it as Paul
did, you will know that it is treasure which you've received
in an urban vessel. There's such a contrast between
that which is true and that which is false. Between that which
is of God and that which is of man. Between the light and the
darkness. Between this ministry and those
ministries. Between this gospel and other
gospels. There's such a contrast. It is
light and darkness throughout. It is life and death throughout. And we, by nature, are just earthen
vessels. We're dead. We're clay pots. There's no life in us. And if
we have this life, if we come to hear Christ, if we come to
see Him, if we come to believe on Him, if God puts faith in
our heart to believe on Christ, if we receive this Gospel, it
comes unto us as a treasure in an earthen vessel. as light in
the darkness. We're but darkness, but there's
this light within us. We're but clay, but there's this
treasure within us. We're nothing but those things
that God uses, those tools, as it were, that he picks up. Scriptures
speak elsewhere of pipes through which the oil flows. We're but
pipes. Preachers are but pipes through
which the oil of the gospel comes flowing forth. There's nothing
in there. We preach not ourselves, but
Christ Jesus. We have this treasure in urban
vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not
us. So that no man will turn unto
the preacher, no man will turn unto Saul or Paul and say, what
a man he is. How he sought these things out,
how he preached, what an orator he is. They will say and they
will see and he will confess. He will confess I'm nothing.
They will see that he's nothing. They'll see his past history. These people have heard him.
They knew what he once was. They knew what he'd done. They
knew how he persecuted the church. And then here he comes with the
gospel. And what a difference. Religion, oh man, has much to
say of man. How it puts them on a pedestal.
How it praises this man and that man. How it praises what we've
done. Oh, they're a good man. He's
a good man. He lives like this. He lives
like that. Oh, what he's done in the church. But the gospel
brings glory unto God. that the excellency of the power
may be of God and not of us. And as a consequence, as a result,
it brings the rejection, the opposition and the scorn of men. Men don't want this Gospel. They don't want this Saviour. They don't want Christ. They
don't want His people. They don't want His ministry.
And as a consequence, if you know this ministry, if you have
this gospel, if you have this life, if you have this light,
if you have Christ, you will feel the same hatred, the same
opposition, and the same rejection that Christ did and that Paul
did. We are troubled on every side,
yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in
despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Cast down, but not destroyed. Always bearing about in the body
the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might
be made manifest in our body. If you know his life, if you
know the power of the resurrection, If you know the power of the
Gospel taking you, a dead sinner, and bringing you to life, then
death is never far away. Death reigns in your mortal body,
in your flesh. Death reigns in the wicked and
the dead all around us. The reaction of mankind to the
Gospel is one of hatred. Whenever you open your lips and
speak of Christ, you'll know persecution. You'll be forsaken
by men, but not forsaken by God. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Forsaken of man, but not of God. Cast down, cast down by men,
but not destroyed because we're in God's hands. Troubled on every
side, yet not distressed because our hope isn't in man, it's in
God alone. perplexed but not in despair
because we know from whence our salvation has come. We know He
who has brought us to life. and He who leads us by the right
way, and He who will bring us into our final inheritance in
the end. We follow Him. We suffer the
same rejection that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ did.
We suffer the same action of men that He felt. People despised
His gospel, they'll despise our gospel. People rejected His ministry,
they'll reject our ministry. People stone Stephen, they'll
seek to stone us. But just as Stephen could look
up unto God, and trust in Him to the end, so Paul could, and
so we can. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Are you cast down this day? Do
you feel like the enemy is winning? Do you feel like the God of this
world is triumphing? Do you look around in the events
of time, in national events, in the passing of laws, in the
movements of people? Do you look upon these events
and see the triumph of the wicked and the triumph of the enemy,
the triumph of the God of this world in these things? Do they
cast you down? Are you troubled on every side
by all these things? Do you see the churches? And
how few believe the truth and how few preach the truth. How
much error is in all the churches. How much heresy there is. How
the true gospel is cast out. How the doors of the churches
are shut to the true believers of Christ. Do you see these things? Do they perplex you? Are you
troubled by them? Well, you may be troubled. But
if you know Christ, you won't be distressed. You may be perplexed,
but you won't despair because your hope's in Him, even if you're
the last man on earth, the last woman on earth that knows Christ,
and everyone rejects what you've got to say concerning Him. You're
cast out from every place, hated and despised by all men. You'll
still trust because He's got you in His hands. Your Saviour
has you in His hands. You cannot be plucked out. You
cannot be lost if you're Christ. If you've been shown the light,
if you've been shown the power of God, if you've been shown
the glory of God, the glorious Gospel of Christ, And the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ, if you know that glory, you cannot
be destroyed, forsaken, cast down, not destroyed. Persecuted, but never forsaken
by Christ. Cast down, but not destroyed.
Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus.
You feel like you're dying, constantly. You feel like you're trampled
underfoot. You feel like you have no strength. And you have none naturally.
You have none in yourself. You are dying in yourself. There's
no strength in your flesh. You have no ability to stand.
You have no wisdom. You have no great understanding
by nature. All you have is of God. So you're constantly dying. But
God constantly brings you back to life again. You're constantly
resurrected, you're constantly living, you're constantly coming
forth from the grave. Every day you feel like you're
slain, but every day you feel like you're raised again in Jesus
Christ. Always bearing about in the body
the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might
be made manifest in our body. There's this constant life out
of death. So then death worketh in us,
but life in you, Paul writes. As the minister of the gospel,
he says, for we which live are always delivered unto death for
Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest
in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us,
but life in you, we having the same spirit of faith, According
as it is written, I believe and therefore have I spoken, we also
believe and therefore speak. Everyone says otherwise. Everyone
says we're wrong. Everyone rejects us. Everyone casts out our message. Everyone says we don't understand. Everyone says we've got it wrong. Everyone says we don't understand
the scriptures like they do. They all say we're mad. They
all say we're deceived. They all say we're wrong. Yet
I believe, and therefore I speak. We know. We know what we've heard. We know what we've been shown.
We know what Christ has taught us. We know the life. And because
we live, we speak. Knowing that He which raised
up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus and shall
present us with you. For all things, Paul says, are
for your sakes. All that he did was for the sakes
of those that he preached this gospel to, that the abundant
grace might, through the thanksgiving of many, redound to the glory
of God. For which cause? We faint not. But though our outward man perish,
yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction
which is but for a moment working for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory. While we look not at the things
which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things
which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not
seen are eternal. For what by faith? All the opposition
All the persecution, all the trouble, all the perplexing things
that happen, all the rejection of men, all the daily dying,
he speaks of as a light affliction. Because it's but for a moment.
Time, your life, is but a vapor. You're here one day, you're gone
the next. It's but for a moment. And what
it works in the believer is a far more exceeding and eternal way
to glory. The suffering we suffer now as
we preach this gospel, as we trust in Christ, as we follow
Him, is nothing because we have an inheritance which is everlasting. We walk by faith now. All we
can see outwardly is destruction. All we can see outwardly is the
god of this world, blinding the hearts and the minds of men.
All we can see outwardly is the wicked prospering. All we can
see outwardly is the false church growing. All we can see outwardly
is the true church, few and scattered. All we can
see outwardly would cause us to be cast out. But we look by
faith and we look beyond the outward to the inward and to
the heavenly and the eternal. We look out of the darkness to
the light. We look out of that which can
be seen in this world unto the face of Jesus Christ. We look
up and as Stephen, as he was stoned, we look up And we see
our Saviour. We see Christ on high victorious. We look up and we see His glory.
And we know that the ministry we have is His ministry, this
ministry. We know the Gospel we have, our
Gospel, is the Gospel it saves. We know that it's not of ourselves
but it's of God. We know it came as light out
of darkness. We know we have it in an urban
vessel. We know we walk by faith not
by sight. We're troubled but not distressed. We're perplexed but not in despair. We're persecuted but not forsaken. We're cast down but not destroyed. For we which live are always
delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus
might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. We're in Christ. We live and walk in Him. He is our all, in all. What have you got? Have you this
treasure, this treasure, in an earthen vessel? Or have you treasures
which will perish with you when you enter the grave and enter
the fires of hell's torment in the world to come. Have you Christ? Or is this gospel hid to you
because you are lost? Have you Christ? Have you this
treasure in an earthen vessel? What have you got? What have
you got?