Our Lord turned to his apostles
one time and said, Blessed are your eyes, for they see. Moses speaking to the children
of Israel who were miraculously delivered out of Egypt and lived
miraculously for forty years in the wilderness, he said, To
this day, God had never given you eyes to see. We sure do need eyes to see. The Apostle Paul said, while
we look not at things which are seen, but we look at things which are
not seen. I can see things that other men
don't see. God's given me eyes to see. The things which are seen, they're
all changing and passing away. But the things which are not
seen, these invisible things that Paul looked at, They are
spiritual and eternal. Precious. Paul said, I see some
things that most folks don't see. I want to talk to you a little
about that this morning in 2 Corinthians chapter 4. And I just quoted
to you verse 18. I wish we could walk along this
morning beside this man, Paul. as he took his journey through
this life. He wasn't an insensitive man
at all. He was a man of like passions
with Elijah, a man of like passions with us. He was sensitive to
kindness and unkindness. It affected him. He was sensitive to poverty and
shame. He was sensitive to pain, hatred, violence. And he lived in a world, no fault
of his own, where he was hated. Men who hated him followed him
from city to city to city to stir up trouble against him,
to get him beaten and stoned and thrown out of the city and
thrown in jail. He wasn't insensitive to these
things, and yet he said these words. I have learned." And boy,
you don't come by it naturally, but he says, I have learned.
By the Spirit and grace of God, I have learned to be content
in whatever state I'm in. If I'm in a dungeon, that's all
right. If I'm lying stoned outside the
city, that's all right. If I'm being persecuted from
place to place, that's all right. If men have death warrants out
on my name, that's all right, too. And he wasn't insensitive. He
just saw something that other folks didn't see. Therewith, he was content. He
was content. I know of no one but our Master
Himself who was more sensitive I know of no one but the Master
himself who suffered more at the hands of wicked religious
wicked men. And yet I know of no one but
the Master himself who had more calm and peace in his heart than this Apostle Paul. All these things going on around
him all the time. And yet he was at peace with
God. Peace in his heart. At peace with the circumstances
he was in. I want you to look at this strange
man a minute. If you'll turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 11.
2 Corinthians chapter 11. Verse 16, I say again, this is
that man Paul writing, Let no man thank me a fool, if otherwise
yet as a fool receive me, that I may boast myself a little and
tell you some things. That which I speak, I speak not
after the Lord, but as it were foolishly, in this confidence
of boasting, as others came before the churches and boasted and
bragged on themselves, Paul said, I'm going to be foolish a while.
I'm going to tell you some things. Seeing that many glory after
the flesh, I glory more. For you suffer fools gladly,
seeing you yourselves are wise. For you suffer if a man bring
you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take you, if a
man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face. I speak as concerning
reproach, as though we had been weak. Howbeit, whensoever any
is bold to speak foolishly, I am bold also. Are they Hebrews? I am a Hebrew. I am a Hebrew
too. So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of
Abraham? So am I. These bolsters that
come to you, Are they ministers of Christ?
I speak as a fool. I am more chosen, chosen of God. In labors more abundant, in strikes
above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths often. Of the Jews, five times received
I Forty stripes, save one, thirty-nine stripes. Thrice I was beaten with rods. Once was I stoned. Thrice I suffered
shipwreck. A night and a day I've been in
the deep. In journeyings, often in perils
of waters, in perils of robbers, perils of mine own countrymen,
perils by the heathen, and perils in the city, and perils in the
wickedness of wilderness, and perils in the sea, and perils
among false brethren, and weariness and painfulness, and watchings
often in hunger and thirst, and fastings often in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are
without, That which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the
churches. Who is weak? I am weak. Who is offended? I burn not. If I must need glory, I glory
the things which serve my afflictions. The God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, which is blessed forever, knoweth that I lie not. divine testimony. In Damascus,
the governor under Aretas King kept the city of the Damascus
scenes with a garrison desirous to apprehend me, and through
a window in a basket was I let down by the and escaped out of
their hands, and on and on and on, the sufferings of the Apostle
Paul. And yet it says here, verse 17, verse 16 of chapter 4, back where
in our text, For which cause we faint not, But though our outward man perish,
yet the inward man is renewed day by day. Did you read with me what all
he suffered? That's just part of it. That
was a daily thing. And yet he says here, our light
affliction, light affliction, which is but for a moment. Worketh for us a far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory, while we look not at things which
are seen, but at things which are not seen. For the things
which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not
seen are eternal, light afflictions but for a moment." Surely he
saw something that other folks didn't see. He looked at invisible,
unseen, and unseeable things, except with the gift of faith,
he could see. God gave him eyes to see. Oh,
what he saw, what he saw. This strange man. Look at Acts
chapter 20. All these things he saw, all
these things he suffered. Acts chapter 20, verse 22, Now,
behold, I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the
things that shall befall me there. Save that the Holy Spirit, the
Holy Ghost, witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions
abide me in every city. But none of these things move
me. Man, do you hear that? None of these things move me.
Bonds and afflictions wait for you in every city. And the sense
of death is on your head. But none of these things move
me. Neither can I my life dear unto myself. so that I might
finish my course with joy in the ministry which I have received
of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God."
None of these things moved him. He finished his course with joy.
He called all of his afflictions light afflictions. He called
all of his afflictions and said, but for a moment. He said Romans
8 said that they are not worthy to be compared or even mentioned.
to the glory that shall be revealed in us." Oh, he saw something
all right. By the grace of God, he saw some
invisible things. He saw some unseeable things.
But by the Spirit and grace of God, through faith, he saw them.
How can a man that's been through what he's going through every
day, from day to day, how can this man, knowing that things,
bonds and imprisonments, they lie in wait for him in every
city, Yet he said, now these things move me, neither I count
out my life dear unto myself, that I might finish my course
with joy. Testify the gospel of the grace of God. These things
don't move me. These things don't even cause
me to hesitate for a moment. I want to finish my course with
joy. God called me to preach the gospel, that's what I'm going
to do. By His grace, that's what I'm going to do. These light
afflictions, they're just for a moment. There is a great crown
of glory. There is the end of my faith,
the salvation of my soul. I see those things. By the grace of God, he sees
something that most folks never see, most religious folks never
see. And what most folks see, he looks
upon what moves most folks and influences most folks. He looks
at it as such a light thing. Such a light thing. Spurgeon, Mr. Spurgeon, said
visible things were not the scope of his life. He was moved by invisible things. Influenced by invisible things. Governed by invisible things,
things that other folks have never seen. Romans chapter 8 verse 5 says,
They that are of the Spirit, they mind the things of the Spirit.
That's Paul. But they that are of the flesh,
they are only mindful and can only be mindful and governed
and influenced by the things of the flesh. These eyes can
see. These hands can touch. But Paul's
life was governed and influenced by things that other men didn't
even see. Spiritual, invisible things.
God. The invisible God. Like Moses
said, he didn't fear the king of Egypt because he saw Him who
is invisible. He saw God. So God, Him who is invisible,
He lived under the knowledge this man did. He lived under
the knowledge and influence of spiritual, invisible, and eternal
things, and so must we. So must we. What's your greatest
treasure this morning? What would cause you the greatest
heartache if you lost it? Talk to yourself. Ask yourself
some questions. You'll find out pretty quick. These spiritual and eternal things
occupied his mind and his heart and his life. Invisible things. God. No man has seen God except
through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said, God one day turned
on the light and shined in our hearts to give the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of that Nazarene.
So God in Christ. John said the same thing in 1
John 1, verse 14. But we beheld His glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. So God in Christ. And so must
everyone if he's going to live. If he has life, he's seeing God
in Christ. The Apostle Paul saw righteousness. He knew what it was. But actually,
it's an invisible thing. And sin, he saw sin. That's an invisible thing, something
that rages within us. It's what we are. Oh, I see it,
do you? Paul said, In me that is in my
flesh, and nothing but sin. Nothing but sin. David said,
My sin is always before me. I see it clearly. Things which can only be truly
known and seen by faith. God, righteousness, sin, salvation. Look at 2 Corinthians
just a moment again. Chapter 5. This is spiritual knowledge,
and this is life. Verse 16, 2 Corinthians 5, Wherefore,
henceforth, know we no man after the flesh.
We don't judge fleshly judgments any more. Yea, though we have known Christ,
we knew Christ after the flesh. Yet now, henceforth, and hereafter,
and forevermore, that's not the way we know him. We know him
spiritually. We don't see one who is merely Mary's son. We
see one who is the Son of God become flesh. We see one who is the Son of
God become flesh. Regeneration in faith. Through
regeneration in faith, we see Christ as He is, a substitute
for sinners. Let me show you something. You
ought to mark this in your Bible if you haven't already, because
this is also important. Romans chapter 5. Verse 19, For as by one man's
disobedience many were made sinners. That's all of us by nature. Adam's
disobedience. We fell in the garden. When Adam
sinned, we sinned in him, being in him. Wherefore, if by one
sin entered into this world, sin and death passed upon all
of us. And then it has the other side of this verse, the good
news. So by the obedience of one, the
Lord Jesus Christ, Mary's son, the God-man, by his obedience,
many are made righteous. We don't make ourselves righteous.
We can't make ourselves righteous. We must be perfectly righteous
to be accepted of God, and that perfection is only found in the
Lord Jesus Christ. He that hath a son, he hath righteousness. He that hath a son, he hath life.
Never die. Never die. God in Christ put
away the sins of his people. The Apostle Paul saw himself
being saved from this world of sin and death. 2 Corinthians
5, verse 1, We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle
were desired, we have a building of God, a house made, not made
with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly
desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven.
That's the end of our salvation, the redemption of our body, new
body. Then it goes on and says, verse
6, Therefore we are always confident, knowing that while we are at
home in the body we are absent from the Lord. As long as we
are down here in this body, we are absent from the Lord. For
we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and
willing rather, willing rather, to be absent from this old body
and be present with the Lord. And you saw the day ahead. What
day? Next week? Today? Tomorrow? Next month? I'm going to be completely
saved, present with the Lord. And I prefer it. I prefer it. I prefer it. Salvation from this sinful world. And then he had an inheritance
in 1 Peter. Look back there just a moment.
1 Peter chapter 1. Look back there a moment. He
saw this. He saw this. People talk about
heaven, talk about hell, and they've never seen either one
of them. They just got into religion and talked religious talk. It's
real to Paul. It's real to Paul. He said, we
have an inheritance, verse 4, incorruptible and undefiled and fadeth not
away. That means that, if I could just
paraphrase, it never loses its preciousness, its luster, its
shine, its glory. It never fades away. You know, you could inherit a
million dollars tomorrow and you might not think so much of
it as today. You get this inheritance and
you'll think it never loses its glory. It fadeth not away, reserved
in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God through faith,
under salvation, ready to be revealed in the last day. He saw that. He lived it. To live is Christ, to die is
gain, he said. I'm in a straight between two.
I have a desire to depart and be with Christ. Not many talking like that today. Look at Philippians chapter 3
just a moment. Philippians chapter 3 verse 7. Paul says, What things
were gained to me in my old religious life as a Pharisee? I counted lost for Christ. Give
it all up. Let it go. Yea, doubtless, and
I count all things but lost for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus the Lord, my Lord. Excellency here means surpassingness. Passes all other knowledge. Surpasses
all other knowledge. the surpassingness of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the lot
of all things, and do count them but dumb, that I may win Christ,
and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which
is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ,
the righteousness which is of God, by faith, getting ready
to die, so that I might know Him, win Him, be found in Him,
and go on to say, Be made like Him. That's what my life's about. None of these things move me.
I'm governed by things eternal, invisible, higher than the heavens. The promises of God in Christ
Jesus. Look at one other place. The Apostle Paul. all the apostles, all the Old Testament saints,
they had a treasure, had an inheritance. In places in the Scriptures it
said God was their portion. That's all they desired. When it came time there was trouble
between Abraham's herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen, Abraham could
so freely say, so easily say, well, you look all around, you
take whatever you choose. I'll take what's left. Because
his heart was really on heavenly treasure. Newspaper man went to interview
Abraham and said, where's your treasure? He said, my treasure
is the Lord. He's my shield and my exceeding
great reward. He's all I want. He said, where's
your land? He said, I'm headed home to it. I'm on the way home. A country,
a city, fellowship, which hath builder and maker who is God. Hebrews chapter 11 and verse
13. These Old Testament saints, Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, their wives, these all died in faith. Now, that's
what we must do. It's not enough to say, well,
I've got faith. You've got to keep on having faith, keep on
believing and dying to faith. Die believing. They never had to receive the
promises, but they died believing them. And they died with both
arms wrapped around those promises. They saw them afar off. They
saw them in the Word of God. They saw them in Christ Jesus. And boy, they were persuaded
of them. They saw it pretty good to be
so persuaded, didn't they? They saw it well enough that
they were persuaded, and that's what they lived on. And they wrapped their hearts
around them, these promises. Confess that they were strangers
and pilgrims. We're on the way home. We're
just passing through. And I say, you block of land over here,
make a lot of money on it. He says, no thank you. I'm on
the way home. And they just say such things
as in verse 13. They declare plainly that they
seek a city. They're after a city. I've said
this before and I'll say it again. When I was in Okinawa, I'd rather
have been in Kentucky. But I wasn't. But there wasn't a day went by
that I didn't think about being in Kentucky. Paul said, Your
citizenship is in heaven. Let your heart be there too.
Set your affections on things of God. I lived through that year and
a half. One day I came home. But all the time I was thinking
about coming home. Coming home. And I think about
that a lot anymore. Going home. The more wicked this world gets,
the more I want to go home. The more I can say, Lord Jesus,
come quickly. May God bless these words to
each of our hearts.