All right, let's open our Bibles
this evening to 2 Corinthians chapter 4. I'll bring a message tonight
from the first nine verses. That's as far as we'll be able
to study this evening. Perhaps next Wednesday night
we'll finish the chapter. Tonight the title of the message
is Ministers of the Covenant. Ministers of the Covenant. As I read these verses and comment
on them this evening and next week, I want you to keep in mind
that the apostle is speaking of himself as a minister of the
covenant and of the spirit. And he's speaking of the other
apostles. who were ministers of the covenant.
And he's speaking of every true prophet, minister, missionary,
evangelist, and pastor, teacher, who are ministers of the covenant.
And he's speaking of the church, the body of Christ. For every
one of you being in the body of Christ, are in the ministry
of Christ and the ministry of the covenant. So the apostle
is speaking of himself and the other apostles and true ministers,
and every believer is in the ministry. We have a ministry.
That's what he says in the very first words of chapter 4. Therefore, see, we have this
ministry thrust upon us. God has allowed us the privilege
of being a part of his ministry. We have this ministry. How would
you describe our ministry? How would you describe it? Well,
back in chapter 3, I would describe it in this way, as Paul did.
Verse 5, chapter 3. Not that we are sufficient of
ourselves to think anything as of ourselves. But our sufficiency
is of God who has made us able ministers. So the first thing
about this ministry is it's God's ministry. It's not my ministry,
it's not your ministry, it's God's ministry. We're not sufficient
even to think anything as of ourselves. We don't know anything. Everything we know we've read
right here in this book has been revealed to us by the Spirit
of God. So it's his ministry. And he has made us. able ministers. And then secondly, verse 6, he
hath made us ministers of the New Testament. That word is covenant. We are ministers of the New Covenant.
As Warburton said, we are ministers of the mercies of a covenant
God. Turn to Hebrews 13. This is what
we are talking about. We are ministers of the everlasting
covenant. Hebrews chapter Now, the God
of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that
great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting
covenant, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make
you mature in every good work to do his will, working in you
that which is well-pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ
to whom be glory for ever and ever." We are ministers of that
covenant. That's the message that we've got to preach, that
God entered a covenant. Turn to Hebrews 8. God entered
a covenant with his Son on behalf of his people. And that covenant
is an everlasting covenant, Hebrews 8, verse 6. But now hath he obtained
a more excellent ministry? a more excellent ministry, how
much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was
established upon better promises. But if that first covenant had
been faultless, there would be no place sought for the second.
So thirdly, our ministry is from God. It's the ministry of the everlasting
covenant and the mercies of the covenant God in Christ Jesus,
upon the personal work of our surety, and it's the ministry,
verse 6, 2 Corinthians 3, of the Spirit. Not the letter, but
the Spirit. The letter kills. The Holy Spirit
quickens, awakens, and gives life. We're not ministers of
the letters of the law. The law, the letter of the law,
shows what's to be done. but gives no power to do it.
The letter of the law shows what's to be said and thought, what's
forbidden, but gives no ability to obey. I'm not a minister of
the letter of the law. It gives no hope, it gives no
strength, it gives no power. We're ministers of the gospel
of Christ, which in the hands of the Holy Spirit gives righteousness
and sanctification and wisdom and redemption. And why? Turn
to Romans chapter 8. Ministers of the spirit of life,
not the letter of the law. Romans 8. Let's look at a verse
here. Romans 8 verse 1. Romans chapter 8 verse 1. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of
life," that's our ministry, it's the law of the Spirit of life
in Christ Jesus, that's made me free from this law of sin
and death. What the law of sin and death
could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending
his own son. in the likeness of sinful flesh,
and for sin condemned sin into flesh. So what is this ministry? See, we have this ministry. It's
God's ministry. We're not sufficient to think
anything as of ourselves. We can't come up with a plan or a theology or anything else
that will help anybody. And it's the covenant, the everlasting
covenant, and it's the covenant of the Spirit, the Spirit of
God. Now, read on. Seeing then we
have this ministry, as we have received mercy, as God in his
grace and mercy enables us, we faint not. What does it all mean,
we faint not? Well, three things. We don't
compromise this gospel. We don't compromise this ministry.
Secondly, we don't complain under trial. And thirdly, we're not
going to quit. We're not going to compromise,
we're not going to complain under trial, and we're not going to
quit. Seeing we have this ministry, as God gives us the mercy and
the grace, we won't quit. And here are four things about
this ministry. All the things about this minister,
all true ministers of God. In the first place, we have renounced
the hidden things of dishonesty. We're open and above board. We're
honest. We're honest in dealing with
people. We're honest in dealing with word. We're honest in dealing
with money. We're honest. You see, our Lord
described the false preachers. He said they're wolves in sheep's
clothing. What you see is not what they really are. But the
true ministers of Christ have renounced all the hidden things
of dishonesty. They don't deal dishonestly with
anybody. They deal open and above board
and truthfully and honestly with everybody, because they are representatives
of God, ambassadors of Christ. That's why they are honest. Secondly,
they not only have renounced hidden things of dishonesty,
but they don't walk What is craftiness? It's using
people. True ministers, true prophets,
true missionaries, true pastors do not use people for their advantage
and to accomplish their goals. You see, this is a mark of a
false picture. Let me show you two scriptures
along this. Acts chapter 20. They use people. They use people to accomplish
their goals. and for their advantage, and
for their profit, and for their popularity, and for recognition. Paul said in Acts 20, verse 20,
20 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves
enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves
shall men arise, speaking perverse things. And why do they do this? Why do they arise and speak perverse
to draw away disciples after them, to get folks to follow
them, to promote them, and to accomplish their goals. Here's
another scripture talking about these kind of people in 2 Peter
2. This is interesting. The first
time I ever heard this preached on and used was back when Brother
Barnard was here the first time. preachers who make merchandise
of people. They're like store owners. People to them are just merchandise.
The more their business grows, the more their merchandise grows,
the more their profit grows, the more their fame grows. Folks are merchandise. That's
what Peter says here in 2 Peter 2. There were false prophets
also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers
among you. who will privately bring in damnable heresies, things
that aren't true, even denying the Lord that bought them, and
bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious
ways, by reason of whom the way of truth shall be even spoken
of, and through covetousness. This is what it's all about.
It's for gain, it's for self-glory, it's for the promotion of their
goals and ambitions It's covetousness. And through covetousness shall
they with feigned words make merchandise of you. Just merchandise,
using people. Go back to my text in 2 Corinthians
3. True ministers of God have renounced
any dishonesty and craftiness in using people. And they do
not handle the word of God deceitfully. How would you handle the word
of God deceitfully? Well, one way is to mix grace
and works. Scripture says that redemption
is all of grace. If it's all of grace, it's not
of works. If it's of works, it's not of grace. Paul so strongly
says, if righteousness comes by the law, Christ died in vain. So when you handle the word of
God deceitfully, you try to mix. grace and works. Secondly, you
keep back parts of the word that you feel that people don't need
to hear. Hard sayings. That's what our
Lord preached one time, and some of the folks left him. They said,
that's a hard saying. Who can hear it? So a false preacher,
he's not going to handle a hard saying. If it's a hard saying
and it loses a supporter and loses a tither and loses a member
or loses a follower, he won't say it. hard sayings, who can
hear it? But our Lord didn't handle the
word of God deceitfully and leave off the hard sayings. When those
people left him, he turned to the twelve and said, Will you
go also? True ministers do not handle the word deceitfully,
keeping back hard sayings. Thirdly, they don't add to the
word of God their traditions. If it's not in the word of God,
they don't preach it, they don't add their traditions. And they
don't use levity and lightness. Turn to 2 Corinthians 2. It's yes or no. It's not yes
and no. They don't use lightness. In
2 Corinthians 2, verse 17, Paul said, When I therefore was thus
minded, did I use lightness? Of the things that I purposed,
did I purpose according to the flesh? With me there should be
yes, yes, and no, no. But as God is true, our word
toward you was not yea or nay. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ,
who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silas and
Timothy, was not yea or nay, but in him was yea. For all the
promises of God in Christ are yes, not yes and no, perhaps,
maybe, yes. Amen to the glory of God. You don't handle the word deceitfully.
Mixing grace and works, keeping back what you don't think will
go over here, or be received well here, or be believed there. You just preach the word. You
don't add the traditions of the Baptists or anybody else into
it. You just preach the word. You
don't use lightness and levity and yes and no. You just preach
it. of true ministry, by the manifestation
of truth, manifestation, the revelation of truth, of the truth,
by stating the truth, listen, openly, candidly, clearly. That's how you commend yourself
to every man's conscience in the sight of God. by manifestation
of the truth, the truth of God, openly, candidly, clearly. In that way, we commend or recommend
our message and our ministry. He says, in the sight of God,
that's before God, and we stand before God. To your conscience,
to every man's conscience, Paul says, I press the truth, not
dishonestly, not in craftiness, not deceitfully, but openly,
candidly, clearly. I recommend my message before
the sight of God to every man's conscience, and I leave it there. And he'll do with it what he
will. It's not mine to manipulate him
or to influence him or to to do the work of God's Spirit,
I just press the trigger and leave it to every man's conscience
and the sight of God. But, listen, verse 3, if our
gospel be heard, if men and women do not receive it, we're not
going to change it. If men and women do not believe
it, we're not going to let up on it. If men and women do not
rejoice in it, if our gospel be heard, It's here to them that
are lost, and the false not in my gospel, because my gospel has set me
in three. It's not the false not in my
gospel. Don't imagine that for a moment. False not in the picture. No, it's not. The false in the
person. That's the problem. So by manifesting
the truth openly, candidly, And simply, plainly, clearly, I commend
to every man's conscience my message, my gospel, my ministry
in the sight of God. But if they don't hear it and
don't believe it, they don't rejoice in it. There's a false
knot in my gospel. It's in them. Our Lord said that. He said in John 5, I come in
my Father's name, and you receive me not. He was in the world,
and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, his own
received him not. I come in my Father's name, you
receive me not. Let another come in his own name. I turn on my television and I
see these men dishonest, dishonest to the core. Manipulators, craftiness,
subtlety, lies, holding back truth, reading over scripture. Seeking to gain followers, and
people just clamor after them by the hundreds of thousands,
support them lavishly. You know what God explains to
me in verse 4, what's taking place? Come in my Father's name,
you receive him, and do not let another come in his own name,
and you receive him. Now here's what's happening,
in whom the God of this world has blinded their minds. Who
is the God of this world? Well, this can't be anybody but
Satan, the God of this world. Let's see what Christ said about
him in John 12. He called him, in John 12, our Lord called Satan
the Prince of this world, the Prince of this world. In chapter
12, verse 31, he said, Now is the judgment of this world. So
the Prince, the God of this world, he cast out. The Prince of this
world, he said, cometh and he findeth nothing in me. The Prince
of this world, that's Satan. And he has great power by divine
permission. Turn to Ephesians 2, to Ephesians
2. By divine permission, Satan has
great power in the world and over the minds of natural men. In Ephesians 2, verses 2 and
3, when in time past you walked according to the course of this
world, according to the prince of the pie of the air, there
he is again, the prince of this world, the prince of the pie
of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience,
among whom we all had our conversation in time past in the lust of our
flesh. fulfilling the desires of the
flesh, of the mind, and we're by nature children of wrath,
even as others. This God of this world, in whom
the God of this world, go back to my text, hath blinded the
minds, that's where he works, he works in the minds of men.
His purpose and design is to keep men in darkness, that's
his purpose. His purpose is to keep men in
ignorance. Look at verse 4 and the rest
of it. "...lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,
who is the image of God, should shine unto them." He works in
their minds. He keeps them in darkness and
ignorance. He uses pride. He has all these weapons at his
disposal, in his arsenal. Pride. My pride. My religious traditions that
I've always held to. My self-righteousness. My form
and ceremony. My covetousness. My materialism. My cowardice. All these things
are instruments of Satan in the minds of men, lest the light
of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine unto them. There is one gospel that is called
the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God. What
does that mean, Christ, the image of God? Turn to Hebrews 1. It's
one gospel, one message, one hope, one truth, and that is
the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God. See, any religion or any faith
or any devotion other than Christ is false. But Satan is willing
for men to have any other religion but Christ. In other words, Satan
will try to substitute something for the substitute. He doesn't
care what it is. Just help yourself, and Satan
will help you help yourself. Anything but Christ. He blinds the minds of men lest
the glorious gospel of Christ should shine in. He doesn't care
what else comes in, just so the glorious gospel of Christ doesn't
come in. Who is the image of God? Listen
to Hebrews 1. God, who at some good times and
in different manners spake in time past unto the fathers have
in these last days spoken thus by his Son," here it is, here
is the glorious gospel of God, "...spoken by his Son, whom he
hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds,
who is the brightness of his glory, who is the exact image
of his person," he may have seen the Father, "...who upholdeth
all things by the word of his power," when he had by himself
purged thy sins, sat down on the right hand of God. That's
the glorious gospel of God. And if this gospel be hid, it's
hid from them that are lost, in whom the God of this world
hath taken all of these things at his disposal, man's natural
prejudice and pride and intellectualism, traditions, self-righteousness,
materialism, and ceremony, and kept out that glorious gospel
of the Son, who is the heir, the brightness of God's glory,
the express image of his person, who by himself purged our sins,
who is seated at the right hand of God. Just don't enthrone Christ. Anything else is fine, no matter
how close to the truth it is, it's not the truth. Just substitute
something for the substitute. But verse 5, we are not of that
crowd. We are just not of that crowd.
Your ministry and my ministry is not a false ministry and a
false prophet. We don't preach ourselves. We
preach not ourselves. We don't preach our opinions.
We don't preach our philosophies. We don't preach our traditions.
We don't preach to promote our cause. We don't have a cause. We don't preach to promote our
career. We don't have a career. It's God's ministry. We don't
preach to supply ourselves with the necessities. He supplies
our necessities. What do we preach? Here it is.
We preach Christ, the Messiah. We preach Christ, the prophet,
priest, and king. We preach Christ, the one whom
God anointed to preach the gospel to the poor, to give sight to
the blind, to set the captive free, to bring us a perfect holiness
before God. We preach Christ, the promised
one, the prophesied one. We preach Jesus. He's the Son
of Man. May we call his name Jesus. He's
going to bring forth a man-child. The Spirit of God will come upon
you, the power of the highest shall overshadow you, and that
holy thing, you just have to call it a holy thing, because
there has never been anything before it or after it like it.
The seed of a woman, the holy thing, God in human flesh, all
man but all God, on this earth in the flesh but never left the
bosom of the Father, who knows everything, that holy thing. Mystery of godliness. God manifests
that holy thing. Call his name Jesus. I tell you, I'm getting so sick
of this WWJD. What would Jesus do? In the first
place, you can't do anything he'd do. Even the best thing
you'd do is filthy rags on his side. He wouldn't do the best
thing you do, or I do, because that's beneath his holiness.
taking his name in vain. Christ Jesus. Somebody said,
Jesus saves, he's no such thing. Jesus doesn't save, the Lord
Jesus saves. Jesus the man can't save anybody
if Jesus is the God name. That's right. Our message is
Christ Jesus. It's not the little impotent,
poor thing that is trying his best to get somebody to let him
be their Savior, it's the sovereign, almighty, eternal, victorious,
conquering Christ, Jesus. That's right. And he's the Lord. We're not preaching ourselves,
we're preaching Christ, the Messiah, Jesus, the God-man, who is Lord. He's God, he's very God of very
God. When we see him, we're not going
to see him as he was. We're going to see him as he
is. That's right. And we preach not ourselves,
but we preach Jesus, Christ Jesus, the Lord, the Lord. And if you
don't preach Christ Jesus, the Lord, you don't preach the one
who is the Savior of sinners. You don't preach the gospel.
Jesus, my shepherd, husband, friend. my prophet, priest, and
king, my Lord, my life, my way, my all, except the praise I bring."
That's who he is. And then watch this. And we ourselves
are your servants for Jesus' sake. In what way are you a servant
of men? Well, I'm going to explain that.
We are his servants only. That's right. Paul says, I'm
a bond-slave. I'm a willing, loving bond-slave
of Jesus Christ. No man can serve two masters.
I can't be your servant and his servant. I'm his servant. And follow me now, listen. Paul
said, I'm a bond-slave of Jesus Christ. He calls my tongue. I'm his. All right. But I'm your
servant for his sake. That's how I'm your savior, for
his sake. When you're a guest in his house,
I'm your savior, because I'm his. When you're a guest in his
home, in his good graces, then I'm your savior. He said, Peter,
feed my sheep. I feed his sheep because I'm
obeying him. Comfort my people. That's an
order from the king. So I go forth with the message
of comfort for his people. He told me to. And I'm doing
it for his sake. I'm doing it not to please him,
but to please him. And this would straighten out any preacher that's
a coward or covetous, it would straighten him out in a minute
if he found out who his master is, who he gets his orders from,
who he pleases. I was in a home in Mexico that
had two male servants and six female servants. Josh remembers
this. We were there for about three
or four days, a wealthy family. Two male servants and six female
servants. They weren't my servants. They
don't even remember me. They were her servants. But while
I was in her home, and while I was in her good graces,
they were my servants. They waited on me. You remember.
They waited on us hand and foot. Hand in foot. That's right. Why? To please her. They were running
around there doing all these things. Well, to please her.
Carmelita's servants. That's who they were. But while
I was in her home, I said, I just had to cook my thing and they
put a cup of coffee in it. Just put a cup of coffee in it. But why were they doing that?
To please her. To please her. I'd do anything
for Christ's sake, wouldn't you? I'd want to. I'd hope I would.
I'd do anything for Christ's sake. And that'll help us out.
In that way, the angels are our servants. Now, you wouldn't for
a moment claim an angel as your servant, would you? Yeah? I would. If I'm an heir of his salvation,
the angels are my servants. Let me read that to you in Hebrews.
Let me show it to you. Chapter 1 of Hebrews. In this
way the angels are our servants. In Hebrews 1, verse 13, 14, listen. The angels are beneath Christ.
He says in verse 13, To which of the angels said he at any
time, Sit on my right hand, and I will make your enemies your
footstool? But are they not all ministering spirits sent forth
to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? God's
angels are his angels, but they're sent forth to minister to you.
They're guardian angels. The angels of the Lord are our
servants for Christ's sake. That's a powerful verse. We preach,
not ourselves. I don't have a gospel, but God
does, and he entrusted it to us. And our gospel is the gospel
of Christ, Jesus, the King, the King of kings and Lord of lords.
And ourselves, I tell you what we are, we're your servants.
If you're in his house, in his kingdom, and in his graces, I'm
your servant. And you're my servant. And you're
every man's servant who's in God's house. You're his sheep,
his people. All right, verse 6, listen. who commanded the
light to shine out of darkness." Now, what's this talking about?
Well, the first thing in creation was light, and you know that. The very first thing in creation.
The scripture says that darkness was upon the face of the deep.
Total pitch black. Have you ever been in a cave
in one of these tourist caves where they shut the lights off?
You could cut that stuff with a knife. And there was no life on this
earth because there was no light. You got no sun and light, you
got no warmth and you got no life. There's no life where there's
no light. You can't make a stalk of corn
grow where there's no sunshine, in the darkness. Get it in the
sun. That is the death in darkness.
So the first thing in creation was light. God said let there
be light. And then the things began to
grow because it was light. Now think about it. So in the
new creation, listen, God who commanded the light to shine
out of darkness has shined in our hearts to give the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
What's the first thing in the conversion of a sinner? Light. Light. There's going to be no
life unless there's light. But there's no light without
life. They're one and the same, and
they're the same person. Let me show you that John 1,
verse 1 through 4. If people talk about somebody
being saved without the gospel, they're talking foolishness.
Somebody talk about a man being saved without the word, that's
foolishness. Talk about somebody having life without light? You
can't have life without light. Listen to John 1, verse 1. In
the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was
God. The same was in the beginning with God. And all things were
made by him, and without him was not anything made, but was
made. In him was life, and the life was the light of man. And the light shineth in darkness. The darkness comprehends it not.
That's the natural man. But the spiritual man comprehends
it. Let me show you another verse here in John 8.12. Christ is the light and the life. In him was life, and that life
was the light. And in John 8.12, listen, John
8.12. Then spake Jesus again unto them,
saying, I am the light of the world. He that follows me shall
not walk in darkness, but he shall have the light of life. How shall they call on him in
whom they have not believed? How shall they believe in him
of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? In the first creation, all life,
growth, warmth, breath is by the sun, heavenly light. Nothing
happened to the sun God made the sun to shine. And everything
that came, came as a result of that sun. Life, warmth, breath,
growth. So in salvation, all life, breath,
growth, warmth, peace, is by the Son of God, who is the light
and life of men. Preach Christ. He is the life, and he is the
light, the light of life. Look at this again for a moment,
stay with me. For God, verse 6, 2 Corinthians
4 verses, God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness,
and that's when things happen. He had shined in our hearts,
and these old hearts were desperately, deceitfully depraved. Wicked
darkness. And he shall have shown that
light of Christ into our hearts. To give us what? The light of
the knowledge of his glory. Where was it? In the face of
Christ. Now this glory of God, the knowledge
of the glory of God. Now I'm not talking here, and
Paul's not talking about his essential glory. I'm talking
about the perfections of his nature and kingdom. as we will
one day see. One day we'll see God in his
glory. We'll see God in his glory. But
Moses asked him here to show him his glory now. And the glory
of God, which we now see in the face of Christ Jesus, is the
glorious gospel of his grace, which Moses sought. It's the
glorious counsel and covenant of God in Christ, whereby he
shows mercy to whom he will show mercy. Moses says, Show me your
glory, the glory of God in the face of Christ, is that which
enables him to show mercy to sinners, and that which enables
him to be gracious to whom he will be gracious, and that which
gives us a perfect righteousness in sin offering that God may
be just and justified. That's the glory of God. The
glory of God is His goodness, and it can't be good except in
Christ. The glory of God is His mercy,
and He can't show mercy except one place, and that's a crucified
Redeemer. The glory of God is His grace,
and the knowledge, listen to me, and the knowledge of the
glory of God is not a head knowledge, but facts. Satan has that. He knows who Christ is. He knows
what Christ did. He knows why Christ did it, and
he knows where he is now. And Satan knows what his end
is. He said, if you come to torment me before my time? So the knowledge
of the glory of God is not a mere head knowledge of facts and a
doctrine to argue. The knowledge of the glory of
God is seen. in the face of Christ Jesus,
and it's a life-giving, life-changing, heart experience of the love,
power, wisdom, and grace of God, which brings us into a living
oneness with Jesus Christ, when seen and experienced. God, who said, Let there be light,
And this world became a paradise that shined in our hearts to
give us the light and life of the knowledge of his son, of
the glory of God, how God can be just and justify, show mercy
to sinners in defense of Christ Jesus. And it's a life-giving,
life-changing heart experience. It's in the face of Christ Jesus.
Turn to John 1.18, the face of Christ Jesus. John 1.18, listen
to this. In the face of Christ Jesus,
no man has seen God at any time. Don't let anybody tell you that
God said something to him and he saw God. The only begotten
Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared
him. That's where you see God, in the face of Christ Jesus. The Amplified Version says, he
hath declared him, he hath revealed him, he hath interpreted him.
He hath brought God out so he may be seen. I see these television preachers,
especially these women, they're so emotional and so familiar
with God. Oh, you can't believe how familiar
they are with God, how sweet he is. And God tells them these
things, God's trying to do this and trying to do that, and God
told me to tell you this, and come on now. Jesus Christ don't think she's
going to see God. and hear God and have God interpreted
and God brought out so he may be seen, Christ has fully declared,
listen, God's nature, God's perfections, God's promises, God's purposes,
God's covenant, God's works, God Almighty's word, God's thoughts,
God's love, God's favor to his sons and men, God's mind. We
are the mind of Christ who is the mind of God. God's will concerning
the salvation of his people, Christ has revealed the living
God. He has fully, completely revealed
the living God, and there will be no other revelation on this
earth of God's glory but in the face of Christ. Don't let any
preacher tell you that God showed him a new thing, or a new revelation. It's in Christ. The next revelation
of the glory of God will be when we see him. But there'll be no
added revelation to what Christ is and what Christ has done.
He that's seen me has seen the Father and that's the end of
it. No more revelation. Everything you get from God will
be in Christ. That's right. That's 2,000 years
old. The whole book, the whole revelation,
the whole gospel. What I'm preaching is the same
thing Spurgeon preached, and Gill preached, and Bunyan preached,
and Watts preached, and on back to Luther, and Calvin, and Zwingli,
and Huss, and City of God, who was, was he,
you know, and all those fellows, Erasmus, and all the rest of
them. Paul, and Peter, James, and John. Nothing new under the
sun. As far as the glory of God is
concerned. Now, verse 7, I won't let you go. But we have this treasure. Boy, experience that oneness,
that glory of God in the face. We have this treasure, listen,
this glorious gospel in an earthen vessel. Lest, listen, lest we
be exalted above measure, lest we forget the pit from which
we were digged, lest we forget who made us to differ, lest we
forget that without him we could do nothing. Lest we forget that
in our flesh dwelleth no good thing, we have this treasure,
this life eternal, this knowledge of the glory of God. Think of
it now. This understanding of His grace in Christ in an earthen
vessel. Not a vessel of gold, pure and
perfect and valuable. Not a vessel of steel. Hard and
strong. My old vessel's not strong and
hard. Not a vessel of fine cedar to
be admired. I got this glorious, magnificent,
eternal treasure in a vessel of clay. Worthless, crumbling
dirt. God said, boy, dust you are,
and the dust you gonna return. put us all together, we wouldn't
make one good one. We just does, that's all. Just does. That's to listen,
that the excellence of the power might be all of God, not of us. That the faith of men should
not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. The
Lord will use not foolish men, but men whom the world calls
foolish. Now come on, listen to me. God's people aren't foolish. They're wise. He has given us
wisdom, a sound mind. That's what it says. You've taught
that in the class. Not spirit of fear, but spirit
of wisdom. God's people aren't foolish. They're not dumb. They're
wise in the spirit. But what he's talking about,
they're foolish to this world. They're despised to this world.
Let me show you that in the first two instances. You see, you're
calling. Don't misread that now. In 1 Corinthians 1 verse 25,
it starts with verse 25, listen. God doesn't use foolish men.
He uses men whom the world calls foolish. He says in verse 25,
because the foolishness of God is wiser than men. The foolishness
of God. There's no foolishness in God. The world says there is. What
the world calls foolishness in God is wiser than anything the
world can produce. And what the world calls the
weakness of God is stronger than meaning, what they call weakness
and foolishness. For you see, your calling brethren,
how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty men,
not many noble men after the flesh, but God hath chosen the
foolish things of this world. The world calls foolishness.
Paul wasn't foolish. Peter wasn't foolish. James and
John weren't foolish. The Puritans weren't foolish.
The Reformers weren't foolish. They were wise men. But the world
called them fools and burned them at the stake. That's the
people he uses whom the world calls foolish, whom the world
calls weak. In ourselves we're weak, but
in him we're powerful. Miracles take place in the ministry
of a man. base things of the world, verse
28, things that are not despised that God chosen, but God doesn't
despise them, the world does. See what I'm saying? We have this treasure, an earthen
vessel. Now let me give you verse 8 and
9, and we'll pick up next week. You see, the road we walk through
this world is not an easy road, and we can expect to be filled
with trials and troubles, And Paul says we're troubled on every
side, in the flesh, in the mind, in the heart, but we're not distressed.
We have peace. We're not defeated. We're not
going to surrender. And then he says we're perplexed.
Sure you are. I am too. Sometimes we're confused. And we don't understand the providence
of God. I don't know why the Lord is
pleased to do many things in our lives which he does. Sometimes
I don't know which road to take and don't have any answer. Come
on, ask your question. I don't have an answer. I'm perplexed. But I'm not in despair. I'm not
without help. I'm not without his support and
his grace. When I'm weak, I'm strong. And
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear
no evil. He's with me. I'm not in despair, and I'm persecuted
by people, especially religious people. They don't know our Lord. They ridicule our faith. They
ridicule our doctrine. They ridicule our hope. They
persecute you. They don't persecute you physically,
but they persecute you emotionally. But you're not forsaken. David
said, even if my mother and father forsake me, the Lord will take
me up. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the life of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? I'm
cast down, but I'm not destroyed. An earthen vessel, if it stays
around long enough, now listen, an earthen vessel, if it stays
around long enough, will sooner or later be cast down. It'll
be cast out. It's not needed anymore. Many
of you and myself, we may experience this before very long. Stored
in the cellar. Used to sit on the coffee table,
and now I'm tired of it. You put it down in the cellar.
An old earthen vessel, just to get it out of sight. I said,
alright, cast down, cast out, but not destroyed. Not destroyed. We're immortal. We're not going
to be destroyed. We have a treasure in an earthen
vessel. It's wearing out and crumbling
and going back to dust, but that treasure in that vessel is immortal. Lo, God said, I'm with you even
to the end. Cast down, but not destroyed.
There's an old hymn that, first time I ever heard it, I heard
it from Brother Jeff Thornberry. He loved this old hymn. It's
about cast down but not destroyed. I want you to listen. I'm not
going to sing it. I wouldn't put you through that. But I'm
going to quote it. Cast down but not destroyed.
Now in thy praise, eternal king, be all my thoughts employed.
While of this precious truth I sing, cast down but not destroyed. Of the united powers of hell,
my soul has been annoyed, and yet I live, this truth to tell,
cast down, but not destroyed. In all the paths through which
I've passed, what mercy I have enjoyed, and this shall be my
song at last, cast down, but not destroyed. But when I with
Christ in heaven appear, And there shall I him adore. Destroyed
shall be my sin and fear. I'll be cast down no more. Cast down no more. All right, I hope that's a blessing
to you. We'll pick up that next Wednesday
night, the Lord willing. Let's sing number 298, God Leads
Us Along, number 298.