All right, let's get into this
sermon now. 2 Corinthians 4, verse 1. Therefore, therefore seeing,
we have this ministry. That's the topic and the text.
We have this ministry. We have this ministry. Or another
title you might give this message is seven marks of a God-sent
minister. Seven marks of a God-sent ministry. I did a little apprentice work
with the Brother Ralph Barnard for about 19 years. And I recall so many things now
that he taught me then that I didn't understand then. But one of the
things he said to me and said to a congregation where I was
in attendance one night, he said, when you come upon the word therefore
in Scripture, see it there? That's the first word you see
in Chapter 4. And we're not being critical of the translators of
scripture, but I'm simply saying that some chapter divisions are
unfortunate. And this is one of those that's
unfortunate. But I suppose you have to have
them, or you'd have just a one long book instead of divided
so we could memorize the scripture and find it easily. But therefore,
if you come upon a therefore in scripture, stop and find out
what it's there for. Now, that's easy to remember.
Take our text this morning. Go back to Psalm 91 just a moment. Now, when you come upon the word,
therefore, you've got to find out what it's there for. In other
words, what he has said prior to that word is what he's going
to deal with. In other words, look at verse
14 of Psalm 91. Because he hath set his love
upon me, therefore will I deliver him." You wouldn't just start
with, therefore will I deliver him. Somebody says, well, why
will he deliver him? Well, look before that therefore. Because
he set his love upon me. So when we come to this verse
here in 2 Corinthians 4, he says, therefore seeing we have this
ministry. What ministry? Seeing we have
this ministry. Well, we've got to go back a
few pages. We've got to go back and find out what it's there
for. There's been some things said in the preceding verses
that relate to what he's saying here now. Now look at, turn back
to II Corinthians 2. Let's go back two chapters. Let's
go back two chapters, and I'm not just picking out verses now.
I've read these three or four chapters preceding chapter 4,
and these are the high points. And Paul says here in 2 Corinthians
2 verse 12, furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's
gospel, to preach Christ's gospel. So our ministry, first of all,
is to preach Christ. That's the first mark of a God
sent minister is to preach Christ. Christ is our message. Christ
is our ministry. In 1 Corinthians 1.17, Paul said,
Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel. And
then in 1 Corinthians 1.23, he said, but we preach Christ and
Him crucified. In 1 Corinthians 2, verse 2,
he says, I'm determined to know nothing among you save Jesus
Christ and Him crucified. Now, I believe in the doctrine
of election, but my ministry is not to convince men of the
doctrine of election. my ministry is to preach Christ.
I believe, I believe in the doctrine of irresistible grace. I believe
the Holy Spirit comes and effectually calls a sinner. I know there's
a general call. I know God deals with all men.
I know God deals with men through the revelations of nature, the
revelations of creation, the revelations of the law, the revelations
of providence and judgment. But there's an effectual, irresistible,
invincible call that the Holy Spirit brings to a sinner when
he determines to bring him to Christ. But the effectual call,
that's not what I'm trying to convince men of. I'm trying to
preach Christ. Christ is our ministry and Christ
is our message. And that's what Paul said when
I went to Troas. I went there to preach Christ.
My determination was to preach Christ. One of the greatest missionaries
who ever preached the gospel was named Judson. Judson labored
for years in Burma. And he labored seven years without
ever seeing a convert, not one convert in seven years. In fact,
the missionary board, which supported him, wrote to him on several
occasions and invited him to reconsider his call. and to reconsider
his ministry and possibly to give it up and come home. You're
not getting the job done, they said. And Judson wrote back that
the harvest was not here in his hands, it was in the hands of
the Lord. It's his business to plant the seed. It's his business
to preach the word. Conversion was God's business.
Saving sinners is God's business. He said my business is to preach
Christ preach Christ preach Christ And if Christ is pleased to reveal
himself to sinners wonderful, but I'm going to preach Christ
whether men believe or not and after all those years and years
of toil and trouble and trial and Tribulation and suffering
he came to America By this time, he was a famous preacher. He
was known all over the world. God had blessed his ministry,
and God had given fruit for his labor, and God had given success
to his ministry. And he came to this country to
preach in one of the northern cities. They rented one of the
biggest auditoriums in that city for the people to come together
and hear the great Mr. Judson. And there was a crowd
there that night, and all the churches were represented, the
platform was full of dignitaries and important religious leaders.
And they had choirs from different churches. And they had people
by the thousands out there. And this man was known. He was
recognized. He was one of the greatest missionaries
of that day. And they had a musical program.
And they had a lot of things to say. And then they introduced
this great old man. And when he came to the platform
or to the lectern to speak, everybody stood and applauded. And he acknowledged
their applause and thanked them and stood there before them while
they cheered and stooped shouldered and weary and tired and his body
wasted and worn from all the burdens and trials and sufferings. He'd buried some of his family
over there. And finally, everybody sat down.
And he stood there and looked them over. And then with tears
in his eyes, he began, Jay, to tell them about What a wonderful
Savior is the Lord Jesus Christ. And He told how that Christ in
eternity loved us. He was a sovereign grace preacher.
That's the only kind that's ever successful on the mission field.
He told how that God loved us in His covenant of mercy and
how that He sent His Son into the world and Christ came down
here born of the Virgin and lived a perfect life and went to the
cross and there He suffered and died in the hands of wicked men,
in the hands of Satan, even in the hands of God. And the wrath
of God was poured out upon Him, and in His obedience and in His
suffering, He redeemed us. And I was buried and rose again,
and how Christ ascended to the right hand of God and sits triumphantly
until His enemies have made His footstool. And He just talked,
Christ, Christ, Christ. Not one time did He mention Himself,
His family, his mission work, his success, the churches he'd
fountained up one time. And he spoke about 25 minutes,
I believe Spurgeon said, and he sat down. And they had their
closing remarks and all. And then a young man who was
in charge of the program was walking with Judson back to the
hotel after the service. And the young man was noticeably
quiet. And finally, Mr. Judson stopped
and put his hand on the young man's arm. He said, son, something's
wrong. What's your problem? Well, he
said, I wasn't going to say anything about it, Mr. Judson. Well, he
said, say something about it, son. Something's bothering you.
You haven't spoken since we left the auditorium. I tell you, as
you preach the gospel and as you minister the word, you get
a sense of these things. You can detect opposition, you
can detect these things in people's attitude and in their spirit
and even in their looks. And he said, something's wrong.
And the young man said, well, something is wrong. He said,
the people were disappointed. He said, the people were disappointed
in what? Well, they were disappointed
in the message. And Judson said, well, why were they disappointed? He said, well, he said, they
thought that you would tell them something about your work. They
thought you'd tell them something about the sufferings that you've
gone through in Burma. They thought you'd tell them
something about the trials you've been through, and you'd tell
them something about the battles you fought, and tell them something
about the things that you've gone through over there to preach
the gospel. They thought you'd tell them
some stories about Burma and about the people there. And the
old man shook his head. He said, son, He said, I don't
know any greater story than Christ died for our sins. He said, I
don't know any more exciting message to relate than the Son
of God came down from heaven to this earth and died for my
sins. My going to Burma is nothing
like His coming from heaven down here. Why should I talk about
my sufferings when my sufferings won't do anything for you or
anybody else but His sufferings will save Son, God didn't call
me to tell about my work, He called me to tell about His Son.
Will we ever get that through our heads? I'll tell you, some folks wonder
why a moment ago, I hesitated a long time sitting there, Jay
Cumpion announced about these Thursday night and Saturday meeting.
I just don't like to include anything we're doing with the
worship of the Lord. I just feel like we ought not
recognize visitors and pass out cards and have hands raised and
run around welcoming folks during the service or entertaining.
Brethren, we've got a message to deliver. Christ died for our
sins. It's not important if we're here
tonight, but it's mighty important if He's here. It's not important
that you know what we did last week or the letters we got or
the success we enjoyed. It is important that you know
Christ died for sinners because you'll go to hell if you don't
believe that. I turn on the television and
I watch preachers talk about the numbers and the names and
the records and the accomplishments and all of these things and my
heart just turns sick. And I think, why don't they talk
about Christ? Why don't they tell about the
Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us? Why don't they
lift up the cross of the Son of God? So our ministry, first
of all, is to preach Christ. That's what Paul, therefore seeing
we have this ministry, what ministry? We're going to preach Christ.
We're going to preach Christ. And secondly, now, look back
at 2 Corinthians 2 again. Verse 12, he says, we preach
Christ's gospel. Let me tell you this I believe
there's gonna be an Armageddon But I'll tell you I want to tarry
at the cross I'm not interested in going to Armageddon yet. I
won't talk about Christ and the cross I Believe there's a law
given at Sinai, but on your way to Sinai I just stop off at the
cross and spend a little time. That's where it got me in her
bless. I Believe in baptism, but on your way to Jordan stop
off at Calvary. I and spend some time there talking
about him. And then in verse 14, now our
ministry is to preach Christ, and secondly, our ministry is
a successful ministry. We always triumph. Look at that,
verse 14. Now thanks be to God, which always,
always causes us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the
Savior. Notice that word's not Savior
now, that's Savior. S-A-V-O-U-R, of His knowledge
by us in every place. What's Paul saying? Paul's saying
this, we never fail. If God opened the door, if God
called us to preach, if our message is Christ, we never fail. You
mean you always see converts? No, but we never fail. You mean
people always rejoice in what you preach? No, sir, but we never
fail. You mean somebody always makes a profession and the churches
always grow? No sir, sometimes we get thrown
out, but we never fail. Sometimes we get rocked out of
the town, Walter does, but we never fail. Not if God opened
the door and not if we preach Christ and not if God sent us,
we never fail. He said, how do you say that?
Well, it says that here. He always causes us to triumph
in Christ. Triumph is successful. Conquer. Get the job done. Now look at
verse 15. That word savor is important. That word savor is
an odor, a fragrance. It's a smell. For we are under
God. If God sent us, now this is what
I'm saying. I'm saying if God sent us, if I'm God's minister,
If God's here tonight, if He's in this message, if His Holy
Spirit has led me to preach it and His Holy Spirit is speaking
through me, we are a saver, we are under God, a sweet saver
of Christ, a sweet fragrance, a sweet odor, a sweet smell in
them that are saved and in them that perish too. To the one we're
the saver of death unto death, the smell, the odor of death
upon death. In other words, this is plain
language. If a fellow's here tonight and he's in the gall
of bitterness and the bond of iniquity and the bondage of corruption
and sin, and there's no repentance in his heart and no love for
Christ Jesus and no determination to embrace the Son of God, my
message is going to add to his condemnation. It's going to add
to his guilt. It's going to add to the hardness
of his heart when that sun shines. And there's a block of ice here
and a block of clay here. It'll melt that ice, but it'll
have effect on that clay, too. It'll harden it. And let me tell
you something. It's dangerous to hear the gospel
if you're not going to believe it. Old Brother Barnard used
to say, if you're not going to receive Christ, I'll tell you
what I'd do. He said, I'd buy me a plane ticket to Africa.
And when I got on that plane, I'd land over there, and I'd
rent me a jeep, and I'd drive you as far as that jeep would
go. And when it wouldn't go any further, I'd rent me a donkey,
and I'd ride that donkey through the jungle as far as he'd go.
And when that donkey couldn't go any further, I'd get on my
Hansonese and crawl as far as I could go, and then dig me a
hole, and I'd bury myself in that hole and stay there so I
wouldn't hear the name of Jesus Christ again. Because he said,
I'd rather go to hell from Africa than from Ashland, Kentucky.
You believe in degrees of glory? No, sir. You believe in degrees
of hell? Yes, sir. Men shall give an account
for the life that they've received. And brother, when you sit and
listen to the message of the gospel and there's no repentance
and no faith, your heart is hardened. God will send you strong delusions
and you'll believe a lie and be damned for believing that
lie. And every time you hear the truth preached, it'll harden
you in your refuge of lies. It'll harden you in your delusion. It'll harden you in your false
refuge. It'll harden you in the place
where you're hiding. The best place to hide from God
is the church. Did you know that? The church
of this generation. That's exactly right. To one,
we're the savor of death unto death. You smell the death, even
when the gospel's preached. But to the other, we're the savor,
the sweet smell, the fragrance, the odor of life unto life. Oh, I tell you, when a man loves
the gospel and he comes and you preach the gospel, it's a sweet
fragrance, isn't it? It just, you just love it, it
just refreshes you and encourages you, and is a blessing to you,
how you grow, and that's what our ministry is. When we preach
to a congregation, if God sent us, and if we're preaching the
gospel, He said, my word will not return unto me void. It shall
accomplish that where unto I've seen it, it'll accomplish that
which pleaseth me. And when we come to preach the
gospel, this is a tremendous, awesome responsibility to preach
the gospel. But I'll tell you something else,
it adds to your responsibility to hear it. And what a responsibility. Take
heed what you preach, but take heed how you hear. What am I
saying? I'm saying this. We preach Christ. Our ministry is to preach the
gospel. Secondly, our ministry, if God has sent us, is always
successful. Sometimes the apostle Paul went
to a place and preached Christ and was driven out. And God have
mercy on that place. Shake the dust of your feet,
he said, as a testimony against them. Some places Paul went and
men received the gospel and rejoiced in it and praised God for it. Thank God his mercy was upon
that place. But Paul was always successful
because the gospel is always true. All right, here's the third
thing about our ministry. Look at verse 16. And when Paul
got through saying this, that in his happiness he knew that
his gospel was a life upon life, life is already there, the Holy
Spirit's given life, and this strengthens that life from faith
to faith. from faith to faith, from stage
of growth, one stage to another. And then he says, but it's a
fragrance of death upon death, death upon death, hardening men
in sin, gospel-hardened. And then he made this statement,
the last line, verse 16, who is sufficient for these things? Our ministry is beyond human
ability. It's beyond human wisdom. Paul
continually expressed his total dependence on God. Now you can,
if you have any talent or gifts, you can pick your vocation. You
can say, I want to be this, I want to be that, or I want to be that.
And with proper training and education, you can be that. But
that's not so in the ministry. It's just not so. It's beyond
human ability, beyond human wisdom. Paul continually says that. He
said, who is sufficient for these things? Who's sufficient for
these great issues? Who's sufficient for this responsibility? Who's sufficient to proclaim
these mysteries? Who's sufficient to handle such
great things? Who's sufficient for men's salvation
and condemnation, for men's growth and the heartening of men under
the sack? Who wants to be responsible for
it? And look at verse, chapter 3, verse 5, he says the same
thing again. Chapter 3 of 2 Corinthians, verse
5. Not that we're sufficient of ourselves to think anything
as of ourselves. Our sufficiency is God. And then in 2 Corinthians 4,
verse 7, he says it again. He says we have this treasure.
What a treasure. This treasure that gives sight
to the blind, life to the dead, strength to the lame. hearing
to the dead, salvation to the guilty. We have this treasure,
we have this power in earthen vessels, in vessels of clay. Boy, I'll tell you that the excellency
of the power, verse 7, chapter 4, may be of God, not of us.
You know, that's where sometimes we're deceived. I notice these things that pick
up the newspaper and I read about a preacher's going to be in town,
and then they start out, Brother Jay, they start out all his credentials,
about how, where he's preached and how important he is, how
many degrees he has, and he did this and did that and did the
other, and that's like the world, you know, if we've got a gift,
you ladies do this, you got a gift for someone, Not any of you here
will wrap it up in newspaper. There's not a woman here that'll
go down, they're gonna have a shower here Thursday night for Sarah.
And every one of you women will make that package look as pretty
as you can. You buy a nice gift and put it in the prettiest package
you can find. It's important, isn't it? God
doesn't put his gospel in pretty packages. Because he don't want
you looking at the package. He just wants you to take that
package and throw it aside. You know, I just hate to tear
those ribbons up sometimes. They look so good. And you kind
of cut them and lay them aside and say, I don't know whether
I want the present or not. I think I'll just take the ribbon
or the paper or the box. It's beautiful. But Paul said
this treasure, this gift of heaven, this jewel from heaven, it's
not in a pretty package. It's not in a package that would
attract you at all. It's in an earthen vessel. That's
right. You better remember that because
you may be listening to the package and not looking at the jewel
in some of these places. Look at 1 Corinthians just a
moment. 1 Corinthians in chapter 1, 1 Corinthians. Paul is saying
this treasure, this gospel, and you know churches now, that's
one of the first questions they ask. They're going to call a
pastor. One man said this to me on the phone. He wanted me
to recommend a pastor to their church. And I mentioned a young
man. He said he didn't ask me if he loved Christ. He didn't
ask me if he preached the gospel. He didn't ask me if he's an honest
man. He didn't ask me if he knew Christ. He said, where'd he go
to school? I said, you want a schoolteacher or a preacher? Let me know which
one you want. Schoolteacher, we'll go another
direction. I thought you wanted a preacher. But that's what they
want. They want the package. You've
got to be between certain ages, have a certain number of children,
family, got to have this appearance, got to have these credentials.
Listen to I Corinthians chapter 1 verse 26. You see your calling
brethren, not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not
many noble to call. God had chosen the foolish things
of the world to confound the wise, God had chosen the weak
This is God speaking, things of the world that confound the
things which are mighty, the base things of the world, the
things which are despised have God chosen, the things which
are not to bring to naught the things that are, that no flesh
should glory in His presence. My boy, he don't look much like
a preacher. You just might be turned away
from God's man. That's right. Paul said, we have
this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency might be
of God and not of us. I remember Brother A.D. Muse
told me a story one time. I know why preachers, as they
get older, get so long-winded, Jay. They keep thinking what
happened 40 years ago, you know. But anyway, Brother Mews said
that there was a church from Dakota, South Dakota, that came
to Moody Bible Institute to see Mr. Moody. Now, you know how
long ago that was. And they came to see Mr. Moody. They wanted
a pastor. The pulpit committee came to Moody and said, we want
you to recommend a pastor. And Mr. Moody said, he was abrupt
man. He was a busy man. And he just
said to him, get Josh Gravitt. And they said, who's Josh Gravitt?
Well, you'll find him out there on the campus somewhere. Get
Josh Gravitt. He'll make you a preacher. So they left, and
they started hunting him. And finally, they found Josh
Gravitt. He had on a pair of overalls, old-fashioned bib overalls,
and had them rolled up to the knees, and he had on these these
Clodhopper Brogan shoes that they used to wear, you know,
and had an old sweat-stained hat pulled down on his head,
and he was shoveling coal in the furnace down there where
the boilers were that heated the school. And they took one
look at him and said, that's Josh Gravitt, little dried-up
fella. And they just turned and went back to the office. They
didn't speak to Josh. He just didn't look like a preacher.
And they went back to the office and said they wanted to see Mr.
Moody again. And it took a while, but finally they let him in.
They went in, said, Mr. Moody, we've come all the way
from South Dakota. We can't come back. We've come
here to get a pastor. We don't have a pastor. We've
got a good church. We need a pastor. Mr. Moody,
tell us who to get. He said, I told you to get Josh
Gravitt. And I ain't going to tell you again. Now go get Josh
Gravitt. And you know that's what they
did. They got that little fella and he went over and preached
for them and he stayed there as their pastor for 52 years. And God sent out of that church,
Muse told me, Jay sent preacher after preacher, missionary after
missionary, out of that church where Josh Gravitt pastored.
I wish we could learn that the ministry of the gospel, now learn
it or don't learn it, do what you want to, but this thing of
the ministry, no man is sufficient, no man is able, no man is capable,
no man is wise enough, we are nothing in the world, Christ
is all. We've got to have his spirit, his message. We've got
to have his inspiration. We've got to have his enlightenment. We've got to have his illumination.
We've got to have his understanding. We're just... Paul said, I'm
nothing! It's Christ that's all. Let me
hurry. In the fourth place, turn to 2 Corinthians 3. Back in this
same chapter, our ministry, our ministry, is to preach Christ,
it's a successful ministry, it's beyond human wisdom or ability,
and our ministry is to the heart. Now I'm not preaching only to
your head. I know it's got to come through here. Paul said,
knowing brethren your election of God, for our gospel came not
to you in word only, but it did come in word. It did come in
word. You've got to hear it in word.
The lady that said the other night to Brother, some people
meeting up in West Virginia, so I said, how you know you're
safe? She said, you just get a warm feeling. Well, you got
to have more than that to be safe. You got to have the gospel,
some words, you know. But it didn't come in word only,
it came in power to the heart. We preach to the heart. Listen
to 2 Corinthians 3, 3. For as much as you are manifestly
declared to be the epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written
not with ink, We're not writing constitutions, bylaws, and creeds,
but with the Spirit of the living God. Not in tables of stone,
but in fleshly tables of the heart. This ministry is to the
heart. Conviction of sin is a heart
ministry. The revelation of Christ is a
heart revelation. The understanding of His wisdom
and redemption is a heart revelation. Here's another verse over here
in the in the very, uh, in the next verse there. Not that we're
sufficient. Let's see 2 Corinthians 3, 3.
And such trust have we through Christ to God, would not that
we're sufficient to think of ourselves to think anything.
Verse 6, that's the 101. Who also hath made us able ministers
of the new Testament not of the letter but of the spirit for
the letter killeth but the spirit Giveth life not the old covenant,
but the new not the letter of the law, but the spirit of the
gospel Let's go to the fifth mark of a God sent ministry.
Look at 2nd Corinthians 2 17 2 17 our ministry Our ministries
to the heart and then in the fifth place our ministry is one
of sincerity sincerity In verse 17 of 2 Corinthians 2, he said,
We are not as many which corrupt the word of God, but as of sincerity,
but as of God in the sight of God, speak we in Christ. Then
look at 2 Corinthians 4, 2. We have renounced the hidden
things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the
word of God deceitfully. Are we in danger of doing that?
Are we in danger of deciding that we believe a certain thing
and then going to the scripture to prove it? That's handling
the Word of God deceitfully. Are we trying to persuade men
to act in a certain way and using the Word of God to get them to
do it? That's handling the Word of God deceitfully. Are we interested
in building a great organization and a great program and using
the Word of God as a springboard to accomplish these things, to
appeal to men's emotions? That's handling the Word of God
deceitfully. but by manifestation, verse 2, chapter 4, of the truth,
commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight
of God. What are the weapons of our warfare?
Turn to 2 Corinthians, chapter 10, just a moment. Let me read
two verses. 2 Corinthians 10, verse 3 and 4. Now, we live in the flesh, but the
weapons we use are not of the flesh. We walk in the flesh. We live in the flesh. We're men
of flesh. But the weapons we use to accomplish
God's will are not methods of the flesh. I have a little contention
with this thing of it doesn't matter how you get people to
church, just so you get them. I don't believe that. In other
words, suppose that I know some great basketball player. Right
now, basketball is on everybody's mind, and this Kentucky player
named Kyle Macy is on everybody's mind. Now, if you want to fill
this auditorium, now think with me a minute. You want to fill
this auditorium next Sunday. You want to pack it out. You want people
standing, looking in the windows and out in the other room. All
you have to do, if Macy is a professing believer, is have him over. That'd
get the people out. You say, yeah, get them out,
and then they'll hear the gospel. Will they hear the gospel? They
didn't come to hear the gospel. They came to hear Macy. They
didn't come to see Christ, they came to see Macy. And they won't
even hear it if he says it. They won't even hear it if he
says it. Because that was not their quest. That was not their
interest. They're there for another purpose.
That's so. If you look here, in the Word
of God at 2 Corinthians 10, verse 3 and 4. Though we walk in the
flesh, we do not war after the flesh, for the weapons of our
warfare are not carnal, they're not fleshly, but mighty through
God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations, and
every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge
of God. Here's what Paul is saying. You don't use these weapons of
the flesh, these things that appeal to men's flesh to accomplish
spiritual good. You preach Christ and the gospel.
And that's the reason that God doesn't call many mighty and
noble. We don't need that. We don't
need that support. We don't need that support at
all. We don't need those methods to accomplish the glory of Christ
and the salvation of sinners. And we ought not use those things.
It's a good possibility that some outstanding sports figure
may be saved. But God's not going to use him
as an outstanding sports figure to accomplish his glory. He'll
use him as a sinner saved by grace. It may be some wealthy
man, maybe the mayor or the president will be a convert or a believer. It may be. But God will not use
him in that position to accomplish the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He won't do it. And I know these preachers surround
themselves with entertainers and Hollywood stars and all of
that, but the people are just following those men and they're
not following Christ. I'm as sure of that as I'm standing.
Our ministry is sincerity and truth, not deceit and dishonesty.
Quickly, 2 Corinthians 4. Let me give you another statement
here. In the sixth place, In 2 Corinthians
4, verse 3, if our gospel be hid, it's hid to them that are
lost, in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds
of them that believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel
of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
In the sixth place, our ministry is the ministry of the gospel
which is not understood by natural men. Now, brethren, Isaiah said,
who hath believed our report? To whom is the arm of the Lord
revealed? My voice is the only voice you
hear. Nothing of any value will be accomplished. You've got to
hear him speak through his. It has to be revealed. The natural
mind is enmity against God. The natural man will not receive
the things of God. The natural mind is not subject
to the law of God. And two reasons for that. One
is the unbelief of men. And secondly, the power of Satan.
All right, in the seventh place, in closing, 2 Corinthians 4,
verse 6. Our ministry is the ministry
of divine revelation. For God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, and I believe the apostles taking
us back to the morning of creation, when the whole world was in darkness. Darkness was upon the face of
the deep. Darkness and chaos and confusion, and God Almighty's
space. And he said, let there be light.
And the light just pierced the darkness. The light just broke
through the darkness. The light just came forth by
the command of God, and things were illuminated. And I verily
believe this, that people who come to hear us minister the
Word because of sin and the fall are in darkness. They do not
see the sinfulness of men. They do not see the deity of
Christ. They do not see the wisdom of
God in justification. They do not see the glory of
the incarnation. They do not see the glory of
substitution. They do not see how God can be
just and justified. They do not understand these
things. They're in darkness and confusion and depravity and chaos. And God Almighty, if it pleases
Him, in the same way that He spake that morning, or that dark
night in that particular time, said, let there be light, and
the light just flooded. I believe that's exactly what
Paul is saying here. God had spoken, God had commanded
the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, look
at that, in our darkened hearts, to give the light and the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus. I didn't see
his glory till he illuminated the surroundings. So I didn't
see, Paul said, I didn't see my sin. Why he said for 40 years
I lived in sin thinking that I was not a sinner. Why he said
for 40 years I lived in darkness. And one day God illuminated my
understanding and I saw I was a sinner and I cried, oh wretched
man that I am. You see, the only way that you
can see anything is for the place to be illuminated. Turn off all
the lights in here, and I couldn't see what this would be on the
page, but I wouldn't see it. The brightest sun is no good
to a blind man. And the microphone's here, but
I can't find it. And the desk is here, but I can't
find it. It's dark. But turn on the lights, and I
see everything in relation to other things. The light is what
enables me to see. And this is what our ministry
is the ministry of divine revelation. We can stand and preach and preach
the unsearchable riches of Christ, but no man is going to understand
it or see it or enter into it until God illuminates his heart.
Enlightens him. Enlightens him. The power of
God brought light in the original creation and the power of God
brings life to dead sinners and light to those in darkness. What
does this light do? It gives us the knowledge of
the glory of God. What is the glory of God? It's
His redemptive glory. The redemptive glory of God in
the face of Jesus Christ our Lord. Let me close with a story
that I gave up at Dingus last week and some of the men who
were with me had never heard it and they were impressed by
it. I thought perhaps I'd give it again. It may be a blessing
to you tonight. But there was a wagon train moving
west 100 years ago, and led by a wagon master. And here were
the wagons behind the wagon master. They were going through the great
prairies, the great valleys out there. And one of the dangers
going across these great prairies was the high prairie grass. It
was dry and real high. And a lot of times, lightning
would start fires, or Indians would start fires. And these
fires would just, pushed by the wind, just sweep down through
the valley, destroying everything in its path. And the outrider,
the scout, was out ahead of the wagon train, and he saw one of
these prairie fires. The wind was blowing right towards
the wagon train. It was moving right down through
that huge valley. And they had a river on this
side, and on this side, the mountains. And they couldn't go either way.
So the wagon master got all the men together and he said, light
some fires and burn out a place here. Just burn it out. Just
get the wagons out of the way and burn out a huge circle. And
then put those wagons in the middle of that circle on that
burnt ground where the fire has already destroyed the grass.
And we'll be all right. So they burn out a huge circle.
And the fire was coming. The smoke was rolling toward
heaven. The sparks and all of the debris. And they burn out
this place and put all the wagons right in here on this burnt ground.
And the fire kept getting closer. And the people were sitting in
the circle of the wagons. And little boy was sitting in
his daddy's lap. And he was shaking like a leaf. And his daddy said,
what's the matter, son? He said, daddy, I'm scared. Well,
he said, son, there's not a thing to be afraid of. Not a thing,
son, because you see, you're on burnt ground. And where the
fire's already burnt, it'll never burn again. And my friends, that's
the gospel of substitution. I know nobody's going to see
that unless God gives them understanding and light. But see, where the
fire's already burnt, where the fire of God's wrath and judgment
has already punished Christ in my stead, Calvary's burnt ground. If you find yourself at Calvary,
the fire of God's wrath will never touch you. The judgment,
the overflowing scourge of God's wrath, when it passes through,
it won't come near you because you're standing on burnt ground.
already been dealt with, already paid. Oh, what a ministry, what
good news, but it's a ministry of divine revelation. May God
reveal it to you. Let's sing a closing hymn, Brother
Ron, if you will.