KESWICK AT PORTSTEWART
WEDNESDAY 10
JULY 2024 – BIBLE READING – JOHN RISBRIDGER
2 CORINTHIANS 4
VERSES 1 – 18
How not to lose heart. Resilience in service. That word resilience has had a lot of
attention in recent years. Since the
pandemic how we cope and recover. We talk
about a resilient individual, a resilient leader as well as resilient
structures. The Cambridge dictionary
definition of a resilient person is someone who is able to be happy and
successful again after some difficulty or bad has happened. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines it as
an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change. It seems as a culture we rather admire
resilience just now. We want to see it
in people or structures in which we depend upon every day. “Going through trouble is not easy.” Resilient people are the kind of people who
give the impression that it they are either acting or missing vital piece of
emotional structure that you need for leadership. If we think resilience is easy well it is not
- it is about coping with trouble, to find hard things are hard. After all we can conclude we are not the resilient
type. We give up and try to avoid
anything that is difficult. It does not
make for good leadership. Maybe a better
word is endurance. Pushing through when
things are hard. It is very easy for the
apostle Paul to go one of 2 directions.
We can see him as a super human machine who sails through trouble and difficulties,
some awesome Teflon type of guy or as the people in Corinthians saw him – weak,
flaky, ready to give up when things got hard. Neither of those is
accurate. The picture of Paul we find is
that he faced huge hardships one after another and he felt them deeply,
sometimes despairing even of life itself.
He did not just bounce back easily especially in those conflicts that
tore his heart apart with people he loved so much. Paul modelled that he found strength in all
his troubles from God to endure through them.
Not an easy bounce back but a faith filled endurance. He was looking to Jesus to push through. Where did that come from? How did he not lose heart? In chapters 4 and 5 there are 3 big answers
to that question.
First, he was captivated by the worth of
Christ – chapter 4 verses 1 – 15.
Particularly verse 7 “we have this treasure in jars of clay.” What is this treasure? The message of the gospel in general but also
in verse 5 the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ who is the
image of God. Verse 6 the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. That light as such is the first light of
creation and is seen in the dawn of the new creation in the face of
Christ. Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee, the
disciple of Gamaliel had long resisted that light until one day on the road to
Damascus, when he set out to destroy the church seen a light flashing around
him like lightning and was blinded. It
also gave him true sight. Galatians 1
verse 16. God revealed his son in me
overcoming in an instant all his resistance and prejudice, all his hostility
and hatred. Gone as the light flashed on
him and brought him to the ground. It
changed everything for Paul. From his
monotheism, redirected the whole direction and mission and course of his life. Not just a great idea. He described in verse 7 the discovery of treasure. Feel the richness, the weight of that
word. The pearl of great price. The joy above all joys. To discover that God can be known in the face
of a person in whom he has revealed himself.
The face of our Lord Jesus. This
is the knowledge from which we are created and for which we are recreated in
the gospel. This is the knowledge of
intimate relationship eternal and satisfying. Paul says it is treasure. In the ancient world the homes of the well to
do were full of jars of ivory, marble, brass and glass. The ordinary folk used jars of clay. Fragile, inexpensive, disposable bits of
pottery, easily broken. God has chosen
to put this priceless treasure in the jars of clay in ordinary people like you
and me, who have lots of struggles and feel so unimpressive, who get
discouraged and find hard things hard.
God has put his treasure there. So
strength in weakness, resilience, endurance and service don’t come from trying
to imitate those jars of ivory or glass.
We are in fact jars of clay. It
comes from savouring the treasure, from enjoying Jesus, from determining never
to move from the gospel, from living in the joy of the gospel, being faced
with, being satisfied in the love of God in Jesus. Tim Keller used the words of Psalm 90 verse
13 “satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love that we may be glad and
sin for joy all our days.” This
resilience is not about being impressive people but knowing we have a wonderful
Saviour and enjoying and being satisfied in his love. That kind of strength in
weakness brings glory to God – verse 7.
The trouble with unimpressive people is that they tend to draw attention
to themselves. Jars of clay are just
jars of clay. When you find the treasure
in them you see the treasure rather than the jar. Looking at Paul he looked like a basket
case. Verses 8 and 9. He was full of struggles, pressures, on the
brink of disaster although holding on.
The life of Jesus is revealed in verse 11 and it brings glory to
God. Through his continuing dying the
life of Christ is revealed – verse 11. But
in verses 13 to 15 it brings grace to others.
Paul is echoing the line of thought through Psalm 116 “I am able to
speak openly of my weakness precisely because I am confident in God’s greater
strength and his deliverance.” I have believed
therefore I have spoken. Why is he doing
it – “for your benefit”. Verse 15. He speaks of his weakness as jar of clay
because in doing so grace overflows into the lives of other people. Paul’s ministry was the ministry of the
wounded – ministering the grace of a wounded Saviour to a broken people. So Paul’s first source of resilience is being
captivated by the worth of Christ.
Secondly, he was sustained by the
promise of glory – chapters 4 verses 16 – 18. What is this hope of things unseen? How can
this rather than that be something so solid that we can rest on it and therefore
endure when hard times feel hard – verse 17 “an eternal weight of glory.” Many of our ways of talking of eternity seem weightless. Disembodied spirits floating off on ethereal clouds
and ghostly existence which are mere shadows of former selves. It is hard to imagine anything further than
the weight of glory. The solidness, the substance,
the sheer majesty, significance and splendour of Paul’s vision the glory of Gods
vision that awaits us. He opens it
up. A solid hope which makes us now feel
like the shadowlands and a new creation which feels like the life for which we
are made. Chapter 5 verse 1 a contrast
is present. His present bodily life in
what we call “the real world” is like a tent that will be dismantled at the end
of the holiday. In its place we have a
building from God. The fashionable Greek
thinking of Paul’s day which influenced the Corinthian church saw death as the
release of the soul from all the encumbrances of the physical body to float
about in eternal bliss. With his daring
imagery Paul is turning that on his head.
Eternal life is not an escape from physical bodily existence. It is the very fulfilment of that existence. We believe in the resurrection of the body and
of the new creation, of a life to come that is more substantial, more solid,
more ultimate, almost more physical than the life we experience now. It is the building to replace the tent. That is the contrast here. That is the key to his endurance or
resilience. Do we really want to give up
everything now to float weightless on heavenly clouds in a kind of everlasting
church service in the sky? I think
not. But inheriting the weight of glory,
anticipating a new creation. Giving up
the tent for a solid mansion, an eternal home with God not made with human
hands. Reigning with Jesus for ever so
as to lead the new creation to its full and final flourishing and justice and beauty. That is the life we long for. The life we were made for. Verse 2.
To rein in creation on God’s behalf.
Revelation 21 verse 2 “we will reign with him.” To have – this is worth any price and any
sacrifice. Maybe some of us are groaning
today. Weighed down by physical illness
and disability or pain. Maybe it has
been a difficult few years and we are carrying scars. Watching loved ones struggling with ill
health or facing the possibility of death.
We pray for God’s intervention and healing but whether we know healing
or not. There is something do know – the
groaning will not last forever. There
will come a time when our old mortal bodies will be swallowed up with
life. When Christ will summon them from
the grave and call them to resurrection life.
We will live with God forever in that new creation. No more mourning or crying or pain with every
tear wiped from our eyes because God has made all things new. That is our hope, a glorious hope. It is certain because of Christ’s
resurrection and guaranteed by the witness of the Spirit in our hearts. Verse 6.
This is the key to his endurance, to his resilience and this hope we too
can find grace for the struggle, strength for the weakness, resolve to live the
Christian life for the pleasure of Jesus.
Thirdly, he was called into the mission
of God – chapter 5 verse 11 – chapter 6 verse 2. When we are not clear on our mission we tend
to not get very far, inclined to give up but when we know what it is, when we
are going together through something we are energised about it that belies our
resilience and endurance. A clear vision
mobilises and energises us. A lack of
vision finds us grasping, not getting very far.
Imagine your local church, if it had a clear, deeply shared vision to
impact the local community. All going in
the same direction. Imagine what your
church could be life if that was the clearly held vision. For Paul the mission is absolutely
clear. It is there in verse 18. “All this is for God who reconciles us to
himself through Christ and gives us the ministry of reconciliation.” That was the mission Paul had been
given. That ministry of
reconciliation. It was a big mission
from a big God whose heart was to transform the whole of human experience. Every aspect spoiled by human sin could be
transformed by the gospel. It is seen in
Colossians 1 and Ephesians 1 in the participation of God’s plan to reconcile
all things to himself in Christ ending the alienation we experience for each
other, from creation, from our own broken and disordered sense of identity and
self and most of all our alienation from God.
The particular emphasis is on reconciliation between people and God –
verse 20. That reconciliation requires
an appeal to be made, a message to be spoken and proclaimed. We are not called to a silent private faith
but to a public talking faith. A speaking
mission – verse 11 – persuading others.
Entering into respective dialogue with them. Verse 20 we are God’s ambassador. It is a speaking role. Why should we give our lives to see that
mission fulfilled?
1. Fear
of the Lord – chapter 5 verse 11. Because
verse 10 he is our judge. We will stand
before Jesus to account for our life and service. It is not being saved by works. It is the reality of true saving faith. It is the obedience of our lives and we will
answer for that in that moment. When we
want to hide in shame because of our half-hearted obedience or will we receive
his “well done good and faithful servant”?
For Paul not to receive that commendation meant he lived with fear. That he might not please the Lord Jesus and
receive that final well done. I really love
Christ enough to receive that final commendation – do I fear seeing the sadness
in his face that I didn’t obey God after the mission he gave me?
2. The love of Christ – verses 14 to 17. The great love of Christ is a great love for
the world that took him to the cross. He
gave up his life to pay for our sins and to reconcile us to God. How can we resist
such love and stay cosily in our comfortable churches and not join in his
reconciliation? A boundary crossing
mission to the nations. It is the
ministry of reconciliation to which we are called. Not to stay in fixed cultural identities. We were commissioned to the ministry of
reconciliation. To bring the gospel to a
broken world. That is the calling of his
people. The love that compels us. The implication is – if we never feel that
compulsion to cross the boundary and connect with people, with the good news
then our hearts are not open to this boundary crossing love. His purpose, his death was to give us a new
Jesus centre life opened out to the world in mission. We should be compelled by the love of Christ.
3. Why join the mission? Because of the purpose of God – chapter 5
verse 18 to chapter 6 verse 2. It runs like
a glorious thread right through the biblical narrative. It is given first in Genesis 12 verse 2 to
Abraham – “I will bless you and make you a blessing to the world”. That is the mission of God. To bless his people through grace not so it
stops there but flows to the people of the world. To be truly blessed, to be reconciled to God
but why. He gave us the ministry of
reconciliation. The blessing was never
meant to stop with it. It was given to
be passed on and it might overflow. That
is his plan. There is no back-up. Our friends, our families, our neighbours,
our colleagues. God has a plan to reach
them. He blessed us to make us a blessing. He has given us the ministry of
reconciliation. THe price has been paid,
the sacrifice has been made. A
sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world – verse 21. God made him who had no sin, the Lord Jesus
in all his perfection and righteousness.
He knew no sin. Nothing corresponded
with sin. He was utterly pure yet God
made him who knew no sin to become sin for us.
Everything that he has, the second member of the trinity had been set
aside. In his righteousness and justice,
ever destructive, dehumanising that spoils his creation, that invokes his
wrath. He becomes for us and he does it
that we and him might become the righteousness of God. The evidence that God’s plan has been
fulfilled to bless the nations. The gift
of a right standing before him. The
righteousness of Christ given to us who are in need. There is nothing lacking in the cross. But the mission of God requires an obedient
people. Not only receive the blessing of
God but give that blessing to others so it doesn’t stop there.
No comments:
Post a Comment