Memorials With a Mission
2 Corinthians 4:7-12; 16-18
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you.
16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self[d] is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:7-12, 16-18
Intro: I saw three ships…
This week, I read about three Navy warships—the USS New York, the USS Arlington, and the USS Somerset. Each of them is a San Antonio Class warship. They are given the classification LPD for Landing Platform Dock. The New York is 684 feet long and can carry up to 800 Marines. It has a flight deck that can handle helicopters and the MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft.
At an average cost of over a billion dollars each, they represent the cutting edge of military technology.
But what is most striking about each of these ships is not what they can do, but what they represent. Watch this, and you’ll see what I mean:
[Video Segment 1]
The USS Arlington contains steel salvaged from the west wall of the Pentagon. And the keel of the USS Somerset, named for Somerset County, Pennsylvania, contains 22 tons of steel from the crash site of United Flight 93.
Emblazoned on the ship’s crest of the New York are the words “Never Forget.” When the Navy took delivery of the Arlington, first responders from the Pentagon were there to welcome the ship to its home port of Newport News Virginia. And whenever the Somerset leaves for a mission, the words “Let’s Roll” echo over the ship’s PA, a reminder of the last words heard from the courageous passengers on board flight 93.
All of this helps illustrate what Paul was getting at in 2 Corinthians 4. Paul understood that every christian is a living memorial to the sacrifice Jesus christ made for us. The official motto of the USS New York is “strength forged through sacrifice,” and that is an appropriate motto for Christians as well.
1. We have a strength forged through sacrifice (4:7-9)
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
We don’t have any strength in and of ourselves. That’s why Paul describes us as “jars of clay.” Clay is pretty fragile and brittle. And by the time Paul wrote 2 Corinthians, he probably felt pretty fragile and brittle himself. Many scholars have speculated that when Paul wrote about his “thorn in the flesh” in 2 Corinthians 12, he was alluding to some chronic physical affliction, such as poor eyesight, migraines, or even epilepsy. We know from chapter 11 that he had been given the 39 lashes five different times, had been beaten with rods three times, had been shipwrecked three times, spent a day and night at sea, had been stoned and left for dead. So, yeah, he probably feels a little bit like a fragile jar of clay. But look at what he says in verse 10:
“[we are] always carrying in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may always be manifested in our bodies.
2 Corinthians 4:10
Go back to the USS New York. The steel in her bow came from the WorldTrade Center. Steel from Flight 93 is in the keel of the Somerset. Sacrifice is literally forged into the bones of those ships. Without the steel from the wreckage, they would literally fall apart. And that is how we ought to see the cross of Christ in our own lives. I want to so identify with the cross that its in my bones. Without that sacrifice, I would fall apart.
Let me ask you this: how deeply do you identify with the sacrifice Jesus made for you? When Paul said we always carry in our bodies the death of Jesus, this was more than a cross necklace, or a WWJD bracelet, a christian bumper sticker, or even a tattoo. In Galatians 6:18 he says “See that no one does me harm, for I bear in my body the marks of Jesus.” Some people interpret this as stigmata—that Paul was so pious and holy that the wounds of Jesus supernaturally appeared on his hands and feet. I don’t think so. I think when you looked at Paul, you saw a man who had suffered for the sake of the gospel. The lesson for us is that following Jesus is going to leave a mark.
Has it left a mark on you? At the very least, it ought to change your attitude. When you truly understand that not only did Jesus die for you, but he also lives in you, it changes your perspective on your current trials. That’s why Paul was able to say in verses 8-9,
8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
When you know what was done for you, you can handle anything that could be done to you. Not only that, but you also have the perspective of what Christ is trying to accomplish in you:
17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
When Jesus died and rose again, He defeated the enemies of death, hell, and the grave forever. When Paul wrote to the church in Rome in Romans 8:11 he said, “if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies.
The strength we have is strength forged through sacrifice. .
2. We are memorials with a mission (4:10-11)
“[we are] always carrying in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may always be manifested in our bodies.
2 Corinthians 4:10
Each of these ships has a memorial room containing items from the three crash sites. There is a firefighters helmet from ground zero. There’s a slab of limestone from the west wall of the pentagon. There’s the names of the 40 passengers and crew that died onboard flight 93. These memorial rooms remind the sailors on board of the mission. But make no mistake. There is not a single sailor on board any of these ships who believe the memorials are the mission. Nobody serving on the USS New York thinks they are a curator or a tour guide.
I’d like to show you a portion of a video about the USS New York, and I’d like you to focus in on how the sailors describe their mission:
[Video Segment 2]
The one thing you didn’t hear these naval officers talkng about? The Navy. The first thing you heard was that the mission of the New York was to carry… Marines! Now I know that there is a lot of rivalry between the branches of the Armed Forces. But at the end of the day, these sailors understand that their mission is to support Marines and get them where they need to be. Not to call attention to themselves.
This is Paul’s attitude in verse 10. His mission is that the life of Jesus will be manifested in his body. It’s the same thing that made john the Baptist say “He must increase, I must decrease.” (John 3:30)
We are like the Navy—just like their job is to get Marines to where the fight is, our job is to get Jesus to where the fight is. That’s it. Musicians, if you are up here singing so that the glory of God can be manifested through you, then you are fulfilling your mission. But if you start believing that its about you, and how many solos you get, or whatever, then all I can say is, enjoy the applause, because that’s about the only thing that will come from your performance. It’s the same with me as a preacher. If you walk out of here saying, “What a great communicator,” then I’ve absolutely blown an opportunity to point you toward Jesus. But if you walk out of here saying, “What a great God,” then I’ve accomplished my mission for the day.
Illustration: lights on the Washington Monument?
3. To fulfill the mission, we must be in motion (v. 15)
15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
In verse 15, Paul suggests something that’s taken me most of this week to wrap my head around. It’s the answer to the question “Why do we tell people about Jesus?”
Why do we tell people about Jesus? If you say, “So they can be forgiven of their sins and be saved,” then I will say, “That’s a good answer. But why do we want them to be forgiven of their sins and be saved?”
If you say, “So they can go to heaven” then I will say, “That’s a good answer. But why do we want them to go to heaven?”
If you say “Because we care about them and we don’t want them to go to hell,” I will say, “That’s a GREAT answer.” And certainly, as 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 says, “The love of Christ compels us” to share the good news that one man died for the sins of all humankind.”
But is that the BEST answer? The best answer is in 2 Corinthians 4:15
[Transition]—
“As grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.”
We believe in a God who is worthy of all our praise. He is the highest, the greatest, the hollest. He is alpha and omega, worthy of all blessing and honor and glory and power. And as more people respond to the saving message of Jesus Christ, there will be that many more people giving God the glory due his name. Thanksgiving will increase!
And if we really believe that God is worthy of all praise, that His house should be full of worshipers, then we will do what he told his servants to do in the parable of the great banquet. In Luke 14, Jesus told a story about a man who gave a great banquet and sent out invitations to lots of people. But they all started making excuses about why they couldn’t come: “Ive just bought a field. I just bought some oxen. I just got married.” And the man was ticked off, and he sent his servants out again and said, go out into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame. And when the servants did that, and there was still room, the man sent his servants out a second time, and said, “Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, so that my house will be filled (Luke 14:15-23).”
Friends, we are the servant in this parable. The master of the banquet wants his house to be filled. And in order for us to fulfill the mission, we have to be in motion.
We started this sermon talking about ships, so let’s end there also. How many of you have toured the USS Alabama in Mobile Bay? If you’ve ever been through scouting, you probably have. It’s a great tourist attraction. Thousands of visitors come every year to learn about this great battleship and all that it once did. They look at the big guns and learn that they were once capable of firing shells at a target as much as 20 miles away. Scout groups can even spend the night on board, in the same bunks as sailors used to sleep.
But let’s say Congress declared war tomorrow. What are the chances that the USS Alabama would be called into service? Zero. Why? Because it has been de-commissioned. No matter what it once did, it can’t do it anymore.
Church, there are basically only two options when a naval ship is decommissioned. It is either turned into a museum, or it is turned into scrap. And sadly, too many churches seem to be facing the same two options. Many have become museums—reliving their previous glory days but nowhere near ready for the fight today. Or they are closing their doors altogether. According to a 2018 article in Facts and Trends, between 6,000 and 10,000 churches die each year.
I don’t want to be one of them. When a church forgets that mission is about movement, they go from being a great commission church to being a great decommissioned church.
Can we agree that that’s not going to be our story?
