When I investigate the ministry as a whole I see that it demands faithfulness, fidelity, and dependability. The bible teaches us that the ministry demands that one never faint, fade out, or become hazy. The words "faint not" in the Greek means not to give up, not to lose heart, not to become discouraged, spiritless, fainthearted, despondent, or discouraged. The Word says don’t become faint because if the devil ever finds us categorized by any of these adjectives, then the devil he knows that we are candidates for failure and depression.
As we look at the text the minister, Paul, did not quit or give up for any reason, not even because of persecution or weariness and exhaustion. When I say quit I mean he didn’t quit doing was God had commissioned him to do.
Now there are two reasons why he did not quit:
1st of all the preacher didn’t quit because of the greatness of his ministry: the statement "We have this ministry." "This ministry" refers to the great task God had given him; the task of proclaiming the new covenant, the message that man can now have a glorious relationship with God through the Spirit of God.
This ministry is the ministry of the glorious gospel, the good news about Jesus Christ, that men can now be saved and forgiven of their sins and be redeemed into live forever in the glory of God, because no greater task could be given to a person than to proclaim the cure for death to men.
That cure is the new covenant, the glorious news about Jesus Christ, so because of this great task, Paul did not faint; he did not quit, no matter how demanding the demands or circumstances were. I can hear him saying, it does not matter how they talk about me I’m going to stand for God, it’s ok if they laugh at me and call me a fool for being a witness, I’m going to stand for God. I don’t care if they scandalize my name you can look for me to be standing on the promises of God. And I believe that we have other Paul’s in the house this morning, you’ve been through the storm and the rain, hard aches and pain, abused and ill-treated but like Paul you have made up in your mind that you are going to keep on with the commission that God given you.
The preacher does not quit because he has received mercy. You see Paul had personally received the mercy of God. God's mercy had forgiven him of his sins and given him life forever with Christ, and because of that we faint not. We don’t lay down on the job. We don’t give up on God, we don’t bow down to the devil, and we don’t wither in the process.
And I must stop here and park parenthetically and say I believe that some of the churches have fainted alone the way. We have gotten too relaxed in our position as followers of Christ. We are too complacent, too content and too satisfied in the way we do church. We don’t care what we say, or do in or on the church ground anymore. Some people will cuss right in church these days, preachers will smoke and drink right in their office, people will fight, argue, and fuss right in the church house, and it’s all because we have fainted. But the bible teaches us in Luke 18:1 that man ought to always pray and not faint.
Verse 3 says “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them”.
The Gospel will be hid to those who are blinded by the bling, bling of this world. It will be hid from those who are lost by the gossipers of this world. Those that can get more excited about a sporting event then they can about a worship service. It’s hid from those who are lost. Those that would rather try a scratch off then try tithing. The Gospel will be hid from those that are lost, they come to church but they don’t come to worship. In other words they are sitting in the building but nothing is penetrating their hearts. It’s because they are lost.
Paul say here in 2nd Corinthians 4, Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
The scripture is teaching us here that we the minister are to renounce dishonesty, reject deceitfulness; we are to abandon unrighteousness, do away with lying and untruthfulness, get rid of "the hidden things of dishonesty." The word "dishonesty" means shameful stuff, disgraceful stuff, and scandalous stuff. The hidden or secret things that shame and disgrace men, things that cause scandals are to have no part in the minister's life. The man of God is to renounce all secret and hidden dishonesty.
The man of God is to live an open and above-board life, a life of honesty and integrity. And before you get to comfortable and think that this word is just for the preacher you need to know and understand that this Word is not just for preacher but for anyone who call themselves a Christian and a saint of God.
The life of a sinner, the life of dishonesty, the life style of darkness must be renounced, denounce and pronounce out of our lives. The Word says that we cannot walk in craftiness, the word craftiness means trickery, cunning, cleverness, shrewdness, evil design. It means a man who will do anything and use any means to get what he wants. These days we have people doing any and everything in the name of God to gain wealth. They are selling bless oil, bless water, bless salt, they are selling numbers for the lottery, there are selling bless handkerchiefs, and they are selling bless candles, but if it’s that bless why don’t you just give it to the people and watch God bless you. I’ll tell you why because it’s craftiness, cunning and trickery.
The bible says in that same verse Nor are we to handling the Word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. We are not to make the Word of God say what we want it to say in order for it to fit or to satisfy our appetite. In other words the Word of God is not meant to say what we want it to say, but it is meant to say what God wanted it to say.
Paul never mishandled the Word of God; he never deceived people with a false gospel. He was honest and true to the gospel; he openly proclaimed the gospel in all its purity. If the gospel was hid to men, it would be to men who did not believe.
In other words 2 Corinthians 4:5 says For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
Verse 6 says For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. In other words God has called us out of the darkness into the light.
Verse 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. The presence of God sustains the men and women of God. So no matter what we are going through God will sustain us. If we are going through hard aches and pain God will sustain us. If we are having ups and downs God will sustain us. If you feel like you just can’t make it tell your neighbor not to worry about it, or be distress because God will sustain us.
God's power saves him from distress.
The bible says that we are "Troubled" which means to be pressed, squeezed, oppressed, hedged in, pressured. So when the devil tries to squeeze us until we pop God holds us fast.
The bible say that we are "Distressed" which means to be kept in a narrow, cramped place; to be crushed.
And the bible says "On every side" which means in every imaginable way and place and occasion.
Notice that the believe experiences all kinds of trouble and pressure. We sometimes feel as though we are pressured and troubled beyond what he can bear. It is as though a heavy weight is pressing in upon us and it’s about to crush us.
But then God steps in and saves us from being distressed and crushed. The presence and power of God sustains his children.
The believer may be perplexed, but God's power saves him from despair.
Perplexed means to be at a loss, to be doubting, not knowing, questioning, wondering which way to go, what to do, what to say. It means being perplexed and unable to find an answer.
And then Despair means to be hopeless, to have no confidence or assurance, to be without any sense of security.
But again, the presence and power of God steps in and saves the minister from despair. God gives him hope and stirs his confidence and shows us the way out, and God keeps us form being overcome by despair.
And I don’t know about anyone else but I feel myself coming out of this.
I feel my help is here.
I feel my strength being renewed.
I feel my health being restored.
I feel the pressure being lifted.
I feel hope on the horizon.
And this is how I know. Suppose you have a sponge and a pitcher of Pepsi. If you dip your sponge in the Pepsi and squeeze it, what’s going to come out? It won’t be 7-Up, it won’t be Dr. pepper No, when you squeeze a sponge soaked in Pepsi, Pepsi is going to come out. Whatever you saturate your mind with is what will flow out?
I once heard about a man who worked with children who lived in sewers. He used to go into the sewers himself to try and help the children who were living there. Imagine you had been one of those children, virtually blind through living in the darkness underground.
They lived filthy through the waste from thousands of homes. And this man offers them a chance to leave. They jump at the opportunity, but has he was leading them out, as their eyes become accustomed to the light at the end of the tunnel, they started to see the state that they were in. They started to see the nastiness on their clothes and in their hair. And no matter how hard they tried to brush it off, the stains will not go away. And of the closer they got to the light coming in from the entrance of the tunnel, the dirtier they appear. Naturally, they shy away from coming out of the sewer until they felt fit to be presented to the outside world. The problem is that cannot be made clean until you come out of the filth of the sewer, and by coming out it’s inevitable that you will be made aware of your own filth.
But when you come out it will be just like John 11:43 when Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" John 11:44, the dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go.
When you come out Jesus will lose you.
When you come out Jesus will set you free.
When you come out you can tell the world that you have been born again.
Tell your neighbor, I feel myself coming out of this.
I’m coming out of hate.
I’m coming out of depression.
I’m coming out of loneliness.
and I’m coming into the marvelous light.
