II Corinthians 4:7-16 (NKJV)
DAY BY DAY
July 27, 2025
I. THE VESSEL - There is a problem presented in the text and the problem is the vessel that holds this treasure! The vessel is an earthen vessel and this clay pot is fragile! Verse 7 says . . . “we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” Jeremiah 18:1-6 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter. . . Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand . . .* Even in the Potter’s hand we find that there is a problem with the clay. The Bible says that the vessel was marred in the potter’s hand. There are times when with the best of care, the vessel still gets out of shape. Never be guilty of believing that this cannot happen to you. There are many people in this world that started out running well for the Lord, but along the way they got weak and out of balance in their lives. Even though the clay is misshapen and deformed, it is still in His hand. When the vessel is marred, the Potter does not throw the clay away and start fresh with a new piece. . . He has a vested interest in what happens to the clay. He has paid the ultimate price for His clay. He died for it to redeem it from sin and from disuse. Jeremiah says, So He made it again, another! Paul says, “He who has begun a good work in you will perfect it unto the day of Jesus Christ.” In 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” I submit to you today that only God can take what is old and marred and form it again and it becomes a new thing! 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 “We are Troubled on every side, yet not Distressed; we are Perplexed, but not in Despair; Persecuted, but not Forsaken; Cast down, but not Destroyed;” Christianity is Painful - Paul uses some pretty descriptive language. Note the language he uses: Troubled Yes! - Distressed No! John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. Perplexed Yes! Despair No! Proverbs 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Persecuted Yes! – Forsaken No! Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Down Yes! – Destroyed No! Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
II. V. 16a THE VOW - In verse 16, Paul says “For which cause we faint not…” That is an amazing statement! The word “faint” refers to “a failing of the heart”. So, the phrase can be read this way: “We do not lose heart”. Paul is telling us that regardless of what comes his way, he does not give up, he does not give in, he does not give out. It is so easy to come to a place where you are ready to throw in the towel, lay down your burdens, to just quit. Paul’s life was anything but easy. “For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:” (2 Corinthians 1:8) Yet, in spite of all those trials, tribulations, and burdens, Paul can say: “We Faint Not!” We all want to quit from time to time. We all want to just stop and give no more because we feel that we have given all we already can. But I am far more interested in reaching the place where I can say. “I faint not. I do not lose heart”. For it is written: Psalm 116:8-10 “For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. I believed, therefore have I spoken”… Psalm 107:2 “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so…” Paul says “though our outward man perish”. The reason it is so easy for us to lose heart is that the “outer man” is “perishing”. He is dying. He is rotting, He is broken. He is ruined. He is in the process of being destroyed. And the problems associated with his “destruction” causes us to “lose heart”. BUT, as his outer nature decays, God is glorified. “Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.” It is so easy to “lose heart” when life and people turn against you. It is so easy to come to a place where you just want to quit. But, you don’t have to! You don’t have to be defeated. You don’t have to become a statistic. You don’t have to be one of those people who used to walk with God. You don’t have to be one of those people who used to go to prayer meeting. You don’t have to be one of those…
III. THE VICTORY - Verse 16c - We are given fresh strength for every day - Paul reminds us that while the “outward man” is “perishing”, but “the inward man is renewed day by day”. Every day, the “inner man” is given new strength to face the trials of that day. While every day brings with it its unique problems, every day also comes with its own measure of grace from the hands of God in Heaven. Here is His victory! “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness…” (2 Corinthians 12:9) That is why Jesus teaches us to pray for our Daily Bread! Day by Day! Give us this day our daily bread. Jesus said, “do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Day by Day. Paul asks the Romans, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?... For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
