"Keeping your heart." WBC 22/05/05am. 2 Cor 4:16-18
Here Paul says ’ therefore we do not lose heart’ (v16)
- so how does he do it?
- how does he do it in spite of all he describes earlier
o hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted, struck down
o yet he keeps his heart, zeal, ’joy’ even
- how can we do it? Oh tell me- how can I not lose my heart… my soul and my spiritual life in this world/work?
INNER RENEWAL
Well- the answer is in here. Firstly he says ’inwardly we are being renewed day by day’….
- though outwardly we are falling to bits
A key to keeping your heart… getting a heart… is inner renewal
- something.. a work of God.. going on inside you that means you are refreshed, renewed and strengthened- no matter what
Okay. Nice idea and theory… and I believe in it- but how on earth do I do it? Practically?
Well- how is Paul renewed? 3 S’s
Significance of his work
- He sees what he does and what he is going through (light and momentary troubles) as significant. It counts for all eternity
o V17- it’s storing up treasures for him in heaven
o 3:7ff, 4:1ff God has given him an incredible ministry an (4:1) "therefore since we have this ministry we don’t lose heart"
- God has given me the most important and thrilling job in the world, he says:
o Ministering a new covenant: telling people that they can have a personal relationship with the One True God that will change their lives and eternity. A ministry of glory
o An "I get to see new babies and changed lives all the time" ministry
" That was ’food for his soul’
" The "food you know nothing about" ministry that Jesus spoke of
- "great"- you say. "But that was Paul. I’m not an apostle like him. I lead an everyday life."
o But this is JUST what he is saying! He IS talking about you…US. "therefore since WE have this ministry"
" And if you can see it you will not "lose heart!" 4:1
o YOU have the words of eternal life- because you know about Jesus
" You have the seed that can be sown in people’s lives that can generate fruit for all eternity
" Only time & eternity will tell your significance
- And you can be more significant… innerly renewed… yet
- Get your eyes off yourself and onto what you were made for! Get out there with others worse off than yourselves and go and DO something with your life.
o Now. Short term. Mid. Long.
o For Jesus
- "but I’m too broken!".
o Well- he addresses this, too. The fact that this treasure is in human vessels, jars of clay (4:7) can make it all the more beautiful, effective, glorifying to Jesus
A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and
half pots full of water to his house.
Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, but the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. " I am ashamed of
myself, and I want to apologize to you. I have been able to deliver only half of my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to the house." The bearer said to the pot," Did you notice that there were flowers on your side of the
path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have always known
about your flaw, and I planted seeds on your side of the path, and every
day while we walk back you have watered them. For two years I have been able to
pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just
the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."
I am not being ’sentimental’, here
- there is power in human…broken… lives handed over to Him
Sheer faith (4:13)
The other thing that renews Paul, inwardly, is his sheer faith!
- perspective… attitude.. is everything
- "I believed therefore I have spoken… and I believe that Him who raised Jesus will raise you… and that all this is for your benefit"
He chooses to believe that what God says is true and that his troubles are light and momentary compared to the reward that is coming his way
- this takes FAITH- as his troubles are REAL. Faith, not denial
- faith to see that the glass is more than half full- though it tastes bitter at times
Illustr: I can only illustrate this with my own life. Though it is an utter joy pastoring you lot- there have been times of great ups and downs. It’s like that for us all. But I believe this is NOT all there is and I will receive a reward from God in eternity. I make a choice of faith…attitude. Based on God (not my own fancies)
It all depends on where you have got your eyes, focus (and that’ll be my last point… and that’s a CHOICE. Faith is a choice)
Spirit of God
The other thing that renews him inwardly is his relationship with God through the Spirit. He plugs into the Spiritual power of the person of God.
- daily! "we are being renewed day by day"
Are you able to say that you are being renewed day by day?
Well- are you doing the things that will bring it?
- It’s in here , and it’s about the glory, and Spirit of God. 3:17ff. this is what renews Paul’s inner heart
- "now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty… and we with unveiled faces gaze upon, contemplate and reflect this glory"
You need to! You need to go into your room, close the door (as Jesus said) and connect with God. You need to renew your heart by gazing upon him- to the point where you reflect his glory
- 3:17 is a play on words: reflect/contemplate His glory
- because it’s true: as you contemplate…gaze… you reflect
PS 27:4 One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.
Cf Mary at the feet of Jesus. Jesus with His father
You need to guard your heart… grow your soul… get closer to God…
- … be renewed ’day by day’
Now I want to say more about one thing that renews Paul’s heart
WEIGHT OF GLORY
It’s another play on words missed by us gentiles- unless know Hebrew
It says v17 "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all"
- can read that and it wash over us. "Oh, yeah"
- but to a Hebrew would hit like a brick wall and give them heart! Help them see their troubles as ’light and momentary’ in the light of what they achieve for us
We use two words for "weight" and "glory"
- Gk of new testament does as well. Baros = weight (cf Barometer), doxa = glory (doxology)
- But Hebrew, Jews (ie OT) only uses one. Same one
o Kobode = weight and glory. Weight of glory
So -in 1 Sam 4:21, when the glory of God is seen as departed from Israel because the Ark is captured, and the priests disgraced, the High Priest’s daughter in law names her son Ichabod (no-glory)
And when the glory of the Lord fills the temple- something happens:
-Ex 40: 35 Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
1 ki 8:11 11 And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory (Kobode, weight) of the LORD filled his temple.
2 Chron 5:14 14 and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the weight/ glory of the LORD filled the temple of God.
The Jews understood the correlation between God’s glory and the weight. That’s why the priests could not stand up to minister when the glory came
It’s a fascinating word that conveys a spiritual phenomena that I have experienced.. and Christians down the ages (certainly those on Pentecost) :
- when the Lord’s glory comes it can feel like weight!
o A blanket of peaceful, lovely, heavy, presence!
(no wonder people can’t stand up before God: in heaven… or in the book of Daniel… or before Jesus when He says "I am, YHWH" Jn18:6. Literally - ’drew backwards to the ground’)
I’m not trying to explain this. I’m just saying- God’s presence is very real and powerful… and this bloke Paul realised that his troubles were LIGHT, real, and MOMENTARY- compared to the presence of God he was going to receive
-… the weight of glory they would BRING, even!
No wonder that renewed his heart
FIXING YOUR EYES
You know- we’ve lost the right perspective! We’ve taken our eyes off the ball. Eh?
- everything is about the here and now. Even for Christians (listen to our songs: "bless me now")
o it’s not necc. Wrong. It’s just a distortion. Distraction?
o We live for the icing, not the cake
o We live for the now- and have forgotten the hereafter
Maybe we have it too good?
’Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home’ CS Lewis in ’The problem of pain’
- but we try and make it ’home’
’The hope of dying is the only thing that keeps me alive’ Vance Havner (in Leadership)
All of our energies are on the seen… and so the ’unseen’ looses its power, focus… ability to give us hope
- Illustr: to these guys… to Christians… the unseen IS the reality and THIS is a shadow of it. So, in book of Hebrews- have to make the earthly tabernacle as an exact copy of the REAL one in ’heaven’ (Platonic thought, 4CBC philosopher, reasoned that we live in a cave and all we see are the shadows of the reality on the cave wall)
But, practically… think about it… we live as though there is no heaven… and death is the end.
- we say we’re Christians but our generation, practically, ACT like atheists
No- the only way to keep your heart is to keep your focus…your eyes on what is ’unseen’
- Jesus. The world to come. ’heaven’ if you like
Think about it. Are your priorities, understanding and object of focus destroying your heart… making you lose heart?
- above all, guard it, for it is the wellspring of life!
Well, now, you can start to redress the balance
- see the significance of what you do… can do. Your brokenness
- let your faith rise up!
- Determine that you will connect with the Spirit of God. Daily.
- Realise that here is light, momentary and full of trouble- but that a weight of glory, God’s rewarding presence, awaits you
- And shift tack. Shift focus. To the unseen. To seeking God’s kingdom but also fixing your eyes on heaven
Songs:
Lord, I come to you
Jesus Christ, you came into the world
I lift my eyes to the quiet hills
