The Shining Light In A Plain Jar

THE SHINING LIGHT IN A PLAIN JAR

2 Corinthians 4:7-18

Hidden away on a high shelf in my closet I keep a small box. This box is worn down and broken from 50 years of use. But it is the most priceless thing I own. If I were to lose this box, I would literally tear my home apart to find it. If it were to be stolen, I wouldn’t stop searching for and praying over and seeking its return. This box may mean nothing to you, but to me it is precious. This box represents my father. Inside it is a medal given to my father in appreciation for his sacrifice. Inside is a Purple Heart. It represents the blood and body, which was shattered so that I may have political freedom, and so that I may have physical life. My dad, in a very real sense, died on that battlefield so that I might live.

You and I carry about with us a different, but even more priceless treasure. God has chosen to use us as carriers of His precious Son. How amazing is that! Please turn with me to 2 Corinthians 4:7-18. Let’s stand in honor to God as I read this passage today!

Theme: God’s light is released through broken vessels!

1. There is no treasure greater than a personal relationship with Christ!

I think we lose sight of the incredible truth of Scripture that when I trusted in Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, God almighty came down and placed His Holy Spirit inside of me. Paul put it this way: Christ is you, the Hope of Glory!

The treasure Paul is speaking of here is Jesus Christ Himself. We have been entrusted by God to carry the Light of the World to the world! We are ambassadors of Jesus Christ entrusted with the Gospel of Reconciliation. The Power and presence of the Almighty resides in you and in me!

Don’t pass over that! Think about it! Meditate on it for a moment this morning!

Isaiah wrote:

“All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of our God stands forever.”

“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, or with the breadth of His hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighted the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? Who has understood the mind of the Lord, or instructed Him as His counselor? Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten Him? And who taught Him the right way? Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; He weighs the islands as though they were fine dust. To whom, then, will you compare God? Do you not know? Have you not heart? Has it not been told you from the beginning? He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of the world to nothing. To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” Says the Holy One.

John, writing in His vision of Revelation writes this of Jesus:

I saw someone “like a son of man” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and His voice like the sound of rushing waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw Him, I feel at His feet as though dead!

On the Mountain of Transfiguration, for a brief moment, Peter, James and John were given just a glimpse of the Glory and Majesty of Christ!

WE HAVE THIS TREASURE! Have you trusted in Jesus for your salvation! Then this Jesus, the Son of God lives in you! That is why Paul could say with boldness in Romans 1:16

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes!”

It is why Jesus likened the Kingdom of God to a treasure, a pearl of great price that if one fully understood its value they would spend everything they had to purchase it! Listen to His words in Matthew 13:44-46

“The kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”